Schwarzenegger Success Secret
Schwarzenegger’s “vision” was to become the world champion in bodybuilding, which he believed would be his ticket to America. Once here he would become the world’s highest-paid movie actor and a successful businessman. Can you imagine how absurd this goal must have sounded spoken by a young man in a small Austrian village who didn’t speak English? He didn’t just dream big—he dreamed bigger than anybody else. “I refined this vision until it was very specific. I was going to go for the Mr. Universe title; I was going to break records in power lifting; I was going to Hollywood. The vision became so clear in my mind that I felt it had to happen,” he writes in Total Recall.
He actually pictured what it would feel like to stand on a pedestal and accept a trophy as the world’s top bodybuilder. Schwarzenegger says he believed in his vision so thoroughly, it actually gave him a sense of calm. After all, why should he be anxious about a competition that he had already won in his mind? “I believed 100 percent that I’d achieve my goal. I always feel that if I can see it and believe it, then I can achieve it.”
Schwarzenegger had advice—take small steps, work harder than anybody else, don’t listen to the naysayers, and have confidence in your ability to reach your goals. A close friend of Schwarzenegger told me that his confidence was ‘freaky.’ “He’s almost incapable of considering failure,” the friend said.
“When I was very young I visualized myself being and having what I wanted. Mentally I never had any doubts about it. The mind is really so incredible. Before I won my first Mr. Universe I walked around the tournament like I owned it. The title was already mine. I had won it so many times in my mind that there was no doubt I would win it. Then when I moved on to the movies the same thing happened. I visualized myself being a successful actor and earning big money. I could feel and taste the success. I just knew it would happen.”
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
