https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1203694351/arnold-schwarzenegger-has-one-main-guiding-principle-be-useful

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Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about his self-help book 'Be Useful'
Champion bodybuilder, Hollywood superstar, Governor of California --
Arnold Schwarzenegger offers a few pieces of advice about living a
successful life in his new book Be Useful.

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Books

Arnold Schwarzenegger has one main guiding principle: 'Be Useful'

October 6, 20235:12 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition

By 

A Martinez headshot

A Martinez

, 

Reena Advani

Reena Advani

, 

Phil Harrell

Arnold Schwarzenegger has one main guiding principle: 'Be Useful'

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[arnoldschw]
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Arnold Schwarzenegger Michael Schwartz/Penguin Random House hide
caption

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Michael Schwartz/Penguin Random House

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Michael Schwartz/Penguin Random House

Champion bodybuilder. Hollywood superstar. Governor of California.

Not a bad resume.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has achieved more than most of us could ever
hope to. And he's sharing some of his secrets to success in his new
book Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life.

Morning Edition host A Martinez spoke with Schwarzenegger about his
latest project.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

A MARTINEZ

When did becoming useful become something that you thought was
important?

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Well, I think that ever since my father stressed when I was a kid to
be useful. I think it had an impact on me, and it stayed with me as a
method, so much so that I always wanted to perform and do more. It
became such a big part of my life that even when I sleep in -
sometimes past 6:00 in the morning - I feel guilty because I hear my
father's voice saying, "Arnold, that's not how this country was
built, by sleeping in. Be useful, do something. What are you doing
today?" And so, you know, I think that it just stayed with me.

A MARTINEZ

But even at that young of an age, you understood what that meant. You
understood a deeper meaning of what being useful meant.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Well, let's assume for a second I didn't know what it meant. My
father would make sure that I knew. Just to give you an example, I
was studying bodybuilding at the age of 15, and my father would say,
"Why are you lifting these dumbbells and barbells? Don't you think it
would be better to just go out and chop some wood and shovel some
coals for some poor people that don't have anyone?" It was common in
those days: neighbor kids would go and do that kind of chore for
older people so that when the fall comes, they have it for the
winter.

I looked up to this famous boxer by the name of Laszlo Papp. He's a
Hungarian boxer, European champion, and he trains by chopping wood.
And so, "Why couldn't YOU chop wood? And then therefore, you would
get muscles, you get strong, get great energy, you will look great.
But at the same time, you're doing something useful. You're doing
something for somebody rather than just for yourself and looking in
the mirror." So he would make sure that you knew what being useful
meant.

A MARTINEZ

Is being useful the same as not being useless?

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Well, it's more proactive. I mean, being useful is not just hanging
back and making mistakes. It's going out and using your energy and
your time for something good, which means for yourself but also and
always to think about other people. I think that we have to be aware
of the fact that we are creations by a lot of people. We are not
self-made. I hate when someone says, "Oh, Schwarzenegger is the
perfect example of a self-made man" because I'm not. I'm a creation
of my parents. I'm a creation of my coaches, my teachers. I have been
helped by my training partners, by my friends. Especially when I
think about coming to America, it was Joe Wheeler that helped me to
come over here, got me the airline ticket, helped me get the
apartment and the car. The people of California voted for me to be
governor of California. So I didn't become governor because I'm
self-made; I became governor because people voted for me.

A MARTINEZ

But it was a compliment. I mean, I think people meant it as a
compliment that you were able to motivate yourself to accomplish
these things.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it is a compliment, but it is very
important to let people know: I really appreciate you saying that,
but I'm a creation of all of this help.

I would not have done Twins if it wouldn't have been for Ivan
Reitman. I would not have been able to do Conan the Barbarian if it
wouldn't have been for John Milius. So there's so many people that
helped me. And the reason why that is important, that we recognize
that we are creations of people's help, is because that makes us then
understand that we are responsible for going out and helping other
people, that it is not a one-way street. You know, people help us to
get to be where we are today, and therefore I now have the
responsibility to go out and help other people to become successful.

A MARTINEZ

Well, just how wide of a scope, then, does being useful need to be?
Because I can imagine for you, I think you probably have to feel
useful to a lot [more] people than I would. I mean, if I feel useful
to my grandkids or to my wife, I feel pretty good about the day.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

I think that it really depends on you how far you want to go with
that. One thing we know for sure: the majority of people really don't
feel like they're useful enough or they are successful enough. And
this is what this book is all about: Be Useful is to give people the
tools. How can they go and become more useful? How can they become
more successful? How can they become happier with their lives, their
jobs and everything that they are doing?

