The role of Matthew McConaughey, which CNBC seems to be most advising, is his role in “The Wolf of Wall Street” as broker and salesman Mark Hanna and his “Fugazi” speech before the Leonardo DiCaprio incarnation of the real “Wolf” Jordan Belfort.
In the movie, “Fugayzi, Fugazi. It’s a Whazy. It’s a Woozie. It’s Fairy Dust” is what counts as a valuable guide. However, the actor has been known to give more down-to-earth advice in real life, whether it be through a graduate speech or through his recent memoir, Greenlights.
McConaughey recently came to CNBC during the @ Work Summit to discuss basic life lessons he learned during the Covid year. He believes this will be important to our culture as more people get back to work and interact with others on a regular basis – with disagreements that are sure to remain a part of life after the pandemic. We should all be ready to gain a better understanding of the opposing views, says McConaughey.
And somewhere between his “wolf” character and a person trying to prepare for a post-pandemic world amid a booming stock market and expanding economy, he told CNBC from his Airstream trailer that in 2021 it would still be okay, Chasing after success – if done right. “I’m for money and I’m for fame, but how we get these things, how we treat others, how we treat ourselves, fills the soul’s account along the way and that’s a long-term ROI that I think CEOs need Double-down on more. ”
Here are some of the better life ideas McConaughey shared with CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla. (And for film buffs, check out the full video above if you want to know how that “Fugazi” speech became a piece of film history.)
1. Don’t go back to what you were before Covid.
As the world enters a post-pandemic reality, the actor and writer says we should all use 2020 to reassess what’s important to us rather than going back to who we were and what we believed before.
“If we turn the page and get our freedoms back into engagement, we’re not going to snap back. Hopefully that last year when we were forced to reevaluate what the hell is important to us in our own lives, Hopefully we will take these re-evaluations out of this year and evolve as people, including individuals, “he told CNBC.
It doesn’t mean instant change, but it means reflection.
“Hey, the first day may not have to be all right for everyone. No! We’re all coming out of our own independent world and reuniting, so let’s sit down. Maybe it has to be the first week back, let’s sit down and talk about what we’ve learned. ”
Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey addresses the University of Houston at TDECU Stadium on May 15, 2015 in Houston, Texas.
Bob Levey / Getty Images
More than ever, it is a radical challenge to come together in the middle. Do you want to be radical? Come to the middle, I dare you!
Taking the time to reflect on how you have changed for the better over the past year will not only help you individually but also help you understand your place in this new world.
“”[2020] was there for a reason, there was hardship for a reason, there was sacrifice for a reason, there was a reason to learn. Let’s turn a page, not necessarily in the same chapter. Let’s turn a page and start a new chapter, “he said.
2. Learn to accept those we may disagree with.
Last year was again marked by increased polarization, for example in relation to politics and vaccines, and the conflicts have created divisions, but rarely growth. McConaughey says it doesn’t have to be that way.
“We can get away [from conflict] I still disagree, but basically, mostly, you and I are connected. You and I can still be connected even if we have opposing views and say we have similar expectations of each other; civil, bourgeois. We don’t do that right now, we illegitimate people and there is no way that can be the way forward. ”
In order to learn to accept conflict as legitimate, we must learn to accept opposing views.
3. Find common ground through facts.
Put simply, Americans must learn to agree on facts.
“We’re mistaken about what facts are. We don’t even argue about the same reality right now. So if we can agree on facts, I think we can build trust. Trust in facts can lead to trust in others, and then trust in us. ”
McConaughey believes that due to distrust of the media and leadership, we have trouble trusting ourselves. Learning to argue from the same facts will help. “If we can agree on facts, I believe we can build trust. Trusting facts can lead to us trusting others and then trusting ourselves.”
4. Be a meet-you-in-the-middle centrist.
McConaughey dared the American people:
“We have a misnomer for centricity. We need to remember that unity is not unity. I’m meeting you in the middle of the centrist. That has always been called, ‘Oh, that’s the gray area of compromise, that is you ‘perceived. ” It is about nothing. ‘More than ever, coming together in the middle is a radical challenge. Do you want to be radical? Come to the middle, I dare you! ”
