TotalRecall – The Samurai Coach

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Austria. He got into bodybuilding when he was 15. Using bodybuilding as a career and passion, he made a huge success, popularized bodybuilding, and got into acting with many box office movies. He was elected to become the Governor of California in 2003.

Even when Arnold did not have enough money, he invested in real estate. Instead of buying a house, he bought rental properties which enabled him to live for free while the properties paid for itself.

Since childhood, Arnold thought of himself as special and unique. He never set out to become average Hans or Franz. He never wanted to become like everyone else. Being different is the Arnold Schwarzenegger way. He didn’t have the same body as everyone else, has unique accent, drove different cars as everyone else. Even his last name is not like everyone else.

The Arnold Schwarzenegger way:

Turn your liabilities into your assets. When Arnold wanted to get into movies, agents told him that his name, his body, and his accent were too weird. He worked on his accent as hard as bodybuilding to transform himself into a leading man.
When someone tells you NO, you should hear YES. The only way to make the possible possible is to try the impossible. If you fail, so what? It’s what everyone expects anyway. If you succeed, you make the world a much better place.
Never follow the crowd. Go where it’s empty. When everyone was buying a house, Arnold bought an apartment building. When every actor was trying to land a part in movies, Arnold held out to be the leading man. It’s easier to stand out when you aim for the top.
No matter what you do in life, selling is part of it. No matter what you do, the most important thing is to make people aware.

In addition, 10 rules Arnold followed to be successful:

Never let pride get in your way.
Don’t overthink. Your mind needs relaxing time in order to have energy when needed. Turning off the mind is an art.
Forget plan B. To test yourself and grow, you have to forget the safety net.
You can use outrageous humor to settle a score.
The day has 24 hours. When he was young in the USA, Arnold took classes, trained 5 hours, worked in construction, and did his homework.
Reps, Reps, Reps. No matter what you do in life, it’s either reps or mileages. If you have done your reps, you don’t have to worry when the actual event happens. Arnold wrote down his goals every time he came to practice. Each time he crossed off a goal, he felt a sense of accomplishment.
Don’t blame your parents.
Change takes big balls.
Take care of your body and your mind. “You have to build the ultimate physical machine but also the ultimate of the mind.” Arnold trained 5 hours everyday on his body and later on trained his mind by absorbing knowledge and reading. Clint Eastwood exercised even when he was directing and acting in a movie. Dmitri Medvedev when he was president of Russia worked out 2 hours everyday. The Pope in his sixties was known for getting up at five in the morning, reading newspapers in 6 different languages, doing 2 hundred pushups and 3 hundreds sit-ups before breakfast.
Stay hungry. Be hungry for success, hungry to make your mark, hungry to be seen and to be heard and to have an effect. As you become successful, be hungry for helping others.