You have to understand that no matter what we do, there's someone
there that can help you with that. If I want to go and learn how to
ski, I take ski lessons. If I want to learn about bodybuilding, I'll
go and get a fitness instructor. But there's really no one that
provides usually the tools to success. I think what this book does is
basically just say, look, here are some tools that I've used in my
life. And the reason why I've become so successful in so many
different areas is because I follow those rules and I applied those
rules.

A MARTINEZ

So, for example, last year when you put out that video calling out
Russia's misinformation campaign -- and also telling Russia to stop
the war in Ukraine -- were you just expressing an opinion or were you
trying to be useful?

YouTube

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Both. Both to let the Russian soldiers and the Russian people know
that this is an unjust war that is not provoked. There was no one
there challenging Russia. This was a peaceful country, Ukraine, and
they were minding their own business. All of a sudden, they're
getting attacked. So that is not right. I think that we have to speak
out because something's wrong, to help them to understand it -- and at
the same time to let people know around the world how I feel about
it. It was just my opinion and also trying to be useful at the same
time.

But, you know, this is not what this book is about. It's just really
helping people to go to the next level when it comes to success. What
I wanted to do is just let people know you don't have to have a job
that you hate. If you take some time and create a vision for yourself
and create a goal for yourself -- and then chase that goal no matter
how difficult it may be -- life becomes kind of fun. Because to me, my
life was always a lot of fun, even though I struggled a lot and I was
battling it out, losing a lot of the battles and then winning some.
It was always interesting and spicy and exciting because I knew what
I was chasing all the time -- to become Mr. Universe, or becoming the
greatest bodybuilder in the world, or coming to America, or getting
into movies and becoming a leading man, or running for governor. It
doesn't matter what it is. It was always a fun chase.

A MARTINEZ

You mentioned losing some battles. Which battles did you lose? I
think when people think of your life, they think that almost anything
you've tried, you've been a success.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Well, maybe it was successful in the end, but to get there... One of
the things I talk about is to not be afraid of failure. Because
you're going to fail. When I was 19 years old, I was competing in the
Mr. Universe contest and I lost. I came second. It was no big drama
because I was hoping to be in the top six, but I came second so it
was terrific. When I came to America, I lost the Mr. Olympia
competition against Sergio Oliva. I lost one of the Mr. Universe
contests in America against Frank Zane. I remember I lost
power-lifting championships, weightlifting championships. I had
movies that went in the toilet. I had policy issues and referendums
that went in front of the people that I lost. There was a lot of
things.

And of course, in my personal life, you know, my marriage is a big
loss and this is a big failure. So there's a lot of losses and
failures that I've had in the past in my life. And I think that it is
important that we recognize that. But no matter what it is, I always
had an exciting life and always chased something, and that made the
whole thing worth it.

So many people -- young people especially -- when you ask them what do
you want to do in life, they look at you kind of like the deer in the
headlights and just don't know what to say. To me, that is a big
problem, because I always felt that I was enriched by the fact that I
always knew where I was going.

And then there were some things that were unexpected, like running
for governor. That was something that kind of unfolded only because
there was a recall election in California.

A MARTINEZ

You had the opportunity.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

All of a sudden, I had this vision: me being governor. And so I
chased that vision. Going from promoting Terminator 3 and being this
huge hit to all of a sudden going the other direction and saying, "I
want to be a public servant." It was fun to chase that. I had this
exact vision. I knew exactly what to say to the people and how to
sell that idea, how to market myself, how to promote myself. I think
this is the important thing: there's so many people that think small.
They set a goal for themselves -- a small goal because they're afraid
to fail. And I tell people, don't be afraid to fail.

A MARTINEZ

Wait a second, YOU can have big goals. I think most people have to be
happy with small goals in their lives. I don't think they can aspire
to the things you can aspire to.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

No, because remember: when I was 15 years old, I was this ordinary
Austrian boy, just like everyone else. I always had this dream that I
want to be another Reg Park - a Mr. Universe who then did Hercules
movies. So he became my idol. I wanted to win, like him, Mr. Universe
several times and then be discovered in Hollywood. He was a fellow
from England, from Leeds, from a factory town. I come from a factory
down. Why could I not do that?

So I right away had a big vision to be like Reg Park (or to be Steve
Reeves, an American version of Hercules). So, friends of mine wanted
to be Mr. Austria; I right away thought of Mr. Universe, winning the
world championship.

I remember when I was getting into movies, they said to me, maybe we
can get you a job to play, maybe with your German accent, the Nazi
officer. Or a bouncer or something like that. I mean, that's not what
I wanted to do. I said I want to be a leading man. I right away shot
for the big goal. And yes, it was riskier. It's very hard to climb
the ladder. I said, forget about climbing the ladder -- I'm going to
create my own ladder and I'm going to climb that.

