WAS just watching a video of an American Republican former Governor of California, speaking out against the outrageous attempt of Trump to sabotage the proceedings at the Capitol, using mobs. The man who spoke out, cutting across party lines, and most probably infuriating his political bosses is Arnold Schwarzenegger! Some men build themselves not just muscles, but courage, that goes beyond politics! As a young man growing up in Austria, Arnold Schwarzenegger made up his mind he was going to do some incredible things in his life. He first set a goal to become the greatest body builder of all time. Many thought Arnold was crazy and figured he would eventually give up, because it would take up a great deal of his time and it needed great commitment.
I guess they didn’t know Arnold. They also figured he would get himself a ‘real job’ because in their minds what Arnold was planning was a fantasy. Arnold just ploughed on. He then added another aspect to his dream, he not only wanted to have the world’s best body, but also decided to become a movie star and an international one at that. Which meant mastering English.
If you watch an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, you’ll realize he’s managed to do just that: His European accent makes him all the more formidable to his opponents and endearing to his lady fans. Many of his friends told him, ‘it was a ‘crazy dream’I believe he wrote his dreams down on a card and carried it around in his wallet and made a contract with himself that he would achieve his goal.
I wonder how often in days of difficulty he had to peep into that same wallet, read those lines and fortify himself. I wonder how many times he came near to giving up and going back to the lovely mountains of Austria and being just another ordinary boy. But those lines drove him on, egged him to his goal. He says it was this contract with himself that drove him to go to America and start the climb to become Mr Olympia. He went on to become one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood and the Chairman of the President’s Committee on Physical fitness. But did he stop dreaming? Did he stop pushing himself?
Today as the ex Governor of California, one of the best known states of America, he can say that, ‘Dreaming big is great, but more than a muscular body, is a brave, courageous mind!” Many of you have missed the times during the pandemic of going to the gym to build your muscles, or using the gym for your fitness workouts. But remember, there’s something more that needs to be built, beyond muscles or fitness, and that is courage..!
