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Jay Shetty Podcast

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER On How To Change The Trajectory of Your Life! ”I was unhappy with reality…”

Today we welcome Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-born bodybuilder, actor, businessman, philanthropist, bestselling author, and politician.

Arnold SchwarzeneggerguestJay Shettyhost

Oct 9, 20231h 48mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Postwar Austria, a Strict Father and the Military's Pull
Jay Shetty asks about Arnold's earliest memory, and Arnold describes growing up in postwar Austria amid famine, a strict father and earning breakfast with exercise. He also explains his fascination with tanks and the military and how his father's war experiences shaped the household.
- •Born in 1947, he grew up with hunger while his mother begged farmers for food
- •His father was strict, and the children had to do pushups and sit-ups to earn breakfast
- •British military vehicles fed his fascination with tanks, and he still drives his tank monthly
- •His father was a wounded war veteran, and heavy drinking and hitting kids were common in the community
What the Army Taught Him
Arnold reflects on his time as a tank driver in the Austrian Army. He recommends the experience for young people because it builds toughness and self-sufficiency, while acknowledging harsh punishments.
- •Basic training included early runs, shooting, and driving tanks and trucks
- •He learned to cook, iron and clean for himself, which built confidence
- •Punishments such as crawling in and out of the tank hatch 50 times were brutal
- •He handled it because he was 18 and already strong-willed from bodybuilding
First Impressions of America and the Kindness of Strangers
Arnold recounts arriving in Miami and then Los Angeles, where Muscle Beach, Gold's Gym and Hollywood fell short of his visions. Over time the generosity of American bodybuilders won him over.
- •Miami's high-rises, boats and happy people impressed him
- •Muscle Beach was closed and Hollywood Boulevard looked shabby compared to his expectations
- •London's lights and action had impressed him far more
- •Strangers invited him to Thanksgiving and gave him silverware, bedding and a radio he still keeps
Mentors and the Vision That Started Bodybuilding
Asked about his first coach, Arnold describes Mr. Austria, Kurt Marnul, inspiring him at age 14 or 15 and how pictures of Reg Park gave him a vivid goal. He explains this led to his first rule of success: have a clear vision.
- •Kurt Marnul told him he could look like that in five years and became a mentor
- •He wrote down Reg Park's routine and followed it
- •A clear vision keeps you from floating around until you crash
- •With no phone or TV growing up, he had time to visualize
Creating Your Own World: Visualization and Working Hard
Jay asks how Arnold developed vision despite a harsh environment. Arnold says he was unhappy with reality and created his own world by daydreaming, then worked hard because he knew why he was working.
- •He was unhappy with his surroundings and daydreamed of being on stage at Mr. Universe
- •A teacher threw chalk at him for staring out the window
- •If you can see it, you can make it real, then follow through with work
- •Arnold cites a figure that 78% of Americans hate their jobs and says a goal makes school and work purposeful
Is It Sacrifice or Discipline? Goals and Family Tradeoffs
Jay asks about Arnold's greatest sacrifice. Arnold questions the idea of discipline, explains how a written goal helps people in the gym, then describes real sacrifices: missing time with his kids as governor and leaving Austria.
- •When you know your purpose, work pulls you along rather than requiring discipline
- •He advises setting a concrete goal, writing down the plan and crossing off each day
- •Being governor meant his kids cried about missed events while his wife picked up the slack
- •Leaving his job, family and friends for uncertain America was another sacrifice, though Joe Weider helped
Think Big and Never Have a Plan B
Arnold explains why he shoots for big goals, which take as much energy as small ones, and why he moved to Los Angeles for bodybuilding and Hollywood. He says he never had a plan B because it makes you a naysayer to yourself, and illustrates with his run for governor.
- •Big goals take as much effort as small ones, so aim at the greatest
- •Los Angeles had Muscle Beach, Gold's Gym, Joe Weider and Hollywood
- •Never listen to naysayers; a plan B turns you into one
- •He ran as the underdog for governor and declined outside campaigners
Finding Compromise Between Public Service and Family
Jay asks where Arnold turned during the strain of governorship. Arnold describes adjusting his schedule to spend more time with his kids, credits his wife, and speaks about co-parenting after divorce and his pride in his children.