Now I'm going to show people how to do it.

A MARTINEZ

When it comes to having a clear vision, that's the first rule in your
in your book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life. How do you get rid of
the clutter to be able to have that clear vision? Because so much
clutters up our lives.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

That's the key thing. You cannot go create a vision if your face is
in the iPhone or iPad or the computer. That is not what creates a
vision. That maybe makes you copy someone else, but it doesn't create
a vision of something that you're really in touch with, that you feel
like, I need to do this. I'm born to be this artist. I'm born to be a
mechanic. I'm born to create my own garage and build muscle cars or
whatever it may be. Everyone has something in them that makes them
really want to go all out on something. You just need to apply those
rules. Don't shoot for something small, shoot for something big.
Don't be afraid of failure.

The key thing is: you work your ass off. One of the things that I
know now being 76 years old: everything is directly related to work.
The more you work your ass off, the further you're going to go. If
you look for shortcuts, it's not going to happen. I've seen people in
bodybuilding try to look for shortcuts. They never made it. I've seen
it in acting. They have not made it. Everyone that was willing to
work hard was able to make it and to become successful.

Selling yourself, selling your ideas, selling your vision is another
very important part of this whole success formula. You have to
convince people. You have to kind of communicate well. I mean,
imagine when I was Governor of California and I said we have to
reduce our greenhouse gases by 25% by the year 2020. Well, it was a
great idea, but I now have to go and convince 40 million people in
California that this is very important, that pollution kills people.
We've got to have more renewable energy in California. We got to get
rid of fossil fuels. We got to keep our nuclear reactors and nuclear
power and blah, blah, blah, noise. And the people went along. The
people went along because I sold the thing while I promoted it well,
I marketed it well, I was communicating well. All of this is
important in order to be successful.

The other one that I always tell people: let's do less talking and
more listening. I have a chapter that says, shut your mouth and open
your mind. It's very important because I think that if you always
just talk, talk, talk, talk, you're not going to learn anything. The
way you learn is if you just shut your mouth and listen to other
people talk. Yes, you have to talk and yes, you have to communicate.
But be aware that listening is really what makes you smart.

When I went into the capitol in Sacramento, I did a lot of listening
because I had to learn very quickly about the various different
policies, the various different issues. I mean, you go from one
minute about prison guards' overtime, then you talk about the
firefighters and talk about law enforcement. They talk about the
nurses, the teachers. They talk about the crime. You're dealing with
so many different subjects that from morning to night, it's better if
you listen. Then if you sit down by yourself, without having the
computers and the iPhone/iPads, that's how you get to be successful.

A MARTINEZ

The last tool in your book is called Break Your Mirrors. What does
that mean, break your mirrors?

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

This is a saying that comes from my father-in-law [Sargent Shriver].
My father-in-law gave a speech at Yale University, a commencement
speech, and there he said to the students: Break that mirror that
makes you always look at yourself. And you will be able to look
beyond that mirror and you will see the millions and millions of
people that need your help.

My father-in-law was one of my idols. He created the Job Corps and
the Peace Corps, legal aid to the poor and all of these various
different organizations. And he was always out there trying to find
something to help the less fortunate. He was also the chairman of the
Special Olympics, and his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver created the
Special Olympics. They always worked on helping the people that
needed help. So to me, that saying said it all: we should not be
consumed about ourselves. Yes, you have to deal with yourself. You
have to build itself. But don't ever think that this is the only
responsibility you have. You have the responsibility to break the
mirror and to look beyond yourself and see the millions of people
that need your help. And to go out and help, giving back to the
community, giving back the city, to your state, your country is the
ultimate that you have to do. And everyone has the ability to give
back something. If you have no money, you can give your time to the
kids -- in reading or in English or to collect clothes so that
homeless people can go to job interviews. There's so many simple
things that we can do to help the community.

I got addicted to it because I started working with Special Olympics
and helping Special Olympians, you know, train with weights and then
go into powerlifting. It felt so good to be able to help kids that
normally are not included, not getting equal rights. Then I started
getting caught up with the President's Council of Physical Fitness
for President Bush. [I] travelled through all 50 states to promote
health and fitness and exercising in the schools. And it just one
thing led to the next, and eventually I ran for governor.

It just feels so good to give something back. I think that this is
without any doubt the greatest country in the world. And I always
want to tell people that, you know, to me, giving something back was
absolutely a necessity because of everything that I have ever
achieved was because of America. And so to me, to give back to
America is the greatest kind of honor and pleasure.

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