Arnold Schwarzenegger's Six Rules of Success.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s six rules of success speech. Edited down and with the best audio levels and quality. In addition I also transcribed the whole speech so you can read and follow along.
People ask me all the time, They say to me what is the secret to success?
The first rule is trust yourself. But what is most important is that you have to dig deep down. Dig down and ask yourselves “who do you want to be?”. Not what, but who. And I’m talking about not what your parents and teachers want you to be, but you! I’m talking about figuring out for yourselves what makes you happy. No matter how crazy it may sound to other people.
So rule number one is of course trust yourself no matter how and what anyone else thinks. And of course rule number two is break the rules. We have so many rules in life about everything. I said break the rules not the law, but break the rules. It is impossible to be a maverick or true original if you’re too well-behaved and not want to break the rules. You have to think outside the box that’s what I believe. After all what is the point of being on this earth if all you want to do is be like to everyone and avoid trouble. The only way that I ever got any place is by breaking some of the rules.
Which of course brings me to rule number three. Don’t be afraid to fail. Anything I’ve ever attempted I was always willing to fail. You can’t always win but don’t be afraid of making decisions. You can’t be paralyzed by fear or failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision. And you that know it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don’t be afraid to fail.
Which brings me to rule number four, which is don’t listen to the naysayers. I mean how many times have you heard that you can’t do this, and you can’t do that, and it has never been done before. As a matter of fact, I love it when someone says that no-one has ever done this before. Because when I do it, that means that I’m the first one that has done it. So pay no attention to the people who say that it can’t be done. I always listen to myself and said “Yes you can!”.
And that brings me to rule number five, which is the most important rule of all. Work your butt off. You never want to fail because you didn’t work hard enough. And I’ve always believed leaving no stone unturned. Mohammad Ali, one of my great heroes had a great line in the 70s when he was asked “How many sit ups do you do?”. He said “I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain because that’s what makes you a champion!”. That’s the way it is with everything. No pain, no gain. And let me tell you, it is important to have fun in life of course. But when you’re out there partying, horsing around. Someone out there at the same time is working hard, someone is getting smarter, and someone is winning. Just remember that. But if you want to win, there’s absolutely no way around hard, hard work. None of my rules by the way of success will work unless you do! I’ve always figured out that there’s 24 hours a day. You sleep six hours, and have 18 hours left. Now I know there are some of you out there now that say’s “Well wait a minute. I sleep eight hours or nine hours.” Well then just sleep faster I would recommend. Just remember, You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in the pocket.
And that takes me to rule number six. Which is a very important rule, it’s about giving back. Whatever path that you take in your lives, you must always find time to give something back. Something back to your community, give something back to your state, or to your country. Let me tell you something reaching out and helping people will bring you more satisfaction than anything else you’ve ever done.
Remember those six rules. Trust yourself, break some rules, don’t be afraid to fail, ignore the naysayers, work like hell, and give something back.
