By the thinkBIG Team
Arnold Schwarzenegger holds two Guinness Book of World Records entries: the first for the most perfectly developed physique, the second for the worst American accent. Strangely, although both acknowledgements are poles apart, they reflect the nature of his incredible success writes Jonathan Jackson.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's perfect physique came as the consequence of his desire to break free of the shackles of working class Austrian life; accepting the award for worst American accent meant he had fulfilled his dream of being an American.
Vital Stats
Name: Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger
Date of Birth: July 30, 1947 Birth Location: Graz, Austria
Height: 6' 2" (1.88 m)
Nicknames: Arnie, Austrian Oak, Conan, the Republican, The Governator, The Running Man
Married to: Maria Shriver
Degrees: 2002 Chapman University: Honorary Degree; 1996 University of Wisconsin: Honorary Degree
In a speech Arnold gave in 2001 entitled: The Education of an American, he outlined his life, career and most importantly the hit and miss elements of his goals, dreams and attitude that took him from a small farm community in Graz, to being known as the Austrian Oak, to becoming Hollywood's most bankable action to star to today being the Governor of California known for his shrewd economic management and humanitarianism.
Arnold likes to point out that post war Graz where he grew up was not all sunny hillsides and strudel.
"Strudel was a luxury. It was right after World War 2, and the country was absolutely devastated and destroyed. We had no flushing toilet in the house. No refrigerator. No television. What we did have was food rations – and we did have British tanks around to give us kids an occasional lift to the elementary school."
In spite of his tough upbringing, Arnold was never going to let background get in the way of forging forward.
"I used it to my advantage – to fuel the intense desire to get the hell out of there!" he says in his Education of an American speech. It's that desire that powered a very strong will in me."
The will to do something special was evident early on, as Arnold searched for a mentor who could lead him out of mediocrity and into the limelight. He set goals and mapped out a plan to achieve them; not wanting to follow in his policeman father's footsteps his goals were his own, befitting a man who sought to excel in his own passions.
Reg Park was Arnold's first mentor. The big Austrian didn't know the American from his own set of barbells, what he did know however, after scraping together a few pfennigs, was that Reg was a man who had graced the covers of international bodybuilding magazines as Mr Universe and was now starring as Hercules.
To fulfil his dream of becoming famous, the logical step for Arnold was to follow a similar path to Reg: bodybuilding would no doubt lead to movie stardom. So he sought Reg out.
"Reg was a dear friend, an extraordinary mentor and a personal hero. Other than my parents, there may be no single person who had more to do with me becoming the person I am today than Reg. He was like a second father to me. It was Reg who impressed upon me how hard I would have to work if I wanted to achieve my dreams. I'll always remember him making me do calf-raises with 1,000 pounds at 5 o'clock in the morning."
Each workout was one step closer to America. Doubts of failure lingered, but all through his career Arnold has stuck by the mantra that to succeed you must overcome your fears or spend your life frustrated and angry that you never took your shot. Strength of character and confidence comes with tackling the hurdles head on.
"The bottom line is: if you feel passionate about your goal – and it's what you really want – then you'll do whatever it takes to achieve it. No matter how much sweat, pain and sacrifice – no matter how many obstacles you have to break through – just don't ever say no."
Arnold also advocates surrounding yourself with people who believe in you and bring out the best in your abilities. He has had many doubters, including at times his own family, critics who told him he would never make it in Hollywood, politicians who laughed when he made his political intentions clear.
Yet for all his doubters, there have been supporters: director James Cameron who first cast Arnold as the Terminator and stood by him as his career blossomed. Then there's the republican party of 1999 who urged Arnold to move into politics earlier than he had even considered himself. More about that later.
Arnold's success is based on the principles of goal setting, never wavering from his plan of action, surrounding himself with people who believe in him and listening to his intuition.
When he arrived in America in 1968 with $20 to his name, could he ever have imagined that his box office takings would top over US$2 billion? Probably, he claims to have had a near furnished apartment within a week of landing, garnered by the generosity of the people he'd met in the gym.
No matter what you think of his films, or his current policies, there is no doubt Arnold has an infectious charm and has used it to his advantage.
He has held court with religious and political leaders, educators and community leaders; if his success was based purely on his standing in the community, he could retire a content man. Over the years, however, Arnold has come to realise that success is not what you know, or even who you know, but the ability to continue to learn beyond the belief that you might think you know everything.
"I didn't think about money. I thought about the fame, about just being the greatest. I was dreaming about being some dictator of a country or some saviour like Jesus."
