Arnold Schwarzenegger Leaves the Audience SPEECHLESS | One of the Best Motivational Speeches Ever

Summary

Arnold Schwarzenegger takes the audience through his journey of success, emphasizing the importance of having a clear vision and disregarding naysayers. Born in post-war Austria, Arnold was determined to live a life beyond what his parents envisioned. Inspired by American documentaries and bodybuilding icons, he embarked on a journey that led him to becoming a bodybuilding champion, a Hollywood star, and the Governor of California. Schwarzenegger highlights that having a concrete goal makes challenges enjoyable and underscores that no dream is impossible. His story serves as a testament to perseverance, hard work, and the power of belief.

Highlights

• Arnold’s journey began in Austria post-WWII, where he realized he was destined for more than a farmer's life. 🇦🇹
• A documentary about America sparked his dream to live a life beyond Austria’s countryside. 🗽
• Bodybuilding legend Reg Park inspired young Arnold to become a champion and a movie star. 🏆
• At 20, he became the youngest Mr. Universe, proving the power of having a specific goal. 🌍
• Arnold’s entrance into films began with 'Hercules in New York,' which wasn't successful, but he persisted. 🎥
• Conan the Barbarian turned his 'disadvantages' (physique, accent) into Hollywood assets, leading to the blockbuster Terminator. 🤖
• Despite his critics, Arnold successfully transitioned to politics, becoming the Governor of California. 🏛️

Key Takeaways

• Vision is everything. Having a clear goal beats wandering aimlessly any day. 👀
• Don't let naysayers wear you down. Turn 'impossible' into 'I'm possible.' 💪
• Passion makes hard work enjoyable. Love what you do, even if it means sweating it out. 🏋️
• Perseverance is key. Whether in bodybuilding or politics, keep pushing forward. 🔥
• Turn weaknesses into strengths. Arnold’s accent and physique, once seen as barriers, became his strong suits in Hollywood. 🎬

Overview

Arnold Schwarzenegger's motivational speech resonates with anyone who has a dream. Born in the throes of post-war Austria, young Arnold was restless. He wasn’t willing to settle for the conventional path his parents laid out for him. Inspired by American pop culture and the larger-than-life persona of bodybuilders like Reg Park, Arnold pulled himself out of a small-town mindset and cast his sights on something extraordinary.

Schwarzenegger stresses the indispensable need for a vision. At a young age, he pinned down his aspirations — to become a bodybuilding champion, a famous actor, and even a political figure. With unwavering focus and relentless hard work, Arnold achieved what many deemed impossible. His life story is a narrative of grit, determination, and the sheer will to defy societal constraints.

