Arnold finally reveals his secrets to success
What if I told you that a man, born poor in an Austrian village, arrives as an immigrant to the USA and not only becomes rich, but goes on to become the biggest movie star of all time? Would that sound like the American dream to you? Or something Hollywood would make?
If that didn’t sound impressive enough, he also wins the Olympia 7 times, becomes the Governor of California and goes on to marry the daughter of the President of the United States of America. The list of achievements is so impressive, it’d easily take multiple lifetimes to accomplish them all.
Yet Arnold Shawerzenegger did them alone. How did Arnold achieve them? Did he have the winning formula? Some blueprint for success?
Well, he believes so, and he’s laid it all out in the new docuseries on Netflix. ‘Arnold’ features interviews of the man that haven’t seen the light of day before. We’re gonna save you a watch by giving you the 3 core principles he felt contributed the most to his success.
Core Principle 1: Dream It Into Reality
Take a look at this quote from Arnold here; “I sold myself on that stage. Thousands of people screaming “Arnold! Arnold! Arnold!” and when you visualize something really clearly, you believe you can 100 percent get there.”
Arnold was a strong believer in the power of visualization. He kept clear images of his goals in his head and obsessed over them. We can learn from Arnold and implement this in our lives. One way to do it would be to create a vision board or by attaching a poster inside our rooms. Or make your goal your desktop wallpaper. Whatever it is, it must remind you of your goals daily and keep you motivated.
Core Principle 2: Live by the “You’re Either First Or Your Last” Mentality
Throughout the docu-series, Arnold reflects on his legacy. However, Arnold rarely goes into his own personal motivations and beliefs. This may seem counterintuitive to modern day self-help advice, but Arnold viewed himself through public perception. Whether it was breaking box office records, winning the Olympia, or gathering enough votes to win office, Arnold measured his value through his accomplishments. Simply put, if he hadn’t accomplished his goals, he would have considered himself worthless. While this is not exactly the healthiest strategy, it undeniably yields results. To implement this, first define your definition of success. What counts as a meaningful goal for you? Once that’s set, relentlessly work towards your goals, leaving no room for rest.
Core Principle 3: Overcoming Doubters - Go From Rejection to Icon
Arnold recalls how the producer for “Conan the Barbarian” Dino De Laurentiis didn’t like his accent. There were a lot of other producers who turned Arnold down because of his accent. Arnold calls them ‘doubters’.
They didn’t faze Arnold. He was sure in his mind that he had the potential to become a movie star. This iron-clad self belief helped him turn the odds into his favor. Hell, his accent’s even considered iconic now and many of us love to quote his lines. If that’s not an example of someone twisting the world to his will, then I don’t know what is. So core principle 3 is very simple: Be very sure of yourself, all the time.
That’s it from our end. 3 principles from the Austrian Oak as he recalls his life and talks about his journey. If you’re still curious, the series is on Netflix right now. Go check it out!
-Forte Team
