Actual Education is About Action

Why Matthew McCounaughey Skipped Class to Act

Nov 30, 2023

Before he was an actor, Matthew McConaughey wanted to be a lawyer.

But in 1991 at the end of his second year at UT Austin, he had doubts about the law.

Even with a 3.82 GPA, something was on his mind: “I wouldn’t start making my mark on this world until I was almost thirty years old. I didn’t want to miss my twenties preparing for the rest of my life.”

He realized that instead of being a lawyer, he wanted to tell stories. So he switched his career path to film school.

But when he went to film school, he skipped class.

They Want to See A Product

He knew that since he wasn’t pursuing the law, his GPA didn’t matter.

“I knew Hollywood and artists didn’t care if I made A’s or F’s, they needed to see something worthy of their attention. I needed to make something — a film, a performance.”

So he signed with a local talent agency and drove to small gigs, auditioning for music videos and beer ads. “I got a bunch of no thank-yous,” he wrote in his memoir, Greenlights. He ended up getting his first gig as a hand model and then moved on to direct, write, and edit small film projects.

But then the dean called him in to the office.

He threatened to fail McConaughey for skipping class, where attendance was mandatory.

McConaughey’s response:

“‘you and I both know that a degree in film production doesn’t mean squat to studio heads in Hollywood and New York City. It means nothing to the people that make movies. They want to see a product.’”

He said the reason he was skipping class was to go out in the world and make something. “I’m chasing things outside of the classroom that the classroom is teaching me to chase.” [1]

Then he blurted an idea out to his dean. “‘If I promise to make it to every exam day in class, will you just gimme C’s across the board?’”

McConaughey never got a reply.

But he kept skipping classes to go act, and for film school he showed up “as prepared as possible on exam day.” He ended up getting C’s in every class on his transcript. Although his GPA dropped, he said he learned more from real-world experience:

“I learned a lot more [when I was acting] than when I was making A’s.”

Takeaway: do the thing, don’t just study it.

Unless you’re in a technical field like law or medicine, GPA is about as useful as eating chicken noodle soup with your hands. It’s better than nothing, but there’s more effective strategies.

As Nat Eliason writes in his article “GPA vs. Skills,” GPA isn’t a reliable indicator for skill but rather the ability to do well in a class:

“Someone with a high GPA in marketing classes is not necessarily good at marketing, we can only say they are good at taking marketing classes at their university.
And this is why grades are so problematic. We treat them as indicating someone’s ability in an area of study, or how intelligent they are, but they’re only an indicator of your ability to do well in classes at your university relative to your peers. And in most colleges, at least half of that is someone’s skill at gaming the system and creatively cheating.” [2]

McConaughey realized this early on. Instead of getting A’s in film school, he learned more about acting when he actually acted and produced small films himself.

An actor, by definition, acts. He doesn't just study acting. And Hollywood hires actors, not people who can memorize the procedure of fake crying.

Before I dropped out of college this year, I was in a Spanish class. It was my first 3000 level class. Look at me, I thought. Advanced Spanish. That’s cool, right? Not really. We learned sleep-worthy specialized vocab. [3]

As I fidgeted in class, I realized something: I already knew all the Spanish I needed to have a conversation! Instead of learning about Mexican politics, I needed to say Hola more. I needed the courage to chat up some Latinos.

Know someone who might like this?

Action

English philosopher Herbert Spencer once wrote that “the great aim of education is not knowledge but action.”

We learn by taking action and making mistakes. When a little boy licks a frosty pole on Christmas, he learns a valuable lesson. Jesus Christ Mom, my tongue hurts! I probably shouldn’t do that again. He got feedback from the world.

This year, I booked a one-way flight to Sevilla. I hopped on calls with smart strangers on Twitter. I applied for a mastermind in Costa Rica and got in. I cold-emailed authors I admired and got in touch with some of them. I’m now working on a small project for one of them.

Even though I only got one B in my entire life, I’ve learned more in 2023 by being outside of school. Most of the time, I had no idea what I was doing. My education was the result of tons of tiny actions. Booking the flight. Sending the DM. Writing the essay. Hopping on the call. Approaching the sexy Spaniard.

I’ve learned more about the world, human nature, writing, business, and myself by taking action. Even if you read billions of books, it’s too easy to fall into the boobie trap of learning lots but doing little. It’s like watching a Youtube lecture on how to back squat but never driving to 24 Hour Fitness. You have to test out the technique. [4]

What’s something you learned this week that you can apply today?

If you’re not applying anything you learn, you’re doing the exact same thing that all college kids do: read, memorize, and forget.

Even if you don’t act in movies like McConaughey, be an “actor” and take action in life.

“You can graduate with the finest degrees. You can read the most useful books. You can enjoy the loving support of family and friends. But your degrees can't take action for you. Your books can't make the decision for you. Your family can't live your life for you. There is no substitute for courage. At some point, you have to make the choice."
- James Clear

Notes

[1] McConaughey’s story was from his banger memoir, Greenlights

[2] Naval Ravikant once wrote about the futility of taking a business class. Would a company rather hire someone who can increase website traffic or someone who studied marketing in college but never created content? There’s large knowledge gaps that only action can fill.

“There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes.” - Naval Ravikant

“There’s no shortage of students with good grades, but there’s a massive shortage of students with marketable skills.” - Nat Eliason

[3] If you want to learn Spanish fast, I made a free 80/20 guide. Read it here.

[4] A solopreneur I met in Costa Rica said he doesn’t read many self-help books anymore. Instead, he just goes to masterminds. Sure, there’s some good ideas in books, but masterminds cause you to take action.

That intense, team-building energy forces you to introspect on your weaknesses and limiting beliefs. The group accountability and ambition also bolsters your self confidence.

If there’s one course you could take, buy the Permissionless Apprentice.

It’s $1.

The key idea is taking action and doing work for someone that they might find valuable. Instead of emailing them and saying, “I want to work for you and help you,” lead with value first. Show, don’t tell. It’s more valuable than a resume.