He received a valuable lesson from his father in-law. When the sergeant said: "Break that mirror in front of you – that mirror that only let's you look at yourself. Break it, so you can look beyond! You'll see the rest of the world. You'll see people who need your help," Arnold knew that fame and success meant nothing if it was purely for personal gain.
From that day, Arnold has spent much of his time giving. He has set up community programs for kids, he sat on the President's Council for Physical Fitness, elected by President George Bush Snr in 1989 to travel the 50 States of America promoting fitness and sports programs in schools. He has, for a long time now, trumpeted the inspiration that comes from the Special Olympics. And he has seen the heartache of shattered American dreams for the millions of kids who can't break free of the shackles of family destitution.
For Arnold, it is these people who need the most help and it is their plight that sparked his trail toward governance.
"I used to think it was shameful or silly to need help. I was wrong about that. Now, I know it's stupid not to ask for it when you need it – and ridiculous not to appreciate it when you get it."
You might say Arnold is a Republican politician, with reformist values. Though he describes his childhood as financially lean he makes the point that he never went without parental support, an education or even a safe place to play.
"All this gave me a strong foundation, which gave me the confidence, which gave me the inner strength to believe in myself and know I could make it. And it worked," he says.
However, in his role as founder of the Inner City Games Foundation he has come to understand that not every child has the same significant level of support that he enjoyed.
There is a great deal of work that goes into running the foundation, including maintaining the support of local political and community leaders. It takes more effort than his other big personal project, The Arnold Classic, the biggest bodybuilding show in the world. And there is more meaning to this project. "While they have fun, the kids are learning discipline and diligence. In other words, they are learning how to succeed in life."
Co-operation and collaboration are major points in Arnold's political platform and in the way he has gone about his personal and professional business.
Not only has he had the Kennedy clan to draw political ideas from, but he lists Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, Milton Friedman and Les Wexner as his business mentors.
With these powerbrokers behind him, the logical step for Arnold was as a full fledged businessman or politician.
He's been successful in business and property. He says the lesson he learnt from being a part owner in Planet Hollywood was when to get out of a business.
His charm, charisma, his ability and willingness to learn, his star power and his political leanings attracted the Republican party as early as 1990, when President Bush turned him into an ambassador, but it wasn't until 2002 that he suggested there was some consideration.
In an interview with Talk Magazine, Arnold speculated when asked the political question, "I think about it many times. The possibility is there because I feel it inside. Could be."
At the time, ‘Arnie' was still ensconced in his movie career with three films in the works including blockbusters, Sixth Day and Terminator 3. Yet the Republican party was far from finished with him.
Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge said at the time: "I encouraged him to keep the possibility of public office open."
Five governors lobbied the action star to keep an open mind. Two years later, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took office of California.
And much like with his movie career, his businesses and real estate empire he has proved a deft hand. His handling of the California's bushfire crisis was widely praised. He has launched several initiatives to protect the Californian environment, including a low carbon fuel standard, renewable energy standard and Ocean Action Plan.
"California will not wait for our federal government to take strong action on global warming. We won't wait for the federal government. We will move forward because we know it's the right thing to do. We will lead on this issue and we will get other western states involved. I think there's not great leadership from the federal government when it comes to protecting the environment."
He continues to run office the same way he lives his life, which is no mean feat in political circles: ‘Don't listen to people who don't want you to succeed'.
He has worked to reform California's fiscal policies, create a better business environment and stimulate job growth. Between 2003 and 2007 California's Gross State Product had grown by 29%. However, as the economic crisis now bites, Arnold finds himself in the economically familiar political position of waning popularity and is unlikely to be re-elected. It is the fate of any politician in power when economic times are dour.
If he does find himself out of office, we may see him back on set, or he may even decide on a fourth career to exert his will and determination upon.
What we do know is that he will leave several legacies behind when he eventually retires, but what Arnold will most want to be remembered for is his humanity. Though he will always be the Terminator, movie success is what enabled him to give back. He has proved himself a generous philanthropist. In 2002, his support for proposition 49, the After-School Education & Safety Act garnered overwhelming support and as Governor he aggressively lobbied to increase school funding.
The icing on the cake for Arnold is being recognised as a humanitarian by the Simon Weisenthal Foundation for his support of the organisation's Holocaust studies. Arnold was also praised for returning three paintings confiscated by the Nazi regime to their rightful owners.
In 2002 he was given the esteemed honour of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, presented by his friend, Ali for his ongoing dedication to the Inner-City Games Foundation and Special Olympics. He could have been the untouchable mega-star, but to fulfil the American dream, Arnold has come to understand that humanity and generosity is what success really means.
