# Matthew McConaughey on avoiding cynicism and finding gratitude

An episode of [ReThinking](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1554567118), 23 Sep 2025, 35 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/675858676d1777b3683ec351/e/68c9c6602c8045b9a282f98f/media.mp3

Matthew McConaughey is the Academy Award-winning star of Dallas Buyers Club, Dazed and Confused, and Interstellar. But he’s not just an actor—he’s also an entrepreneur, philanthropist, teacher, and prolific writer. His second book, Poems and Prayers, was built on decades of his journal entries, poems, and life lessons learned. In this episode, Matthew and Adam discuss the difference between cynicism and skepticism, reflect on Matthew’s experience in learning to laugh at his embarrassing moments, and consider effective and ineffective steps for practicing gratitude. Matthew also shares the story behind his iconic “Alright, alright, alright” catchphrase and why he’ll never get tired of hearing it. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Matthew McConaughey (Instagram: @officiallymcconaughey) Links Poems & Prayers by Matthew McConaughey Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith. For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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