Matthew McConaughey: When I got that process, enjoying that process, the day-to-day architecture
of making a movie and creating a role that's when I'm in the happiest.
Matthew McConaughey: Process prizes. Stay in process. Head down in process. Stay in your bubble
and when it's over be that fulfillment.
(These first quotes plays along with the humming from
the scene after the name of the channel appears.)
Matthew McConaughey: Happiness is an emotional response to an outcome. If I win I will be happy,
if I don't I won't. It's an if-then, cause-and-effect, Quid pro quo standard
that we cannot sustain. Because we immediately raise it every time we attain it. See happiness;
happiness demands a certain outcome. It is result reliant. And I say if happiness is what you're
after then You're gonna be let down frequently and you're gonna be unhappy much of your time.
Joy, though. Joy's a different thing. It's something else. Joy is not a choice.
It's not a response to some result. It's a constant. Joy is the feeling that we
have from doing what we are fashioned to do. No matter the outcome. Now personally, as an actor,
I started enjoying my work and literally being more happy when I stopped trying to make the
daily labor a means to a certain in. For example, I need this film to be a box-office success.
You know, I need my performance to be acknowledged. I need the respect of my peers.
All those are reasonable aspirations, but the truth is as soon as the work; The daily making
of the movie, the doing of the deed became the reward in itself for me I got more box-office more
accolades and respect than I ever had before. See, joy is always in process. It's under construction.
It is in constant approach. Alive and well in the doing of what we're fashion to do.
Voice over: Too much expectation can kill your joy before you can even appreciate your successes.
Joy is in the present moment. Thinking about the past can bring regrets. Thinking about the future
can bring anxiety. So just focus on the now. Because that is the only time we can do anything.
Experience the process with all your passion and attention
and you will see a new facet of life unfold. You will see things clearer and more vividly.
You will realize that you already have everything you need to make this moment perfect.
The growth is on the journey, not on the destination. So enjoy the ride!
Matthew McConaughey: Define success for yourself. But check this out. I'm in
south of New Orleans, a few years ago when. I went to a voodoo shop. And they had this wooden
partition against the wall of these columns. And in these columns were these vials of these
magic potions, right? And the headings above each potion defining what they would give you
were things like fertility, health, family, legal help, energy, forgiveness,
money. Guess which column was empty? Money. Admit it. Money is king today. Is what makes the world
go round. It is success. The more we have the more successful we are, right? Now I would
argue that our cultural values have even been financialized. Humility is not in vogue anymore.
It's too passive. It's a get-rich-quick on the Internet riches 15 minutes of fame
world that we live in and we see it every day. But we all want to succeed, right?
So the question that we've got to ask ourselves is what success is to us. What success is to you?
Is it more money? That's fine. I got nothing against money. Maybe it's a healthy family.
Maybe it's a happy marriage. Maybe it's to help others, to be famous, to be spiritually sound.
To leave the world a little bit better place than you found it. Continue to ask yourself
that question. Now your answer may change over time and that's fine. But do yourself this favor.
Whatever your answer is; don't choose anything that will jeopardize your soul. Prioritize who
you are who you want to be and don't spend time with anything that antagonizes your character.
Voice over: Only you know what is best for you. People will always have opinions.
The world will always have an opinion.
But as long as you know what is important for you, no expectation of success should affect you.
Go after what success means to you and ONLY YOU.
You will never find joy in the life others have envisioned for you.
It is your responsibility to pursue your passion, follow your dreams and make them work.
It is your responsibility to show that you can be great at what you love. That no matter what
you choose as your priority you can be the best at it and amaze people with your passion and skill.
Matthew McConaughey: Defining ourselves by what we are not is the first step that leads
us to really knowing who we are. You know that group of friends that you hang out with that
really might not bring out the best in you? You know, they gossip too much or they're
kind of shady. They really aren't gonna be there for you in a pinch.
Or how about that bar? That we keep going to. That we always seem to have the worst hangover from.
Or that computer screen. Right? The computer screen that keeps giving us an excuse
not to get out of the house and engage with the world and get some real human interaction.
I bet that food that we keep eating and stuff to taste so good going down;
makes us feel like crap the next week. We feel lethargic and we keep putting on weight.
Well, those people those places those things, stop giving them your time and energy. Just
don't go there. I mean put them down. And when you do this, when you do put them down, when you quit
going there, and you quit giving them your time, you inadvertently find yourself spending more time
and in more places that are healthy for you, that bring you more joy. Why? Because you just
eliminated the who's, the where, the what's in the winds that were keeping you from your identity.
Look trust me too many options, I promise you this, too many options will make a tyrant
of us all. So get rid of the excess, the wasted time. Decrease your options.
If you do this you will have accidentally, almost innocently,
put it in front of you what is important to you by process of elimination.
Knowing who we are is hard. It's hard. So give yourself a break. Eliminate who you are not
first and you're gonna find yourself where you need to be.
Voice over: Trust the process.
The more you live, the more you experience, the closer you get to know who you are.
The journey of self-discovery is hard but it is a joyful experience because discovering
who you are leads you closer to your fulfillment.
Eliminate that which doesn’t serve you. Deep down you know what those things are.
You may be scared to do that.
You may think that if you let these things go, you won’t have anything else to take their place.
But that is an illusion. You need to let go of the things that harm you
to make the space for the things that will make your life better.
Trust in the process. Try it, and see.
Matthew McConaughey: The easiest way to dissect success
is through gratitude. Giving thanks for that which we do have, for what is working. Appreciating the
simple things we sometimes take for granted. We give thanks for these things and that gratitude
reciprocates, creating more to be thankful for. It's really simple and it works.
Voice over: Gratitude is the remedy for all things.
It fills your soul with joy. It makes you see the beauty amidst the chaos.
It is easy to lose yourself in all the hardship and pain, but if you just remember the good
things you have in your life, I guarantee it will give you renewed strength to carry on.
So be grateful, and live a joyful life.