Arnold’s journey is punctuated by the naysayers he encountered. Whether it was his physique or distinct accent being ridiculed, Schwarzenegger saw potential where others saw deficits. His advice is timeless: ignore the doubters, fuel passion with purpose, and remember that the only limits are those you set for yourself. His career, spanning diverse fields, serves to remind us that with vision and effort, the sky is indeed the limit.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Vision for Success This chapter emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision for success. The speaker, born in 1947 in Austria, shares that without a vision or a goal, individuals tend to drift without purpose and may not achieve the success they seek. The narrative suggests that having a defined vision is foundational for anyone aspiring to be successful.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Early Life and Inspiration from America The narrator discusses their dissatisfaction with life in Austria growing up and their eagerness to leave. Despite their parents' wishes for them to stay and lead a conventional life, the narrator had a different vision for themselves, feeling destined for something greater and more unique.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Discovery of Bodybuilding and Reg Park The chapter titled 'Discovery of Bodybuilding and Reg Park' begins with the author's childhood experience at the age of 11 when he watched a documentary about America. The visual imagery of the huge skyscrapers, high rises, expansive bridges, and wide freeways captivated him. This striking contrast to his environment made him aspire to live in America, moving away from the small farmhouses and buildings of his surroundings. His journey reflects an early sense of ambition fueled by the American dream.
• 01:30 - 02:00: The Importance of Goals and Vision The chapter discusses the significance of having clear goals and a vision in life. It begins with a personal anecdote from the narrator's experience in Graz, where they discovered a bodybuilding magazine featuring Reg Park, a three-time Mr. Universe and Hercules actor. This encounter inspired the narrator, providing them with a blueprint for their life and setting the goal of becoming a bodybuilding champion.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Bodybuilding Achievements and Purpose The chapter discusses the narrator's admiration for Reg Park and his aspirations to enter the movie industry and achieve fame and wealth similar to Park's. The narrator expresses the satisfaction and relief of having a clear direction and goal in life, which is to become a bodybuilding champion. The focus is on the contrast between the narrator's certainty of purpose and the uncertainty experienced by many others.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Vision and Success in Politics The chapter "Vision and Success in Politics" discusses the importance of having a clear goal or vision and how it can make achieving success feel easier. The speaker shares a personal anecdote from his bodybuilding days when others questioned his dedication and consistent enthusiasm during intense workouts. His reply emphasizes that having a vision, like aiming for the Mr. Universe title, provided him with motivation and a positive mindset. This overarching theme can be related to success in politics, where having a clear vision facilitates progress and achievement.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Rule #1: Have a Vision The chapter emphasizes the importance of having a vision and how each effort contributes to turning that vision into reality. The narrator expresses enthusiasm for physical exercises like squats, bench presses, and sit-ups, demonstrating that every repetition and every set brings them closer to their goals. The narrative also mentions a significant event at the age of 20, when they traveled to London, emphasizing the forward momentum in achieving their vision.
• 05:30 - 06:30: Rule #2: Don't Listen to Naysayers The chapter titled 'Rule #2: Don't Listen to Naysayers' emphasizes the importance of setting and visualizing goals to achieve success. The speaker shares their experience of aiming to become the youngest Mr. Universe, highlighting that having a clear purpose and going after it makes the journey enjoyable. The chapter underscores the necessity of having a purpose in life, especially considering that a significant portion of people (74%) in America dislike their job.
• 07:00 - 07:30: Overcoming Criticism in Acting The chapter titled 'Overcoming Criticism in Acting' emphasizes the importance of having a clear goal in one's career, particularly in acting. It reflects on how many people find themselves in jobs they are not passionate about because they did not set clear goals and instead drifted aimlessly. This is contrasted with the minority who truly enjoy their work, suggesting that aligning one's career with personal passions and ambitions is key to finding fulfillment and overcoming criticism in acting.
• 07:30 - 08:30: The Value of Hard Work and Perseverance The chapter discusses the importance of having a clear vision and knowing what you want to achieve in life. It highlights the value of hard work and perseverance in reaching one's goals, using examples such as a medical student who studies diligently to become a doctor. The speaker reflects on their personal experience in politics, where they had a clear vision to lead California, acknowledging the limitations they faced, such as not being born in America.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Leaves the Audience SPEECHLESS | One of the Best Motivational Speeches Ever Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 i'm here to talk about success [Music] the first rule of success is to have a vision you see if you don't have a vision of where you go and if you don't have a goal where you go you drift around and you never end up anywhere i mean as you know i was born in 1947 in austria after the second world war so i was very fortunate that i stumbled under my vision
• 00:30 - 01:00 and i didn't really like austria when i grew up i couldn't wait to get out of there i couldn't see myself becoming a farmer or a worker in a factory or anything like that even though my parents wanted me to stay there and have a normal life but that was their vision not mine my vision was totally different i felt that i was born for something special for something unique for something big then one day i went to school i remember
