Success principles taught by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Let us talk about success. Having a vision is the first rule of success. If you don’t have a goal of where you go and if you don’t have a vision where you go you drift around and you never end up anywhere. I was born in 1947 in Austria after the second world war.

I was very fortunate that I happened to had a vision and I didn’t really like Austria. My vision was totally different I felt that I was born for something big, for something special and for something unique.

When I grew up I couldn’t wait to get out of Austria. I couldn’t see myself becoming a worker in factory or a farmer or anything like that even though my parents wanted me to stay there and have a normal life. But that was their vision not mine.

When I was 11 years old I went to school and one day I remember, they showed a documentary about America. In that documentary they showed the huge bridges, the high rises, the six lane freeways, the huge skyscrapers all of this in that massive city. I decided that day that I want to be there one day.

I don’t want to be around here with these little farmhouses and these little buildings. I want to be in America. One day after school I walked by a store in graze, so I went inside and I looked around and then I saw a magazine there’s a bodybuilding magazine that had Reg Park on the cover.

Reg Park was then a three-time Mr. universe and I saw him on the big screen as Hercules. I read that and I said to myself wow this is the blueprint for my life. This is exactly what I want to do. I want to become a bodybuilding champion just like Rag Park.

I want to get into movies just like Reg Park and I want to make millions of dollars and be rich and famous just like Reg Park. Do you know how great it felt that I knew where I was going. Imagine the majority of people don’t know where they’re going. I knew where I was going that I'm going to become this bodybuilding champion just like him. It was just a question of how do you do it.

I was so relieved because when you have a goal, when you have a vision everything becomes easy. People always ask me when they saw me in the gym in the pumping iron days they say “why is it that you’re working-out so hard five hours a day six hours a day and you have always a smile on your face” and I told people all the time. I said because to me I'm shooting for gold. In front of me is the Mr. universe title.

So every rep that I do gets me closer to accomplishing that goal. To make this core this vision turn into reality every single set that I do every repetition every weight that I lift will get me a step closer to turn the score in the reality. I couldn’t wait to do another 500 pound squat. I couldn’t wait to do another 500 pound bench press. I couldn’t wait to do another 2000 reps of sit-ups. I couldn’t wait for the next exercise. With the age of 20 I went to London and I wanted to miss the universe contest as the youngest Mr universe ever and it was because I had a goal.

Let me tell you something visualizing your goal and going after it makes it fun. You’ve got to have a purpose no matter what you do in life. You’ve got to have a purpose. 74 percent hate their job in America. Now there’s not much different when you come to Europe. The majority of people don’t like what they’re doing because they’re really not doing it because they didn’t have a goal and they followed the score.

They just aimlessly drift around and then all of a sudden, if there’s a job opening, they get their job because you have to work. Then when you work it’s a chore. It’s work. It’s not fun. If you think about only a quarter of the people really enjoy what they’re doing in life that is unbelievable. If you think about it. I felt so blessed that I knew what I was doing. It’s like a medical student that studies and knows he wants to become a doctor.

You know where to go and the same thing is also in politics. I remember that in politics I had a very clear vision. That I will be the leader of California this is as far as I could go because I was not born in America. I could not run for president. Being the governor of the fifth largest state, or I should say the largest state, the fifth largest economy in the world was for me really the ultimate title. The ultimate accomplishment in politics.

Even though people came up to me and says why don’t you go and run for something smaller you’re never gonna make it. I ran for governor and then two months later I became governor of the state of California again because I had a very clear vision. What I'm gonna do with California. That’s rule number one. Have a vision.

Rule number two is don’t listen to the naysayers.

Rule number two is don’t listen to the naysayers. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Everything I ever did, the thing that they heard out of people’s mouth was that’s impossible. That can’t be done or no that is exactly what I heard and of course I proved to the people that it can be done. Whenever someone said to me it can’t be done I heard it can be done. When they said no I heard yes. And when they said it’s impossible I heard it is possible.

I'm a strong believer. What Nelson Mandela said that everything is always impossible until someone does it. Well, I'm gonna be the one who said to myself. I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna show it to them. Maybe it has never been done before. That’s perfectly fine with me. But I'm gonna do it and I did not listen to the naysayers.

It’s all about the hard work that you put in. I said I must have been bodybuilding. I worked out five six hours a day. I'm gonna do the same thing now for acting and of course I went to college to study English. I studied the accent, removal acting classes and all of this stuff all day long. I worked and I worked in the works. And within a short period of time I made one movie called Hercules in New York which of course went right into the toilet. But it didn’t discourage me. I still had the same vision and then all of a sudden I did Streets of San Francisco. 

