INTRODUCTION
Friends, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a living legend. While today’s people cannot even do a small 9 to 5 job.
Arnold Schwarzenegger achieved so much in his entire career that perhaps no person of today could achieve all those things even in 70 years.
A millionaire businessman, a successful bodybuilder, action star and a politician, whatever Arnold Schwarzenegger laid his hands on turned into gold.
Now this question must be arising in everyone’s mind that how did Arnold achieve so much, we will know all about that in today’s blog.
EARLY LIFE & BACKGROUND
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on 30th July 1947 in a small village in Austria.
His father Gustav Schwarzenegger was a police chief and the atmosphere of his house was quite strict. Arnold was beaten severely for even the smallest mistakes.
Arnold’s father used to take Arnold to watch Hollywood movies. In these movies, Arnold saw Reg Park and Steve Reeves, who were earlier bodybuilders and later became superstars in Hollywood.
Arnold was so motivated by the physique of both of them that he decided to become a bodybuilder and started weight training at the age of just 15.
BEGINNING OF BODYBUILDING JOURNEY
Arnold says that his dedication was at such a level that if he missed any workout session, he would He could not even see himself in front of the mirror.
At that time in Austria, it was mandatory for a boy to serve for one year in the Austrian Army on turning 18 and in 1965, Arnold joined the Austrian Army.
When Arnold was serving in the Austrian Army, the Junior Mr. Europe competition was about to be held.
Arnold applied for leave in the army but it was rejected and after that, without any leave approval, Arnold left the army and went to play Junior Mr. Europe.
Arnold secured the first place in this competition but when he returned with the trophy and medal, the Austrian Army put him in jail for a week.
From this very thing, you can guess the dedication of Arnold.
But after coming out of jail, Arnold’s spirits soared and his training became even more intense. And then came the year 1966 when Arnold went to London for the Mr. Universe competition.
The title of Mr. Universe was a ticket for Arnold to go to the USA, but Arnold came second in this competition and lost to American bodybuilder Chester Yorton.
One of the judges of this show, whose name was Charles Wag Bennett, saw a potential in Arnold and he offered coaching to Arnold.
Arnold accepted the offer, but it was very difficult for Arnold to survive in an expensive city like London. After that, Charles Wag Bennett took Arnold to his home like a family member.
But this was the first time when Arnold got proper guidance. At Charles’ house, Arnold also met his childhood idol Reg Park and after that Reg Park became Arnold’s mentor.
BECOMING YOUNGEST MR. UNIVERSE & MOVING TO AMERICA
Arnold’s hard work paid off and at the age of just 20, in 1967, Arnold became the youngest Mr. Universe.
At that time, a businessman named Joe Weider in America was looking for bodybuilders to promote his bodybuilding federation IFBB.
And he offered Arnold to come to America and play in his federation and Arnold, without thinking twice, took the plunge and at the age of just 21, in 1968, with his weak English and little knowledge, Came to America with clothes.
In America, Arnold met his roommate Franco Columbu and they became lifelong friends.
Their story was very common. While Arnold belonged to a small village in Austria, Franco Columbu also belonged to a small village in Italy.
Neither of them knew English. They were a pair like Jai Veeru.
But bodybuilding is a very expensive sport and the money received from the federation was spent only on food.
LIFE IN AMERICA & EARLY BUSINESS SUCCESS
Very soon Arnold realized that he would have to do something more to survive in California.
Despite having weak English, they both started a brick laying business.
Both of them used to find work and within a short time their work became so big that Arnold had become a millionaire even before becoming a champion in bodybuilding.
While Arnold was the best bodybuilder in Europe, in America he competed against elite bodybuilders. Arnold had muscle mass, but he was much bulkier.
Under Joe Wider’s guidance, Arnold worked on his conditioning. In 1969, Arnold won the amateur Mr. Universe title, qualifying him for the Mr. Olympia, where all Mr. Universes compete.
MR OLYMPIA JOURNEY & DOMINANCE
That same year, Arnold competed on the Mr. Olympia stage, but came in second, losing to current Mr. Olympia champion Sergio Oliva.
After this defeat, Arnold became even more focused and promised himself that he would never lose again.
He trained for eight hours daily. Along with this, he also managed his business with his friend Franco and also went to college.
His schedule was so tight that he could sleep only for 4 hours.
Arnold’s focus was so strong that in 1970 he defeated his idol Reg Park. In fact, when Reg Park saw Arnold on stage, he told him that he would become the next Mr. Olympia and something like this happened.
In 1970, Arnold secured the first place by defeating Sergio Oliva and after that, there was no bodybuilder left who could defeat Arnold.
In the coming time, he became Mr. Olympia a total of 7 times.
PUMPING IRON DOCUMENTARY & GLOBAL FAME
But in 1975, something like this happened with Arnold. That he became a household name. In 1975, a director named George Butler was making a documentary called Pumping Iron.
