Hasta La Vista, Baby: The One Secret to Success

Written by Orna Drawas - 14 Comments
Categories: self improvement

Hasta La Vista, Baby!

Hollywood is really the land of overachievers. There are tons of stories about how actors set impossible personal goals and then make them come true. My favorite has to do with the Governator. Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

When the young “Ahhnold” was ten years old, living in a small village in Austria, he had the dream of coming to America. One of six children in a modest home, it seemed an unlikely dream, so Arnold created a plan. He was confident that if he could become a great bodybuilder and win the Mr. Universe competition, this would be his ticket to the United States.

With that goal in mind, Arnold started lifting weights seriously when he was fifteen years old and ultimately became the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of twenty. His success grew and he went on to win the most prestigious prize of all – the Mr. Olympia competition an unprecedented seven years in a row.

As a result of his bodybuilding success, Arnold was featured in a documentary called Pumping Iron (1977). Surprising everyone at the end of the film, Arnold announced that he would be retiring from professional bodybuilding. The astonished producer asked: “So what’s next for you?” And Arnold simply replied, “I have been the best bodybuilder in the world. Now I am going to Hollywood to be the best actor in the world.”

You can almost hear the chuckle coming from behind the camera and imagine the producer’s thoughts: Hollywood? You’ve got to be kidding. You’ve got muscles for brains. You have no formal education. You barely speak English and no one can pronounce your name! You’re going to Hollywood to be a great actor? Now that’s funny!

But Arnold wasn’t laughing. He may not have known exactly how he was going to get there — and I doubt he had any political aspirations at the time — but he had absolute clarity about where he was going and what he wanted to achieve.

And that, my dear reader, is what success is all about.  Creating a big, audacious goal, believing in yourself and starting on the path, any path, towards making it happen.

There’s just one more really important little tip for making it happen.  Follow my Rule of One.  Simply stated, do one thing every single day — no matter how small, no matter how simple — towards moving you closer to your goal.  Imagine your progress when you’ve moved five steps closer to your goal in one week and twenty steps closer in one month.  Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to living your dream.

Create your own success story.  Start today.

Dream it. Do it. Live it.


Orna Drawas, author of PERFORM LIKE A ROCK STAR and Still Have Time for Lunch, believes there is a rock star in everyone. As a trainer, speaker and coach, she helps people find the road to their own personal greatness. Find her at www.OrnaSpeaks.com.

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  • Chetan

    Hi Orna. Thanks for the article. You have taken a very good example and all know about him as a sucessful person. He has moved from one profession to another which is big things ( move from comfort zone ).

    Chetan

  • Gary Wilhelm

    He had one brother, Meinhard, who died as a young adult. He did not grow up in a family of six children.

    He did not start on “…just any path….” He learned that he loved body building, and he was very aware that his body responded well to the discipline involved. He also knew that he did not like team sports. It is all in his first book, “Arnold.”

    There is much more to his success than the few comments you have made in your post. He is complex, thoughtful, and works extremely hard. He also sacrificed relationships, family, friends and many other areas of his life to succeed on a grand scale. This is often under appreciated by those who write about him.

  • http://livingthebalancedlife.com Living the Balanced Life

    This is so true. Many people *want* to do something big, but they never put legs to it. And it seems so big they can never make it there. But just one step each and every day can take you closer to that big goal.
    Bernice
    The journey of a work-at-home mom

  • http://Mazzastick.com Justin

    Talk is cheap in my world too, I want action baby.

  • http://www.ascendingdream.com Ascending Dream

    “Create your own success story. Start today.” Perfect ending I think, it really drives the point home. Start today – there is no other, or better, time than now!

  • http://www.personal-success-factors.com/2010/12/heres-your-2011-personal-growth.html Steve-Personal Success Factors

    Being absolutely clear on where you want to go, working to change limiting beliefs about your ability to get there, and then taking one action per day is a great recipe for achieving the success you need. Of course, as Gary pointed out above, it’s not quite that simple. But if you consistently do follow this, you’ll make great headway toward your desired outcomes.

  • http://www.fredtracy.com Fred Tracy

    I like the way you think. One thing a day that helps you on your path will add up immensely over time. Rock on! :)

  • http://www.frugalbeautiful.com Ruby

    Posts like this are why I love reading this blog! I am all about goals and big audacious dreams- what’s the worst that can happen? Failure??? Failure isn’t scary anymore. Or the fear of the sheer size of the task at hand? What is really scary is not starting. It’s easy to worry about the BIG stuff- the big commitment, the big possibility of failure…but tackling it bit by bit every single day leads you to that place without the fear. :)

    Loved the post- I had no idea Ahh-nold was such a dreamer!

  • http://www.panasia.co.nz paul

    this is what i get when i try to sub to the “keep me motivated” program, and yes i did enter a valid email :)

    The following error(s) occurred:

    You did not enter a value for ‘email’.

    Please press the BACK button and enter the required value(s)

  • http://letgoandflow.com David

    Arnold is the man that’s for sure. I guess we just have to be daring enough to dream big and then be willing to set aside all of the people that are going to laugh and tell us we can’t do it.

  • http://www.think360studio.com/ Think360Studio – Web Design Company India

    thanks for fantastic article

  • http://www.OrnaSpeaks.com Orna Drawas

    It’s so inspiring to read comments from those inspired to success. You all rock! Never lose focus and your momentum will continue to build….. one small step at a time! Thanks for the great feedback!

  • http://www.addicted2success.com Joel

    Awesome article, great read! Keep up the great work. Checkout my website also http://www.addicted2success.com when you get a chance =)

  • David

    Thanks for this, I had been having trouble with my phD it just seemed like such a high mountain to climb. That mountain is now getting smaller every day and I feel more able to atain my goal. Much appreciated