“Don’t Half-Ass It”

In addition to the both us being super famous movie stars, Matthew McConaughey and I have one other thing in common…(Okay. He’s the movie star. I was just testing to see if you’re paying attention.)

We both have dads who believed in us.

In his excellent and engaging book/memoir Greenlights (I highly recommend the audio version), Mr. McConaughey tells the story about the first time he told his dad he wanted to be an actor. I lit up at the passage. Because his dad’s response was almost exactly what my dad said to me when I first broke the unfortunate news that I wanted to devote my life to acting.

(Long ass pause. Then…)

“Well son, don’t half-ass it.”

Whatever you’re gonna do, give it everything you got. You owe that to yourself and everyone else around you.

Don’t half-ass it.

Don’t half-ass anything.

P.S. – For extra motivation.