Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life

by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Fulfilling a dream gives you the power to see further and deeper—further out into the world toward what is possible, and deeper into yourself to what you are capable of. It’s why there are so few stories about people who have done something big then just packed their bags and moved to a private island never to be heard from again. People who think big and succeed almost always continue to push and to strive and to dream bigger. Think about the last time you did something difficult, that you were proud of. You didn’t stop doing stuff after that, did you? Of course not. That success gave you more confidence to do other things. New things. That’s how all the greats are. They may not succeed at the level of their greatest achievement. The music world is full of one-hit wonders. There are plenty of writers who had only one great book in them, or directors who had only one great film. But they never stop working or dreaming. They never say, “I made it, my work here is done.” As long as they are alive, they will be working to achieve the vision they have created for the life they want to live.