 

I did stay hungry and pumping on and the villain and then all of a sudden I was asked by Dino De Laurentiis at the universal studio to star in Conan the Barbarian. After I did Conan the Barbarian the director at the press conference said to the press, the director was John Millius, he said to the press if we wouldn’t have had Arnold we would have had to build one. Think about that the very body that they said can never be sold because the time is wrong. A few years later I'm doing Conan the Barbarian and it was the number one hit at the box office when it came out in the summer of 82.

Think about that and the director says if we wouldn’t have had his body we would have had to build one. All of a sudden my body became an asset not a liability and the same thing was with terminator. After we were finished filming terminator Jim Cameron said to the press if Arnold wouldn’t have had that accent and talk like a machine, I think the movie wouldn’t have worked.

So think about that the body and the accent that they attacked was an asset. But I didn’t listen to those losers, I didn’t listen to them at all. It’s just the reality of it is that you cannot listen to the naysayers. This is a very important lesson for all of you. When someone says no, this is a stupid idea, you in your mind you don’t have to say so

Love and Money

There was once a very wealthy man who lived in a sprawling palace with many servants. Among the many servants, he had three special servants. One day, this man called all the servants, gave them hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits and dismissed them. He then called his three special servants and told them, “My dear servants, you have been special and have faithfully served me all these years. Now, ask what you want and I will freely give them to you.” The servants could not believe their ears.

The first servant said, “Master, I will be satisfied with just one million dollars.” The master immediately wrote out a cheque and gave it him. The second servant said, “Master, I’ll be satisfied with just a hundred acres of your fertile land.”  Since the wealthy man had his lawyer present too, he immediately made out a deed to that purpose. The third servant fell at the feet of the Master and cried. The master lifted him up and asked him why he was crying. The servant said, “Master, all these years you had loved me dearly. Now where shall I go? I don’t want gold or silver. I only want you. Please allow me to serve you till I die.”


The master was pleased and granted the request. Day by day, the Master and servant became like father and son. Finally, on his death bed, this Master called his servant and said, “My dearly beloved servant, you have faithfully served me all these years, not desiring gold and silver. I now adopt you as my legal son and bequeath all my wealth to you. As my son, you shall inherit everything that I own.”

A Great Buried Treasure

There was once a man who had two sons who were only concerned about material things. They would often come to the father asking for money to buy this or that but would not do any work for a living. Neither were they concerned about the reality of things. One day, their aged father called them and said, “Go and dig in our unused field and you will find a great buried treasure.” These two brothers were greatly excited and immediately set to dig for the hidden treasure. From morning till evening they were digging continuously. They became tired but their father encouraged them, “Do not be discouraged, you will find treasures–pearls of great price.” Encouraged, they kept on digging. Days passed into weeks. 

They had dug a huge hole. But all the while, their thoughts were no more on the treasures but on water and food which seemed far more important because they needed them for strength to dig. One day, as they were digging, a spring of water gushed out from below and a well was found. When the brothers saw that, their joy knew no bounds. Because by now they had realized that water was more precious than the gold or silver that they were looking for.

A Very Moving Story About Prayer

I once read of a very moving story concerning a newly born again young man called Jim. Jim was very notorious, especially for always spewing foul language out of his mouth. One day, he got saved and his life changed dramatically.

Jim worked at the mine in the town and everyday on his  way to the mine he used to pass by a church. After he got saved, he started to stop by the church everyday. As soon as he entered the church, he would kneel beside a pew and say, “Jesus, this is Jim. I have come to present myself to You.” Tears of thankfulness and gratitude would then flow like rivers from Jim’s eyes as he recalled the goodness of God in saving a wretched sinner like him. This act of grateful humility became a regular habit of his life.

One day, there was an accidental explosion in the mine. Jim was badly injured and had to be hospitalized. The next morning, when the clock struck eight, Jim began to cry like a child, for that was his usual time to stop by the church to present himself to Jesus. He was crying sorrowfully because he was not able to present himself before the Lord. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. A benign-looking gentleman wearing a long white robe walked in. The man looked at Jim and said, “Jim, this is Jesus. You could not present yourself to Me, so I have come to see you, son.” 

When you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you (Jas. 4:8).

Answered Prayer

God does not want to shroud Himself within clouds of  mystery, always seated only upon His throne. He is a very dear and personal God (Ps. 47:14) who is always very near to His children. I am reminded of an incident that took place many years ago to a simple housewife.

