Reading Arnold's Schwarzennegar’s biography Total Recall, I gleaned that from an early age, Arnold knew that he wanted to be something special. Raised by poor parents in a small, post WWII town in Austria, options were all but limited. So how did a small town boy from Austria grow up to be Mr. Universe by age 20, become Mr. Olympus for 7 consecutive years, and then overcome his bad accent and lack of formal acting training to become a globally recognized actor and Hollywood legend? On top of that, how did he then bridge his acting career over into becoming the Governor of California? Not many people can boast such a successful resume.
We live in the same world as Arnold does. We were all kids with dreams, aspirations, and goals. But for most people, dreams are never met. So what is the fundamental difference between you and Arnold. Was he born with an innate gift to lift weights? Was he born a talented actor? Was he born an eloquent politician? No. But he was born with a brain, and he knew how to use it to get him everything he ever wanted in life by simply living by principles.
- Life is just reps and sets.
Arnold realized that the only way to get what he wanted was to earn what he wanted. So he became obsessed with lifting weights. He knew that bodybuilding could get him out of Austria and to America so he developed a clear vision of what he wanted to become and where he wanted to be, and took action. He befriended people who were interested in bodybuilding and jumped at every opportunity to gulp information down from anyone who was willing to help him. He decided to work every single day toward accomplishing his goals and achieving his vision. It took years of dedication and pain. But Arnold was highly motivated and was not going to let anything or anyone stand in the way of his dream. He did reps and sets and outworked his competition. He formed habits that were conducive with his vision and those habits became behaviors. He properly incentivized his brain to move toward what he wanted. Once he branched into the acting field he said that he had to learn how to memorize lines and learn the principles of acting. How did he do it? Sheer volume of practice. He simply outworked everyone he was competing with.
Let’s perform a thought experiment: You are sitting on your death bed looking back at your life. How do you want to feel? Accomplished? Loved? Impactful? Fulfilled? What regrets will you have?
Now think about your life right now and look back. Are there things that you have wanted to start, but compromised simply because, “Well that’s life?” We all fall victim to this sort of mentality that some things are, “just not feasible” or “out of our control”, so we compromise. However this is a flaw in our brain that can be explained by neuroscience. It’s a phenomenon called mis-weighting bias. Your brain is constantly make judgments about decisions it must make; subconsciously weighing the pros and cons and pushing your psyche toward perceived pleasure and away from perceived pain. We know that this is due to evolutionary mis-match so we must retrain the brain to be linked with habits that get us what we want. And to do this we must do.....
Reps and sets. Do something everyday, and do not quit no matter what. Make it a habit to work for what you want. Find joy in knowing that there are rules in life, and that to get what you want, you must deserve what you want. So start deserving it. Wake up ready to accomplish, and go to bed satisfied that you moved a little bit closer to deserving whatever it is you want. Invest in yourself and make your dreams a reality every single day.
Arnold wired his brain from an early age to find pleasure in working toward and reaching his goals. There was no pain associated with what he did. He famously has a quote that, “A pump was better than cumming.” That’s a whole new level of attributed pleasure paired with a habitual behavior.
- Live with the waking knowledge that you are not immortal; time is a finite resource.
We all will reach a point (hopefully) where we can look back at our life story. As the main character, author, director, producer, how your life story is told is solely up to you. So what will your story be? I think it is safe to say that when the day comes where Arnold is laying in his deathbed, he will be able to look back confidently and without self delusion say, “Look at everything I have accomplished. Look at the impact I made on the world.”
According to a recent poll the number one regret mentioned by individuals who were on their deathbed was this.
“I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
This is not surprising when we listen to a famous quote by Henry David Thoreau where he famously said, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation." Read that again.
With the knowledge that life is finite, and that time is the most precious resource, who will you choose to be? Like the masses full of regret, or like the legends who can boast a life well lived. What habits are you working on forming everyday to move toward the life you envision for yourself? What goals, dreams, aspirations are you working toward every single day move you to your vision? What are you doing to deserve the future you envision for yourself? No one becomes a success overnight. It takes dedicated action, focused vision, and strategic preparation to move forward.
Step by step you get ahead.
So here are some questions you can comment below.
What is something you have wanted to do/learn/experience that you have been putting off? (i.e. MAKING MONEY ON STEEMIT, learning an instrument, going to the gym, starting a business .)
What can you do today to start moving toward your goal?
What will it cost you if you decide to not pursue your life aspirations and end up like “the masses”?
Never Stop,
Gavin
picture credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated/comments/1pw934/arnold_schwarzenegger_conquer_image_saw_a/
http://www.imgrum.org/user/bicepbible/3034469774/1275479863553859054_3034469774
