Whatever it took to succeed .. I was willing to do it”

~Arnold Schwarzenegger

Throughout his life, Arnold Schwarzenegger had built his career by reinventing himself – from bodybuilder, to Hollywood superstar, to entrepreneur, to running the state of California. Arnold has shown the world that there is no height of success out of his reach. Arnold became a “prolific goal setter” and approached every objective in his life the same way – with relentless determination.  From the very outset, failure had never been an option for Arnold.

I have always loved walking into a room and meeting a person who has that defining “winning mentality” about them. It’s contagious. They are the ones who put 100% of their energy on seeing a goal towards completion, regardless of the pain they might have to endure to get there.

During a keynote presentation that Arnold made at the Speakers Forum in Toronto last month, he shared 12 rules that made up his personal blueprint to success.  I thought it would be worth sharing.

12 Rules to Success from Arnold Schwarzenegger

1. Trust yourself.  (go with your gut and believe in yourself)
2. Have intensity and hunger for what you do.
3. Have a clear vision (consistency with purpose)
4. Break the “Rules.” (people may say to you – this is the way it was done for years)
5. Hard work.
6. Turn your liabilities into assets (he mentioned his accent, strange name and body size at a time when Pacino and Woody Allen were the big stars)
7. Never be Afraid to Fail (he failed many times to win Mr. Universe before winning)
8. Work like Hell (he worked 2 or 3 jobs, went to school, took acting lessons and voice lessons-18 hours and slept 6 hours a day, repeat of rule #5)
9. Grow with a giving/sharing heart.
10. Use our talents to help others (Give back to your community).
11. Never try to change another’s life (Live one’s own to the fullest).
12. Have a rainy day fund

History shows that Arnold is definitely not a man to bet against, having time and time again reinvented himself and his public persona.  Arnold had tremendous belief in himself and refused to give in or waiver from his goals. He knew what he wanted, then went and got it, no matter what. According to Arnold, “the meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” Powerful stuff.

Arnold is now planning on returning to the silver screen. Exactly when, and playing who, no one knows yet, but one thing is for certain, he wins.