Weighing Arnold

He's baaack- Picture courtesy of Simon & Schuster

by blogSpotter

This week, I'm listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger's memoir, Total Recall -- abridged version. I have to say, it's a success story like very few others. His life is fascinating and covers a lot of territory; I'll try to condense it some. I'm only about 2/3 through it, so the shenanigans with the maid aren’t covered here...

Arnold was born in a small Austrian village right after World War II. His father was a police chief and part-time band leader. He was also a former Nazi officer although there were no ties to death camps or particularly nasty Nazi-related affairs. The Schwarzeneggers lived a very humble existence in an old house that lacked flush toilets or running water. Arnold was buoyant, cocky and athletic from day one -- his poor family could hardly deter him.

Arnold became infatuated with body building from looking at a few muscle magazines and seeing Tarzan movies in nearby Gratz. He began body-building in earnest at age 14 and made his way into central European contests that were hosted in Munich. At this point, Arnold’s career took an improbable trajectory that was made possible by his incredible sunny attitude and unbelievable self-confidence.

Arnold made these promises to himself at a young adult age -- he kept every one of them:

• I will be a millionaire by age 30 
• I will win the Mr. Universe and Mr. World bodybuilding competitions 
• I will be not only a Hollywood actor, I will be a top-paid lead actor 
• I will become a naturalized American citizen and run for public office 
• I will marry a beautiful Kennedy woman 

Some of these, he trounced. He won Mr. Universe 6 times and became the face of the body building industry. His net worth is easily $200 million. Most of these achievements were under his belt (except for Kennedy in-law and governor) by the early 80’s when he starred in Conan the Barbarian. Arnold’s combination of naiveté and hubris is astounding. As an actor starting out, he was offered good roles as bouncers, hit-men and tough guys in various movies. Most starving actors would’ve jumped on any of them. Arnold said, “No -- these roles don’t fit my star-to-be stature”.

Danged if he wasn’t right. I’m reminded of the Miami real estate agent who got his houses to sell by raising the prices. Whatever works, and it definitely worked for Arnold. In one small passage, Arnold explains that most people worry, fret and over-think things. We’re all paralyzed with fear of doing and fear of failure. Arnold says that he likes (even still) to jump into activities with both feet and face down problems later. Obviously, with the family maid bearing his illegitimate son, there are some exceptions to that rule even for a fearless dare devil.

One more thing struck me -- and this may foretell that Arnold wasn’t just a dumb hunk. When he had his first successes selling weight equipment and appearing in movies like Stay Hungry, Arnold did a smart thing. He bought an 8-unit apartment complex in LA and became the landlord. Lesser humans would’ve bought a Malibu pad and a Porsche. I still am not a Republican and would diverge from some of Arnold’s ideas, but I have to say his memoir is fascinating. The man is impressive and it’s way more than muscles that impress.

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