• 01:00 - 01:30 was 11 years old and they showed a documentary about america there they showed this documentary the huge skyscrapers the high rises the huge bridges the six lane freeways and all of this stuff in this emissive that's where i want to be [Music] i don't want to be around here with these little farm houses and these little buildings i want to be in america one day after school i walked by a store
• 01:30 - 02:00 in graz so i went inside and i looked around and then i saw a magazine there's a bodybuilding magazine that had reg park on the cover reg park was then a three-time mr universe and i saw him on the big screen as hercules i read that and i said to myself wow this is the blueprint for my life this is exactly what i want to do i want to become a bodybuilding champion
• 02:00 - 02:30 just like rage park i want to get into movies just like rich park and i want to make millions of dollars and be rich and famous just like reg park do you know how great it felt that i knew where i was going imagine the majority of people don't know where they're going i knew where i was going that i'm going to become this bodybuilding champion just like him so it was just a question of how do you do it i was so relieved
• 02:30 - 03:00 because when you have a goal when you have a vision everything becomes easy so people always ask me when they saw me in the gym in the pumping iron days they say why is it that you're working out so hard five hours a day six hours a day and you have always a smile on your face and i told people all the time i said because to me i'm shooting for gold in front of me is the mr universe title
• 03:00 - 03:30 so every rep that i do gets me closer to accomplishing that chord to make this core this vision turn into reality every single set that i do every repetition every weight that i lift will get me a step closer to turn the score in the reality so i couldn't wait to do another 500 pound squat i couldn't wait to do another 500 pound bench press i couldn't wait to do another 2 000 reps of sit-ups i couldn't wait for the next exercise with the age of 20 i went to london and
• 03:30 - 04:00 i wanted to miss the universe contest as the youngest mr universe ever and it was because i had a goal [Applause] so let me tell you something visualizing your goal and going after it makes it fun you've got to have a purpose no matter what you do in life you've got to have a purpose [Music] 74 percent hate their job in america
• 04:00 - 04:30 now there's not much different when you come to europe the majority of people don't like what they're doing because they're really not doing it because they didn't have a goal and they followed the score they just aimlessly drift around and then all of a sudden if there's a job opening so they get their job because you have to work but then when you work it's a chore it's work it's not fun so if you think about only a quarter of the people really enjoy
• 04:30 - 05:00 what they're doing in life that is unbelievable if you think about it so i felt so blessed that i knew what i was doing it's like a medical student that studies and knows he wants to become a doctor you know where to go and the same thing is also in politics i remember that in politics i had a very clear vision [Music] that i will be the leader of california this is as far as i could go because i was not born in america so i could not
• 05:00 - 05:30 run for president so being the governor of the fifth largest state of i should say the largest state the fifth largest economy in the world was for me really the ultimate title the ultimate accomplishment in politics so even though people came up to me and says why don't you go and run for something smaller you're never gonna make it i ran for governor and then two months later i became governor of the state of california
• 05:30 - 06:00 again because i had a very clear vision what i'm gonna do with california [Applause] so that's rule number one have a vision rule number two is don't listen to the naysayers don't listen to the naysayers everything i ever did the thing that they heard out of people's mouth was that's impossible
• 06:00 - 06:30 [Music] that can't be done or no that is exactly what i heard and of course i proved to the people that it can't be done so whenever someone said to me it can't be done i heard it can be done when they said no i heard yes and when they said it's impossible i heard it is possible i'm a strong believer what nelson mandela said
• 06:30 - 07:00 that everything is always impossible until someone does it well i'm gonna be the one who said to myself i'm gonna do it and i'm gonna show it to them maybe it has never been done before that's perfectly fine with me but i'm gonna do it and i did not listen to the naysayers it's all about the hard work that you put in i said i must have been bodybuilding i worked out five six hours a day i'm gonna do the same thing now for acting
• 07:00 - 07:30 and of course i went to college to study english i studied the accent removal acting classes and all of this stuff all day long i worked and i worked in the work [Music] and within a short period of time i made one movie called hercules in new york which of course went right into the toilet but it didn't discourage me i still had
• 07:30 - 08:00 the same vision and then all of a sudden i did streets of san francisco i did stay hungry and pumping on and the villain and then all of a sudden i was asked by dino de laurentiis at the universal studio to star in conan the barbarian and after i did conan the barbarian the director at the press conference said to the press the director was john millius
• 08:00 - 08:30 he said to the press if we wouldn't have had arnold we would have had to build one so think about that the very body that they said can never be sold because the time is wrong a few years later i'm doing conan the barbarian and it was the number one hit at the box office when it came out in the summer of 82. think about that and the director says
• 08:30 - 09:00 if we wouldn't have had his body we would have had to build one so all of a sudden my body became an asset not a liability and the same thing was with terminator after we were finished filming terminator jim cameron said to the press if arnold wouldn't have had that accent and talked like a machine i think the movie wouldn't have worked so think about that the body and the accent that they attacked was an asset
• 09:00 - 09:30 but i didn't listen to those losers i didn't listen to them at all it's just the reality of it is that you cannot listen to the naysayers so this is a very important lesson for all of you so when someone says no this is a stupid idea you in your mind you don't have to say but your mind to say this of you you saw what do you know [Applause]
• 09:30 - 10:00 [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]
• 10:00 - 10:30 you