6 Rules of Success by The Terminator

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 6 Rules of Success

Here on some excerpts from Arnold Schwarzenegger to USC grads during his commencement speech on May 15, 2009 outlining his 6 rules of success. These 6 rules of success contain of the best Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes ever! Enjoy!

1. Trust yourself

“Dig deep down and ask yourselves, who do you want to be? Not what, but who.”

“And I’m talking about not what your parents and teachers want you to be, but you. I’m talking about figuring out for yourselves what makes you happy, no matter how crazy it may sound to other people.

“I spent a lot of time by myself, so I could figure out and listen to what is inside my heart and inside my head.”

“So this is rule number one. I wanted to become a champion; I was on a mission. So rule number one is, of course, trust yourself, no matter how and what anyone else thinks.”

2. Break the rules

“We have so many rules in life about everything. I say break the rules. Not the law, but break the rules.”

“It is impossible to be a maverick or a true original if you’re too well behaved and don’t want to break the rules. You have to think outside the box. That’s what I believe. After all, what is the point of being on this earth if all you want to do is be liked by everyone and avoid trouble?”

“But I didn’t listen to all this. Those were their rules, not my rules.”

3. Don’t be afraid to fail.

“Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail.”

“So you can’t always win, but don’t be afraid of making decisions.”

“You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don’t be afraid to fail.”

4. Don’t listen to the naysayers.

“How many times have you heard that you can’t do this and you can’t do that and it’s never been done before? Just imagine if Bill Gates had quit when people said “it can’t be done.”

“I hear this all the time. As a matter of fact, I love it when someone says that no one has ever done this before, because then when I do it that means that I’m the first one that has done it. So pay no attention to the people that say it can’t be done.”

5. Work your butt off.

“You never want to fail because you didn’t work hard enough.”

“Mohammed Ali, one of my great heroes, had a great line in the ’70s when he was asked, “How many sit-ups do you do?” He said, “I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts.”

“That’s what makes you a champion. No pain, no gain.”

“None of my rules, by the way, of success, will work unless you do.”

“Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.”

6. Give Something Back

“Whatever path that you take in your lives, you must always find time to give something back, something back to your community, give something back to your state or to your country.”

“And let me tell you something, reaching out and helping people will bring you more satisfaction than anything else you have ever done.”

So let me tell you, as you prepare to go off into the world, remember these 6 rules of success!

* To view the full commencement speech including the 6 rules of success by Arnold Schwarzenegger, click here.

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