One of the most famous people on the planet is a bodybuilder. How did that happen?
Arnold has been a role model for bodybuilders since the ’60s, when he entered his first competitions and won almost every one. In the ’70s, he became a bodybuilding legend, winning the Mr. Olympia title seven times, including 6 consecutive years. He won his seventh Mr. Olympia title in 1980, while training for John Millius’s hugely successful film “Conan the Barbarian”.
The ’80s made Arnold a movie star, just as he had made himself the most successful bodybuilder of our time in the preceding decades. The Terminator was his second blockbuster, with Terminator 2 – “The Judgment Day”, made in 1991, proving especially successful.
In the ’90s, Arnold continued his fantastic film career and gradually began considering a move into politics. His first political role was as chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under President Reagan. Then, in October 2003, an opportunity arose when a recall election for California’s governor gave Arnold the chance to become one of the world’s leading politicians in a million-dollar post. And, as everyone knows, the Terminator became the Governator.
Who would have believed that the son of a police chief, born in the village of Thalin in Graz, Austria, would become the world’s most famous bodybuilder, its best-known movie star and a leading politician, given that California is the world’s fifth-largest economy?
What makes this remarkable is that Arnold said, even as a child, that he would become a movie star and a politician.
A video of Arnold has now been posted on YouTube, titled “Arnold Schwarzenegger six secrets to success”. It is worth watching, because his voice alone is incredibly motivating and inspiring!
Here are his 6 rules, with brief explanations.
He opens his speech by saying: “People often ask me what the secret of my success is…”
1. Rule: Believe in yourself
Arnold believes you should know who you want to be. Not what, but who—and he does not mean who your teachers or parents want you to be. You should also know what makes you happy. If other people think what makes you happy is unusual, you should not let that bother you. He believes it is important to trust yourself, regardless of what anyone thinks of you or who they are.
Commentary: In “Pumping Iron,” Arnold said he had always admired great figures in history who had accomplished great things. Without that mindset, Arnold would probably have remained just a bodybuilder. If you focus only on winning competitions, you can never reach your full potential. He moved to America in 1969 with no money and no knowledge of the language, but he believed in himself and thought it was worth the risk. Belief in himself alone kept Arnold on the path to success.
2. Rule: Don’t be afraid of failure
Arnold says that in everything he has ever attempted, he has been prepared to fail. Although you cannot always win, do not be afraid to make decisions. Fear of failure can paralyze you until you no longer dare to try. What enables you to try is your belief in yourself and your vision, and the knowledge that this is the right path to success.
Commentary: When Arnold faced the already legendary three-time Mr. Olympia Sergio Oliva in 1969, his confidence was rock-solid, even though Sergio beat him. The following year, Arnold faced Sergio again and won. There was a strong chance he could have lost, but backstage he had the psychological edge over Sergio. He later admitted that Sergio had been in much better physical condition but was more mentally vulnerable.
3. Rule: Break the rules
Arnold says the world is full of rules. You have to break the rules, but not the law. He says it is hard to stand out from the crowd and do things differently if you behave yourself and never break any rules. You should always wonder what lies behind closed doors. What is the point of being on this earth if all we want to do is please everyone and stay out of trouble? The only path that has ever led anywhere has involved breaking some rules.
Commentary: Everyone who has known Arnold and spoken about him knows he was a master at this. His methods have not always met with approval, but they have still led him to his goals without breaking the law. As a young man in the army, he left the barracks without permission because he wanted to compete in the junior European Championships. He knew he would face severe punishment but decided to take the risk anyway because he thought it was worth it. Arnold won the competition and returned to the barracks a champion, but was put in military detention for breaking the rules. Later, however, he was allowed to train in the evenings and eat as much as he wanted. Arnold said he had never made as much progress in a year as he did in the army, because he could eat plenty and train every evening.
4. Rule: Don’t listen to negative people
Arnold asks how often you have been told that you cannot do this or that, let alone something that has never been done before. He says he loves it when someone tells him that nobody has ever done something before. As Arnold puts it, if he does something nobody has done before, he will be the first. So do not listen to people who tell you something is impossible. Arnold has never listened to those who say he cannot do something others have never done, because he has always known he could be the first.
Commentary: When Arnold lost to Frank Zane at the Mr. Universe competition in 1969, he asked Joe Weider for advice. Joe told him that if he wanted to bring his legs into proportion with his upper body, he needed to squat 270 kilos to build enough mass in his legs. Arnold replied that nobody did sets of squats with 270 kilos. Joe answered: “Why couldn’t you be the first?” You can guess whether Arnold did it and whether he got his legs to grow. After his first film, “Hercules Goes Bananas”, hardly anyone would have believed he would become a superstar, and he was certainly advised to focus on other things. But how did that turn out? And would anyone have believed that an Austrian-born bodybuilder would be governor of California?
5. Rule: work like crazy
Arnold says: “Never let an opportunity pass you by.” Sometime around the 70s, boxing legend Muhammed Ali was asked how many sit-ups he did to train his abs. Ali said he only started counting repetitions when the pain became unbearable. If you only start counting repetitions at that point, they mean something—in other words, “no pain, no gain”.
If you leave a job unfinished, go partying or fail to do things properly for any other reason, there is always someone somewhere in the world doing the same thing better, and that is why they will beat you. Arnold urges you to remember this!
If you want to win, you have no choice but to work incredibly hard. None of the previous rules will work unless you put in the hard work. Arnold says he has always looked at it this way: there are 24 hours in a day, 6 of which you spend sleeping, leaving you with 18 hours. “I know there’s someone out there who says they sleep for 8 or 9 hours. My advice to them is to sleep faster,” Arnold says with a grin.
Commentary: Although the film “Pumping Iron” only showed Arnold training at the gym and sleeping on the beach, he was busy on all fronts. He ran a construction company called Pumping Bricks with Franco Columbu, invested all his income in funds and real estate, taught English at school and studied economics—all while training at the gym and winning competitions.
6. Rule: give back
Arnold advises: “Whatever you do in life, you must always give something back.” By giving back, you gain far more than you have ever achieved.
Commentary: If anyone has known how to give back, it is Arnold. He has held motivational seminars around the world, advised competitors, helped children with their extracurricular activities and been involved in organizing the Paralympics, whose mission is to organize competitions throughout the year for people with intellectual disabilities. Although the Arnold Sports Festival is a million-dollar business for him, bodybuilding, which takes center stage, has Arnold to thank for all his work promoting it.
Author: BODY-lehti”;i:29;s:22:” translated by Aire Lossmann
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