Matthew McConaughey to Grads:
Always Play Like an Underdog― Define Success For Yourself ―２年常藤愛子

I went to a voodoo shop south of New Orleans a few years back ― they hadvials of “magic” potions stacked in columns with headings above each defining
what they would give you ― Fertility, Health, Family, Legal Help, Energy,Forgiveness, Money.

Guess which column was empty? Money. Let’s admit it, “money” is kingtoday, makes the world go round. Money is SUCCESS, the more we have, themore “successful” we are, right?

I’d 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, 15
minutes of fame world we live in. See it every day.

But, we all want to succeed right? Question we have to ask ourselves is, what
success is to us, what success is to YOU. More money? OK, I got nothing
against money. But maybe it’s a healthy family? A happy marriage? 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. Your answer may change over time
and that’s fine, but do yourself this favor:

WHATEVER your answer is, DON’T CHOOSE ANYTHING THAT WILLJEOPARDIZE YOUR SOUL. PRIORITIZE WHO YOU ARE, WHO YOU
WANT TO BE, AND DON’T SPEND TIME WITH ANYTHING THATANTAGONIZES YOUR CHARACTER. DON’T DRINK THE KOOL AID!! Ittastes sweet today but it will give you cavities tomorrow. Life is not apopularity contest. Be brave, take the hill but first, answer the question, “What13

中学生―Ｄ部門同志社女子中学校

is my hill?”

HowdoI

definesuccess?

Forme,it’sameasurement

offivethings ― fatherhood, being a good husband, health, career, friendships. These
are what’s important to me in my life.
中学生―Ｄ部門

So, I try to measure these five each day, check in with them, see whether or
not I’m in the debit or the credit section with each one. Am I in the red or in
the black with each of them?

For instance, sometimes my career is rolling (in the black) but I see how myrelationship with my wife could use a little more attention. I gotta pick up theslack on being a better husband, get that one out of the red. Or say myspiritual health could use some maintenance (red) but hey, my friendships andsocial life are in high gear (black). . . I gotta recalibrate, checks and balances,
go to church, remember to say thank you more often. I gotta take the tally.
Because I want to keep ALL 5 in healthy shape, and I know that if I DON’T
take care of them, if I don’t keep up maintenance on them, ONE of them isgoing to get weak, dip too deep into the debit section, go bankrupt, get sick. . .
die even.

So first, we have to DEFINE success for ourselves, then we have to put in thework to MAINTAIN it ― take our daily tally, tend our garden, keep the things
that are important to us in good shape.

Let’s admit it, we all got two wolves in us, a good one and a bad one, youknow what I’m talking about ― and they BOTH wanna eat. . . We just gotta
feed that good wolf a little more than the other one.
出典【Webページ】
TIME USA.「Advice for 2015 Grads」〈https://time.com/collection-post/3881954/matthew-mcconaughey-graduationspeech-university-of-houston/〉（最終アクセス2023年12月26日）

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