Hello Friends!

My last Book Club Review was December 10, 2019. As we have discussed in my previous Blog Post “Life Enthusiast” it has been a year!

I have this great bag from Indigo that says, “Reading is my Superpower.” That’s my truth. Reading is my jam so believe me when I say one of the HARDEST side effects from chemo for me was not losing my hair (although that was not fun either), it was the fact that for the 6 months while I was in chemo I couldn’t seem to read. At least not during the recovery week after each treatment. Here I was, forced to be on a break from work, all the time in the world to finally do what I love to do the most…READ, and I couldn’t do it. I am happy to report my superpower is back and I am making up for lost time!

One of my life philosophies is that I am ALWAYS Learning. Books are a great way for me to do that. For those new to my site, I have a Book Club in which I recommend books that I feel others would benefit from. Previously my focus has been on more Corporate Learning, but I am going to be shifting the lens to algin with my new business. I am an eclectic reader, so I think the mix of the books I will feature and my why for recommending them will cover a lot of different reading interests.

I am always fascinated with people’s career journeys and this year I read what is now one of my most favourite books in that genre: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. Yep, THAT Matthew McConaughey.

Matthew’s book, in his own words, is not a traditional memoir. He takes you through his very interesting career journey in a way that only Matthew McConaughey can, GREAT storytelling. (As an aside I read the book the traditional way, but I am told the audio version of his book is “Alright, Alright, Alright!” I will read it again using this version because I liked it that much and it’s MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY!)

Matthew’s title for the book is a concept that really “got me” especially this year. There is a whole chapter dedicated to his thoughts around “greenlights” and to help explain it, here is an abbreviated excerpt from the chapter:

“Greenlights mean go—advance, carry on, continue.

On the road, they are set up to give the flow of traffic the right of way, and when scheduled properly, more vehicles catch more greenlights in succession. They say proceed.

In our lives, they are an affirmation of our way. They’re approvals, support, praise, gifts, gas on our fire, attaboys, and appetites. They’re cash money, birth, springtime, health, success, joy, sustainability, innocence, and fresh starts. We love greenlights. They don’t interfere with our direction. They’re easy. They’re a shoeless summer. They say yes and give us what we want.

Greenlights can also be disguised as yellow and red lights. A caution, a detour, a thoughtful pause, an interruption, a disagreement, indigestion, sickness, and pain. A full stop, a jackknife, an intervention, failure, suffering, a slap in the face, death. We don’t like yellow and red lights. They slow us down or stop our flow. They’re hard. They’re a shoeless winter. They say no, but sometimes give us what we need.

It’s a matter of how we see the challenge in front of us and how we engaged with it. Persist, pivot, or concede. It’s up to us, our choice every time.”

Matthew McConaughey “Greenlights”

That concept sits well for me as we all have our rough days, weeks, months, heck even years (I am looking at you 2020!) Attitude is everything, I know it is an overused cliché, but let me tell you from my own experience of fighting each and every day to live, attitude makes a difference. It isn’t always easy.  I do believe, as Matthew does, that all lights eventually turn green if you put in the work.

I often say when coaching or doing workshops on careers, there are very few straight paths (or consistent “greenlights”) throughout one’s career. There are a lot of twists and turns, (or yellow or red lights) along the way. But those moments, and how we rise to meet them, define who we are.

Let me ask you…

What have been the greenlights in your life or career? What were your yellow or red lights that eventually turned green? Are you stuck on the yellow or red lights in your life with no idea how to turn them green?

When people ask me to work with them on their career in any capacity I always start with the question “what is your brand?” People tend to think “brand” is about a company not a person, but I disagree. I feel before you embark on any type of career change, big or small, you need to do the foundation work to understand who you are and what you can bring to the table. Taking the time to reflect, such as the questions I asked you above, is a great start and will really help you build the foundation. Doing that is the beginning to help you to turn those yellow and red lights to green.

Pick up, or listen to, “Greenlights.” I think we all need more of Matthew McConaughey’s wisdom in our lives.

“Greenlights. Here’s to catching more of them, just keep livin,”

-Matthew McConaughey

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Sending you healthy and hopeful vibes always!

– Jenn