In this documentary, George Butler showed the 1975 Olympia preparations and for the first time, the audience got a glimpse into the personal life of a bodybuilder.
Actually, this documentary was meant to promote bodybuilders, but Arnold was the current Olympia champion, so he was in the limelight the most in this documentary and in this way.
Arnold became famous all over the world.
Friends, if you are a hardcore bodybuilding fan, then you must have seen Pumping Iron. After winning Mr. Olympia in 1975, Arnold retired at the age of just 28, whereas today, many people get a job at the age of 28.
Whereas Arnold retired at the age of only 28 and Now it was time to fulfill Arnold’s second dream and that was Hollywood.
ENTRY & STRUGGLE IN HOLLYWOOD
Arnold thought that after such a successful bodybuilding career and so much fame, Hollywood would welcome him very well, but the exact opposite happened.
When Arnold approached the filmmakers, he was rejected due to his massive size and his thick Austrian accent was also criticized.
The filmmakers made Arnold understand that the people of America would never accept the Austrian accent English, but Arnold was not one to stop.
He kept giving auditions and kept getting rejected.
In 1980, a director named John Milius was searching for a lead actor for his film Conan the Barbarian. He was searching for John.
There was a need for an actor who was tall and broad and spoke in a different style.
Arnold was absolutely picture perfect for this character and this is how Arnold’s Hollywood career started.
Conan the Barbarian proved to be a hit movie. Arnold’s performance was appreciated but he was still not getting work.
That day James Cameron was looking for a cyborg actor for his science fiction movie The Terminator. James cast Arnold for this role.
Arnold says that before the release of The Terminator, everyone considered it a B grade movie but The Terminator became a massive hit movie and this movie started seeing Arnold as an action hero.
Arnold got very few dialogues in this movie but one dialogue was spoken in this movie which was ‘I’ll be back’ which became a big hit and whenever people used to see Arnold, they used to demand him to say this dialogue.
After this Arnold worked in many action movies back to back which proved to be very hit movies.
Arnold had made his mark in Hollywood but Arnold thought that now he should do something else.
ENTRY INTO POLITICS
After that, Arnold entered politics.
Even during his Hollywood career, Arnold was very vocal about his political opinions. While other stars supported the Democratic parties, Arnold was a staunch Republican.
In 1985, Arnold appeared in an anti-drug music video called Stop the Madness.
This music video made Arnold quite famous among Republicans. In the 1988 presidential election, he supported Vice President George H.W.Arnold.
Who was seen campaigning with Bush, Arnold worked in many posts as a politician.
But his grand moment in politics came in the year 2003 when Arnold stood for the Governor election of California.
Arnold won this election with about 1.3 million votes and he became the 38th Governor of California. Due to his personal wealth, Arnold never took his Governor’s salary.
Friends, now you must be thinking that after becoming the Governor, Arnold must have left all his professions behind, but it is not so.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER ACHIEVEMENTS & LEGACY
Arnold is still seen in movies.
Even after retiring from bodybuilding, he became the promoter of Mr. Olympia and worked for fitness magazines for many years.
While writing, in the year 1989, IFBB started the Arnold Classic competition to honour Arnold’s bodybuilding contribution.
This competition is held every year and top bodybuilders compete in it.
Today, Arnold is 78 years old and in his entire bodybuilding career, he has won a total of 22 championships and has worked in a total of 42 movies.
But even today, Arnold’s dedication towards work is the same as it was in his youth.
CONCLUSION
Friends, what would have happened if Arnold had stopped after earning millions of dollars in business and not pursued his bodybuilding career further?
The answer is simple. If Arnold had stuck in his comfort zone, bodybuilding wouldn’t have been so popular today.
Many fitness companies wouldn’t be able to sell their products today, and Hollywood fans wouldn’t have an action star, nor would California have a fitness freak governor.
By not staying in his comfort zone, Arnold has impacted not only his own life but the lives of millions of people.
So friends, if you are stuck in your comfort zone, get out of it because if you don’t get out of your comfort zone, your children will have to fight this battle.
Friends, what do you have to say about Arnold’s journey.
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FAQs
1. What inspired Arnold Schwarzenegger to become a bodybuilder?
Arnold Schwarzenegger was inspired by bodybuilders Reg Park and Steve Reeves, whose physiques and success in Hollywood motivated him to pursue bodybuilding.
2. How did Arnold Schwarzenegger get involved in politics?
Arnold Schwarzenegger got involved in politics by supporting the Republican Party, campaigning for leaders like George H. W. Bush, and later running for Governor of California in 2003, which he won.
3. Was Arnold Schwarzenegger successful as a governor?
Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger was successful as Governor of California, winning the 2003 election with strong public support and serving as the 38th Governor.
