Many people think they need to come up with everything on their own and be the first to do something, like a sort of Christopher Columbus. You save yourself a hell lot of time and energy by learning from the ones that have already achieved what you are dreaming of.
I picked up reading again a few years ago. I started with fiction and things that calmed my mind. From that I went onto educational books, especially the ones that were relevant to my vision. They range from successful businessmen who have perfected time management and efficiency, to self-awareness and psychology books. I read it, take out the puzzle pieces that are useful to me and move on. I am not planning to build a multi-million dollar business and channel all my energy towards my finances (more the opposite if you do triathlon ha-ha!). I am however, finding great wisdom and knowledge in listening to a wide range of successful people. Success can also be living in a world of ‘minimalism’, which led me to throwing away half my closet of clothes, since I did not use them (it felt very freeing by the way, highly recommended!).
Today I want to talk about a man who defines success on more than one level:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sure, many people just think of him as the Terminator or Conan the Barbarian; leaving behind an image of raw muscle without brain behind it. If you dig deeper into his character or follow his development during his political career, you will quickly become aware that he is an extremely calculated, quick-witted character.
When Arnold was a young teenager, living in a poor economic environment in Austria after the second World War, he decided he wanted to get out of there. He saw a magazine of a bodybuilder, who became an action hero in movies afterwards. Arnold then had the opportunity to come to the US and pursue his dreams. He worked out 5 hours a day in the gym, took acting classes from 8pm to midnight every day and worked a physically demanding job on a construction site. We all know that his vision of being a bodybuilding champion, Hollywood movie star, producer, businessman, activist and serving as the 38th Governor of California from 2003-2011, became his reality.
When you read those stories, most of us (including me until a while back) identified these characters as outstanding dreamers, who come along every now and then. Something that we could never achieve and is so unfathomable that we do not even try. IRONMAN’s slogan of ‘Anything is possible’, is something we should read a bit more carefully and act accordingly, since that way of thinking will change your life entirely.
Luckily for us, the big biceped Arnold shared his five secrets to success with us. Here they come:
Find a Vision
This is the foundation to get you out of bed in the morning. If you do not have a clear vision, one big goal that keeps you going over long periods of time, you will not maintain that high workload demanded to get where you want to. Take some time for yourself, take a piece of paper and pen with you and dig deep inside of you. What is it really that you dream of achieving in life?
Think Big
Don’t you dare dream too small and settle for realistic goals. It has actually been proven, that we are much less likely to achieve our goal by reaching for something that is realistic and attainable. None of the great entrepreneurs and champions knew exactly HOW to get to that goal. You will figure that out along the way. Just write down that goal. From that, you break it down into small pieces, yearly, monthly, weekly, daily goals, ensuring you take a step towards your vision (as small as it may be) every single day! This will keep you going and focused.
Ignore the Naysayers
This is something I have realized only a while back, but it is so valuable towards reaching your vision. All of us will be surrounded by people who are trying to pull you back down from dreamland, to think within the bubble of realistic comprehension. We all know those friends that you do not see very often, due to living in different corners of the world, but within 10 minutes of catching up on life, you are back to being very close and connected friends. Those type of people will be the ones that elevate your game and vision. They will always want the best for you, never limit your thoughts and aspirations. You need to surround yourself with these kinds of people and cut out the ones that drag you down. Your vision will require a good piece of hard work and willpower to achieve. You cannot carry extra baggage that drags you down for no reason. Ignore them and surround yourself with positive, stimulating and happiness.
Work Your Ass Off
Now we are getting into the meat of things. As I wrote in my last blog post, ‘Doers and Dreamers’, we do want to become a ‘Doer’, someone that takes action towards what they want. No matter your vision, you will need to work hard for it. Nothing great ever came easy and you do not want it to come easy either. We are not doing this for the end result only, we want to enjoy the journey towards it. In my early days, I thought how great it would be to stand on a podium of a triathlon, but once I actually stood there, I realized it is 5 minutes of awkwardness and something that does not give me a lot of pleasure. It is something objective and you compare yourself to other people. This can be stimulating to some, but what gets me out of bed at 4 o’clock in the morning, is that I do not accept to waste one day where I do not work towards my vision. Each
of us is different, that is why you need to define step one of ‘Find a vision’ into detail. Prepare for the worst and be ready to work harder than ever before. This will come naturally once you have found your true vision.
Give Back and Change the World
I guess I naturally gravitated towards this from a younger age without realizing. I chose a professional career as a Physiotherapist after one year of self-discovery in the German Special Forces, the German Mountain Force, in South Germany. There I learned about the importance of relying on someone else and how good it feels to support others in dark times. As a Physiotherapist, I basically spend 8-10 hours a day giving all my energy away to other people. I had to learn to pace my efforts and divide up my energies in a work day, otherwise you end up completely empty at lunch time. I guess I am naturally a giver and I do want to stay that way, even if you get disappointed by people. I sit here with my cup of coffee, some relaxing beats in my ears, writing something down on my laptop, hoping that it might help and change some of your mindsets. I am by no means, a wise old man full of wisdom and knowledge. I have so much to learn still and I am excited to do so. I am just a young 28 year-old guy who seeks out to learn more every day. If some of that knowledge has the chance to help someone else, even one of you readers, great, it has already been worth it!
I hope you guys had some awesome days off with your loved ones.
Take your pen and piece of paper and start scribbling dreams!
Have an amazing week all of you,
Cheers,
Matti