Their stories are so powerful and magnetic, they have become mythical. They command respect and are worthy of admiration. They represent an ideal, a cultural movement. Mohammed Ali, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Barack Obama. I will take a page out of Matthew’s book and count each thorn, not just the roses.īelow is my annual list of favorite books! Enjoy it. I wonder what I will learn from my next 30 years. “50 is the new 30,” said my friends as they cheered me on. It was setting him up for several green lights on the road ahead. It was right there in his journals – over 30+ years of them.Įvery red light was there for a purpose. But, as he arrived at marquee stations on his journey, he’d look back in the rearview mirror to understand how that route came together. His red lights, as he calls them, would sting like a scorpion bite to the face on his drives. Like all of us, he ran into a lot of difficulties on the road of life. His ability to do this comes from years of self-reflection, allowing him to carefully choose each role.

He completely becomes the character he plays. I am a huge fan of his commercials, his films, and his unique style of acting. The first time was while reading one of my favorite books from 2021, Matthew McConaughey’s memoir – Greenlights. This wasn’t the first time I had this thought.

What learnings, timeless insights, and guides would I have to see when the universe was just nudging me toward my goals? Other times, it’s just the micro-moment I need to get an epiphany that drives me forward on the road of life.Īs I enjoyed the humble libations on my 50th tour around the sun – during a surge of Omicron – I couldn’t help but think what would have happened if I did this for the past 30+ years. I sometimes work through challenging events or a recent spat with my loved ones. It is a simple ritual that frees my mind of the demons that hold me back so often. I have been doing this for nearly two years now. I need those buds.Įach morning before I jump into the fires of the day, I double-click my Evernote app and quickly tap out my roses, thorns, and buds. They are the joys in life that we sometimes forget to welcome in. They are things I look forward to winning. They are things that make my neck and shoulders tight and throb with pain.īuds are about the future. They are the downward parts of the roller coaster that is entrepreneurship.

Thorns are the prickly challenges that life invariably brings me each day. Sometimes, they are new learnings about me. It’s part of my new (almost) daily routine. I have a loving family, my health, and I am building something I am passionate about.

Green lights book