Hate him or love him, it’s undeniable that Arnold Schwarzenegger has accomplished some amazing things in his lifetime. From being the youngest Mr. Universe at the age of 20, highest grossing actor at the height of the Terminator series and appearing in 28 movies thus far, to the nature of how he arrived in the chair for the Governor of California. Not bad for a guy who spent a week in Austrian prison for going AWOL from the military to attend a bodybuilding competition and having a debatable immigrant status when entering the US at the age of 21…

Here are his 6 secrets to success:

1. Trust yourself. You have to dig deep down to really identify WHO you want to become, not what, but who. Not who other people want you to be, but what you do. Figuring out for yourself what makes you happy. Give yourself credit, and do that.

2. Break the rules. It’s 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 of the box. What is the point of being on this earth if all you want is to be liked by everyone and avoid trouble. The only way I’ve ever got any place was by breaking some rules.

3. Don’t be afraid to fail. Everything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail. You can’t always win, but don’t be afraid to make 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.

4. Don’t listen to the naysayers. I love it when someone says that no one has ever done something before, because then I do it and that means that I’m the first one who has done it. So pay no attention to anyone that says it cannot be done. I never listen to “you can’t”. I always listen to myself, and I say “yes you can”.

5. Work your butt off. Leave no stone unturned. Muhammad Ali was once asked, “how many sit-ups can you do?” He responded with, “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”. That is the way it is with everything. No pain, no gain. Someone out there at the very same time is working hard, someone is getting smarter and someone is winning, just remember that. There is absolutely no way to get around hard work. None of the other rules find a way to work, unless you do. There’s 24 hours in a day, you sleep 6 hours, and you have 18 hours left. Some of you say, ‘but I sleep 8 or 9 hours’, well I recommend sleeping faster.

6. Give back. No matter what path you take in life, you must find time and a way to give back. Something back to your community, your state or your country. Reaching out and helping people will bring you more satisfaction than anything else that you have ever done.

Remember these 6 rules. Trust yourself, break some rules, don’t be afraid to fail, ingore the naysayers, work like hell, and give something back.

Thank you, Arnold.