Being concise with what truly matters makes it matter more.

We all remember Matthew McConaughey’s Oscar® speech a year ago
for his catchphrase close, “Well, alright, alright, alright!” But if you watch his full speech, you will see an entire life’s story, captivatingly told in three minutes,
with a clear beginning, middle and end.

Three Things I Need Each Day
• Something to look up to
• Something to look forward to
• Someone to chase

His structure perfectly captures the drama, joy and passion of three of life’s
most crucial purposes and values…
• Hope, gratitude and humility
• Future, optimism
• Challenges to inspire us to keep going
Life in three parts…Perfect!

He then tugs at our heartstrings and funny bones with quick stories
behind the first two…
• Look up to: “God has graced my life with opportunities that I know are not
of my hand or any other human hand.” … “It’s a scientific fact that gratitude
reciprocates.”
• Look forward to: “My family,” which includes his father watching from heaven dancing in his underwear with a cold beer in his hand.

The surprise and power came from the story behind his third point…
• Someone to chase: “My hero is me, in ten years.” At first there’s a gasp from the audience as they thought (as we all did) that he just derailed his humility. But then he turns that around: “Every day of my life, my hero is always going
to be ten years away….I’m not going to attain that….And I’m fine with that
because that keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.” With that one little story, he summed up the best of competitiveness in the human spirit — that the true reward in the drive to be the best comes from uncovering the best version of ourselves.

The Takeaway for All of Us
For several years, for several of my books, I have been sneaking in a question for most every interviewee: “What makes you…you?” Without fail, every leader who has lived a life of purpose and passion has a three-minute(or so) story that conveys who they are and what drives them.

Can you convey who you are and what drives you in three minutes or so?

McConaughey’s structure is great — three things you need every day. So is “What makes you…you?” So is “What truly matters to you…and why?” So is
“How do you define success?” and “What tough choices have you made that now shape how you make new choices?”

Try it! You are likely to crystalize and clarify things that you knew in here, but didn’t always express out there.

And putting it out into the universe in a clearer and more concise way will surely bring you more of what you are chasing!

PS: Here’s the origins and explanation of McConaughey’s catchphrase

000