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18 June 2013 (released)
18 June 2013
Arnold Schwarzenegger is world-renowned for his famous line “I'll Be Back”, but not everyone knows of the hurdles he’s overcome to be the powerful man he is today.
Schwarzenegger graced Australian audiences at the 21st Century Financial Education Summit as the headlining motivational speaker. He may have come from a small town in Austria, but against many odds he was crowned as Mr Universe, is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood and was elected as the Governor of California. Schwarzenegger is an inspirational figure and makes anything feel possible.
21st Century CEO Jamie McIntyre expresses: “Arnold embodies everything that the Financial Education Summit is all about. He is motivated, inspirational, an achiever against all odds.” From the moment Schwarzenegger stepped out on stage at the Melbourne Convention Centre to a standing ovation, I had a gut feeling that his words would stay with me forever.
In true Schwarzenegger fashion, he asked the audience to “sit down and relax” in a stern yet playful tone. It was evident that he was excited to be back in Australia and was engaging right from the onset. He even joked about the failure of “Hercules Goes Bananas” and referred to himself as the “Professor of Action”.
Jokes aside, Schwarzenegger went through his five rules for success, which included finding one’s vision and following it through, to thinking big and shooting for the stars. With any big venture, failure is a risk. Yet Schwarzenegger says, “I was never afraid of failure as failure happens. It’s a part of life... what makes you a failure is if you stay down, but if you get up you’re a winner.”
Another of the Terminator’s rules for success was to “ignore naysayers”. If Mr Universe himself had not lived by his own rules, the USA would be void of one of the most influential Governors. When Schwarzenegger was elected as Governor of California he wanted to change the old infrastructure and overcrowded classrooms. Although he was met with resistance by legislators, Schwarzenegger refused to give up. The word “impossible” was not in his repertoire. During his speech on Friday night, Schwarzenegger referred to Nelson Mandela's words of wisdom, “It’s only impossible until someone does it.”
The most important of Schwarzenegger's rules was to “give back”. He expresses, “I took every opportunity I could to help people.” Schwarzenegger started an after school program to help vulnerable children amongst many other charity projects. “I'd rather play chess with an eight-year-old kid in an after school program or play golf with a special Olympian than to go down the red carpet of another movie premier,” he explained.
Schwarzenegger was influenced by the likes of Nelson Mandela, Sergeant Shriver, and Mother Teresa, as they changed the world. Personal and political mistakes aside, he too can be added to the list for his contributions to humanity.
