2-Minute Tips: 47# Break Some Rules

Arnold is climbing the rope net for the 10th time… just another punishing day in his yearlong military service – mandatory for 18-year-olds in mid 1960s Austria. 

Arnold has other ideas though – he’s determined to be a bodybuilder and escape little Graz for the bright lights of America. Images of Muscle Beach and bodybuilding actors such as Reg Park playing Hercules light up his mind.

Every night after a gruelling day’s hiking and drills, whilst the other exhausted lads recover, Arnold trains for 3 hours in the army gym to sculpt his body. 

He has a problem though – an invitation to the Junior Mr. Europe competition is waiting, but it’s against the law to leave the base during basic training. Even if he manages to escape, the event is in Stuttgart… across the German border.

Arnie thinks long and hard for a couple of days, then decides he must go – it’s just too good an opportunity. Slipping out of the base late at night, he hitches a ride on a freight train heading to Germany to avoid passport checks. 

Arriving with just a few hours to spare, he borrows a pair of trunks to compete in, as he’s brought none himself. He’s a little nervous, looking at the packed auditorium, but starts to have fun up there. The results are in… his stomach is doing cartwheels… and the winner is… ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER!

Ecstatic and with a head full of dreams, Arnold floats back to the base - though a hero’s welcome does not await him, as he’s immediately thrown into solitary confinement for a few days. This didn’t subdue Arnold’s mood - he knew there would be consequences to his actions, and it might hurt, but he was committed regardless.

Word got around about his win and Arnold immediately gave all credit to the army officers and their hard training. They loved this, but still needed to make an example of him, so they chucked him on potato peeling duty. 

Here though he was able to sneak a few extra steaks, alongside a bit of extra time to work out. By the end of the year Arnold had learnt to drive a tank and had added 25 pounds of solid muscle – he was ready!

He moved to America, became Mr. Olympia a record 7 times, proved doubters wrong again by becoming Hollywood’s leading action man and then amazingly had a career in politics as the governor of California, the world’s 6th largest economy. 

Probably none of this would have happened if he didn’t have the balls to jump on that freight train. Source

Wisdom 💎

“I said to myself – Ok Arnold, here’s the goal and whatever it takes to get there, I will do.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Tip 1 - Smart Play ✅

“Break Some Rules” – Sometimes you have to take a chance and push the edge of what is considered acceptable. People who change the world are often rulebreakers for what they believe in.

Tip 2 - Avoid 🚩

“The Naysayers” - Don’t play someone else’s game and give up on the vision for your life. Arnold had to escape what was expected of him from his parents, the army, and Austrian society if he was going to live into his audacious life plans. 

Tip 3 - Action 💪

Have a brainstorming session to see what industry, company or life rules might be worth breaking. This doesn’t mean breaking the law, but being open to rule-breaking (or bending) can cultivate creative thinking and problem solving. 

Check out Arnie's helpful book, Be Useful - Seven Tools for Life