Arnold Schwarzenegger — Be Useful: Seven Tools For Life

Most of us know him as the jacked bodybuilder or the terminator, but Arnold’s latest book shines a new light on his story and the core principles he has used to go from a poor boy splitting wood in Austria, to a world renowned Actor and ex-governor of 5th largest economy in the world (California). I found that my perspective of Arnold changed throughout the book and I earned a much greater appreciation for his struggle and the effort he has put in to get to where he is. There was a lot of wisdom poured into this book, but I wanted to boil down the sentiment of each chapter.

Have a clear vision

Every decision you make, you need to ask yourself “Will this get me closer or further from my vision”. Arnold describes his lifelong goal to be a leading man in Hollywood and the countless number of intermediate steps he had to take to get there. Even his dedication to body building and the pursuit of his Mr Olympia titles were all a meticulously planned stepping stone to get him noticed and brought over to America. I think this is probably my key takeaway from the book. It is a great reminder that even if it feels like you are taking sideways or backwards steps, if you are making those decisions to get you closer to your goal, then it is a valiant pursuit.

Many of us struggle with creating and visualising our vision and Arnold emphasises the need to take time to be with our own thoughts. He emphasises that we need time for our brains to follow their own paths and revitalise our imaginations. Given modern societies addiction to social media, we are never left to our own thoughts. Look at what happens when conversation dies down in a group of people, rather than think, we all want to avoid any awkwardness, so we pick up our phones and are immediately bombarded with dopamine. Where possible, make it a goal to switch off from your devices and allow yourself the space to think and maybe then, you will be able to curate your vision.

Never think small

It is very easy these days to feel like we have to stay in our own lanes and do the things we are ‘supposed to’. Go to university, get the job our parents wanted and then work until we retire. This is the comfortable thing to do. Break free from your ‘lane’. Experiment. Try new things. Push the boundaries of what you think you are capable of.

If you are going to do something, go all in. Give it everything you have and push through the pain and suffering to achieve it. Do the things that your competition don’t and then do more. My favourite quote in the book summarises it: “No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself”- Seneca.

Even when you have ticked off your list and have achieved what you wanted to, never say “I’ve made it, my work is done”. There is always more to be done. Absolutely take the time to look back and reflect on your achievement, but then get back to work and find your next calling. Arnold could have stopped at 7 Mr Olympia titles and called it a day. He didn’t. After becoming a leading man in some of Hollywoods greatest Blockbusters, most would say that is the achievement of a lifetime. Arnold didn’t. Becoming the Governor of California, a job held by only 37 people ever, and implementing countless reforms to help people long into the future. Surely that is enough. Not for Arnold. There is always more to do. Put your mind to something and back it up with effort.

Work your ass off

One thing that stands out in Arnolds story is his work ethic. At every opportunity, he puts in the work to get himself one step closer to his vision. Throughout the book he speaks about how there is enough hours in the day to do the essentials and still have multiple hours left to better yourself and go above and beyond. Have you ever found yourself just sitting around or doom scrolling, but then complaining about not having enough time to get things done? Same. We need to change our perspectives. We have enough time in the day, we just aren’t utilising it properly. As Arnold says “Throw your machines out the window and get to work”

I know personally, when I set massive goals I sometimes don’t seem to make a lot of progress because the task seems too daunting and I get decision paralysis, not knowing where to start. Arnold hammers home the point about breaking big things into little pieces. He talks about focussing on the reps rather than the big body. Doing the consistent work now and not expecting results. Delayed gratification.

Easily one of my favourite quotes from the book summarises the chapter nicely. “It’s not hours in the day that you lack, it’s a vision for your life that makes time irrelevant”

Sell, sell, sell

There is a difference between a buyer and a customer, and learning that difference is important. You have to sell to the customer, then the customer will convince the buyer. Essentially, know your target audience, who are the people you need to convince to get what you want.

Publicly commit to your goals. In doing so, you make a social commitment, you are putting your reputation on the line. We can all have big dreams, but dreaming is always easier than doing. So by sharing a dream or a goal, we put in positive form of pressure on ourselves to get it done.

Many of us have a grand vision, but are only very early in the journey to get there. This makes it hard for others to understand our vision when we only talk about where we are right now. Arnold recommends getting very clear on your vision and learning to articulate it clearly. It’s important to let everyone know your long term goal, even if you aren’t there yet. It helps to make it clear why you are doing what you are doing right now in order to get where you want to go.

Shift gears

Find the positive even in tough situations. Due to our ‘negativity bias’ we are more likely to focus our attention on the negative things in our life. However, by searching for the positives, we open doors and find opportunities which we would never get. Often, people will complain when things don’t go their way. Arnold offers a key piece of advice: “Don’t complain about a situation unless you are prepared to do something about it”. Acknowledge the problem, identify the outcome you want and get to work to ensure you get that outcome.

Along the journey to doing great things, there will always be those people who tell you that you are wasting your time or that what you are doing is too risky (it could even be your family). It is important to remember that “those who lack vision are threatened by those who have one”. Whilst they might being doing out of love or jealousy, true growth only happens beyond the boundary of our comfort zones. If you are clear with your vision, don’t let others push you off your path.

Learn to reframe failure. If you have a big vision, you will inevitably encounter failure, but it is important to remember that “Failure is not fatal”. Use it as an opportunity to identify what didn’t work or what can be improved. As Arnold puts it: “Failure is just finding one more way that doesn’t work so you can switch gears and get closer to your goal”. This is important as it allows you to see the positive and keep pushing, instead of the other option…quitting. Quitting leads to a certain end, but persevering through failure just gets you one step closer to your goal. “Failure has never killed a dream, but quitting kills every dream it touches”

Shut your mouth, open your mind

Never stop learning. Just like our muscles atrophy if we don’t work them, if we stop using our brain, we start to lose our ability to be creative and think deeply. I think the quote “Soak up the knowledge of the world today, to build the tomorrow” summarises it perfectly

Learn to ask good “How” and “Why” questions. When we talk, we learn no new information, but when we listen there is no end to the knowledge we can acquire. I know personally that if you asked me to just talk about ‘something’, I wouldn’t know what to talk about and that’s why asking questions is important. It helps get the information that you want from people. By asking more leading questions, you can guide the conversation and get to the core of peoples reasoning and understanding, which is often where the true wisdom is. If you just ask stock standard questions, you will stay very surface level and lose the interest of the person you are conversing with. “Interesting people are drawn to those who are able to ask good questions and listen.”

Break your mirrors

Spend less time looking at yourself and more at those around you. What this really means is spend more time looking out for others. If you truly want to help yourself, you should help others. The happiness and fulfilment it will bring you cannot be matched. At the end of the day, you get more out of life from the people around you, not the dollars in your bank.

Don’t forget all the people who have gotten you to where you are. You can’t achieve things without the support of others around you. Think about the dreams that some people may have put on hold to get you to where you are. Whether it’s family, friends, contacts or strangers, don’t foget the sacrifice that was made to get you to where you are. It is vital to stay humble enough to recognise that and give back to those who sacrificed to get you to where you are.

Life is not a zero sum game. Someone else does not have to lose for you to win. You should instead be focussed on bringing others up with you on your journey to success. This reminds me of Stephen Covey’s idea of “Think win-win”. By focussing on getting the best outcome for all those involved, you can create a positive environment where you can thrive and find happiness. As Arnold put it: “Shift from a me focused mindset to a we focused one” and help build up those around you.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book as it is easy to read and is a great summary of tried and tested advice. Arnold is also fantastic at communicating his points through stories from his life, which helps to give perspective.