Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life

by Arnold Schwarzenegger

This wasn’t my only experience with public failure, obviously. I had dramatic losses in my bodybuilding career, I had movies that went in the toilet, and this wasn’t the first time I’d watched my approval ratings fall like the Dow Jones Industrial Average. But I wasn’t even close to rock bottom. And it wasn’t the recession that brought my world crashing down. I did that to myself. I blew up my family. No failure has ever felt worse than that.

If you are stuck, if you are struggling to figure out a clear vision for the life you want, then all I care about is that you make little goals for yourself to start building momentum and that you create time and space every day to think, to daydream, to look around, to be present in the world, to let inspiration and ideas in.

Nothing good has ever come from having a plan B. Nothing important or life-changing, anyway. Plan B is dangerous to every big dream. It is a plan for failure.

I chose to do bricklaying because it was like an extra workout. I got to work on my tan and practice my English on people, and I got to enjoy the sense of pride that comes with building things. You have to remember, my goal wasn’t just to come to America, it was to become part of America.

Whether it’s a matter of getting into flow state or not, what every person who gets shit done has in common is that they either find the time, make the time, or turn the time they do have into what it needs to be for them to accomplish the task in front of them. When you hear stories like these, if you’re still worried about eating or energy or sleep or fun, maybe your problem isn’t time at all. Maybe it’s what you’re spending your time on.

I can already hear the question coming from a bunch of you: What about time for rest and relaxation? First of all, rest is for babies and relaxation is for retired people. Which one are you?