This woman was going through a lot of problems in her life and was very much  heartbroken. Many people were praying for her, but it seemed that her problems would not go away. One day, with a very heavy and broken heart, she went to her closet, knelt down beside a chair. Reclining her head on the seat, she cried her heart out to the Lord Jesus. As she was pouring out her woes to the Lord, she felt a very gentle Hand lovingly caressing her head. As the

Hand caressed her, she felt waves of peace flooding her soul. When she lifted up her head, she saw the Lord Jesus seated on the chair and realized that she had actually laid her head on His laps. The Lord Jesus then told her, “My daughter, weep not.” After saying those words, He disappeared. Soon after, the woman’s problems were solved, one after another.

The Lord God is He who hears prayers (Ps. 65:2) and desires to commune and communicate with His people.

Sadhu Sunder Singh and an Angel Corssing the River

When the Sadhu reached the foothills of Mount Kailash he chanced upon some nomads who were making their way around with their flocks. He asked them for directions to the nearest village in the locality. The nomads, fearing and disliking his presence in their midst, misguided him deliberately. They pointed this strange looking foreigner who looked anything but Tibetan to a dangerous forest path that led nowhere. A total stranger to the area, the Sadhu followed their ill advice to the letter and headed in the direction they indicated.

Miles slipped by without the sight of any village. Night was sweeping down like a thick blanket upon the whole Tibetan plateau. The Sadhu came to a halt before the bank of a river. There was no other way for him to turn to. Chills began running up and down his body as the howling cries of wild animals in the forest filled the frigid air. He made some bold attempts to cross the river but failed miserably. Settling himself down on the banks, the weary traveler was near to tears.

Resting his head on arms folded across knees drawn to his chest, the Sadhu began to weep. He felt the full weight of misery in his sorry predicament. After a little while, he thought he heard a man’s voice. Lifting his eyes he saw a man seated across the river and warming himself by a fire. This was strange. He did not see anyone in the vicinity when he first got to the bank. The man motioned to the Sadhu: “Don’t worry! I am coming to help you!” 

Sadhu Sundar Singh was so relieved. Someone in the local area, he thought, had come to help him. The Sadhu was amazed to note how fearlessly his rescuer swam across the swift flowing river. When the man reached the bewildered Sadhu, he said: “Sit tightly and still on my shoulder and do not fear!” The Sadhu carefully balanced himself on the stranger’s broad shoulders. The heroic good Samaritan, now saddled with the lanky Sadhu on his back, was about to challenge the fierce river once more.

Sitting astride those strong shoulders, the Sadhu marveled at the impossible sight. The river had proved too much for him. Yet this stranger was cutting across the river like knife on butter with him on his back. Such an impossible act could only be conceivable if the supernatural strength somehow came out of a heart of incredible kindness. Here was a local native who must have done such extraordinary acts of kindness and bravery many times over. The Sadhu thought to himself that as soon as they reached the other side of the bank he would share the gospel with the stranger.

Safely across, the stranger helped the Sadhu gently off his shoulders. Walking up the bank a few steps, the Sadhu turned around to thank the stranger. Alas! Wonder of wonders! The stranger was no longer there. Neither was the fire. The mysterious man and his fire had simply vanished! The Sadhu gasped in astonishment. He suddenly realized that God had sent His rescuing angel. Dropping to his knees, he quickly offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God.

Happiness in Giving Than Receiving

 

This story is about a beautiful, rich, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that, she felt, her whole life was empty and worthless; it had no meaning, after her husband passed away.

She became all alone in the big house. All these German Cars, House, Expensive Furniture, French Cutlery, French Perfume, Persian Carpet, Imported Piano are just useless objects to her.

After a long thinking, she decided to do something about it.

Then next question was what to do now. So the lady went to visit a counselor to seek permanent and long-lasting happiness.

The counsellor called over an old lady who cleaned the office floors. The counsellor then said to the rich lady "I'm going to ask Mary here to tell you how she found happiness. All I want you to do, is listen to her."

So the old cleaning lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story: "Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed in a car accident. I had nobody... I had nothing left. I couldn't sleep, I couldn’t eat, I never smiled at anyone, I even thought of taking my own life.

Then one evening, a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in.

I got it some milk, and the kitten licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg and for the first time, in months, I smiled.

Then I stopped to think, if helping a little kitten could make me smile, may be doing something for people could make me happier.

So the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed. Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy.

Today, I don’t know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do. I’ve found happiness, by giving it to others."

When the rich lady heard that, she cried. She had everything that money could buy, but she had lost the things which money cannot buy.

The beauty of life does not depend on how happy you are; it depends on how happy others can be because of you.

Later that lady became a President of a Philanthropic Organization, in Dallas, Texas. Now the lady is busy serving people and finding eternal happiness".