- •He shifted to spend an extra day a week in Los Angeles for school and sports events
- •His wife spent most of the time with the kids; he says he couldn't have done it alone
- •He and his wife worked together so the kids didn't feel a bump after the divorce
- •He describes the fun of parenting and teaching responsibility through animals
The Art of Selling and Promotion
Jay raises the book's 'sell, sell, sell' lesson. Arnold reframes it as promotion and communication, with stories from a lumberyard, his Munich gym, his book tour, Johnny Carson and his campaign for infrastructure.
- •A great product is pointless if nobody knows about it
- •His boss shifted attention to the wife because she was the real customer
- •He used a bathing-suit publicity stunt and a poster war to build gym membership
- •He toured 30 cities for his book and learned bridging on talk shows
Going Global: Advice He Gave Will Smith
Jay brings up Will Smith's story about advice from Arnold and others. Arnold explains how he promoted Conan the Barbarian worldwide, grew the international share of his box office, and argues that selling is an art.
- •Studios planned only a few markets, but he pushed to visit many more countries
- •International box office rose from one-third to two-thirds of his totals
- •He told Will Smith to show his face in each country and meet the press
- •Selling is an art just like acting
A Privileged Life and Bringing People Together in Politics
Asked how it feels to have lived out his visions, Arnold says he'd trade lives with no one. He recounts meeting sports, entertainment and political figures and explains how governing taught him to work across party lines.
- •He sees himself as the most privileged person for experiencing so many worlds
- •He met sports legends, entertainers and world leaders
- •As a Republican governor he realized he needed Democrats to do things like healthcare reform
- •He wanted to be a public servant rather than a party servant
We Are Not Self-Made: Giving Back
Arnold says he is not self-made but shaped by parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, his wife and kids. He argues this obligates people to help others and gives examples of his own giving.
- •He credits Joe Weider, his acting coach, his wife and others for his success
- •Sergeant Shriver's advice was to destroy the mirror and look beyond yourself
- •Anyone can help, for example with food, clothing or after-school programs
- •He gave to the Twin Tower Fund, a COVID mask fund and Special Olympics
Final Five: Advice, Mastery, Failure and a Law
Jay runs through the Final Five questions. Arnold names best and worst advice, what he's trying to master, his biggest success and failure, and the one law he would create.
- •Best advice is believe in yourself; worst is that it can't be done
- •He wants to combine show business, fitness and politics to help the world
- •He names his marriage as his biggest failure and says failures and pain make you stronger
- •His one law would be to get off fossil fuels because of pollution deaths
Every Peak Reveals the Next One, and the Value of Curiosity
Jay asks whether he felt pressure as success grew. Arnold says he never did, because each accomplishment reveals new challenges like climbing peaks, and he praises curiosity. He then talks about writing the book and how public speaking developed.
- •He did not worry about expectations and goes all out when told something is impossible
- •Governorship led him to environmental causes, like Hillary seeing another peak
- •He praises Jay's curiosity and dislikes interviewers who read from paper
- •Tying each rule to a story makes it relatable; speaking about success happened by coincidence
Jim Cameron, Plant-Based Eating and the Environment
Jay notes Arnold's recent work on plant-based eating and climate. Arnold explains how Jim Cameron introduced him to reverse metering, veganism and the link between livestock and pollution.
- •Cameron told him power companies resisted reverse metering, which he took up as governor
- •Cameron had been vegan for five years and was making a documentary on plant-based food
- •Arnold cut his meat intake by about 70%
- •He cites that 28% of pollution comes from breeding livestock, as Cameron told him
Finding Focus Through Meditation
Jay asks about meditation. Arnold describes learning transcendental meditation in the mid-1970s when overwhelmed, and the lesson of tackling one thing at a time, then the episode wraps up with his book and signing 17,000 copies.
- •In 1975 he juggled competition, films, acting classes and real estate and felt frantic
- •Meditation taught him to rejuvenate the mind and focus on one thing at a time
- •The Venice Boardwalk bike analogy: take one person at a time
- •The book is Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, and he signed 17,000 pages for it

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