Schwarzeneggerian Success
The champion bodybuilder used the Matthew Effect, 10,000 hours, and desirable disadvantages to gain massive success in America.
By Ben Martin | Business Major
Arnold Schwarzenegger jolted out of the rusty bunk bed he was assigned. He looked at his wrist; the watch read 2:00 am. He quietly navigated his quarters and grabbed his competition shorts. After sneaking outside and running across the training fields, Schwarzenegger leaped over the high metal fence and officially went AWOL. The Austrian army officials would not find out until later, but he wasn’t worried about the consequences. No, not now. Right now, he only had one thing on his mind; Winning the bodybuilding title of Mr. Europe even though he knew he would serve time in military prison because of it. “It didn’t matter to Arnold. He [would win] and was hungry for more” (goalcast.com)
After completing his mandatory military service in the Austrian Army during 1965, Schwarzenegger moved on to develop an extraordinary resume. He dominated the international bodybuilding scene, being regarded as the “Austrian Oak with a 56-inch chest” (Sports illustrated). He has won the Mr. Olympia competition seven consecutive times, rose to the top of Hollywood fame by smashing box office records in his role as Conan the Barbarian and starring in James Cameron’s Terminator. He started his own sports and athletics event, and was the governor of California. Arnold continues to inspire people through his heartfelt, emotional story and being a motivational speaker.
Although Schwarzenegger has an impressive list of accomplishments, Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers: The Story of Success writes that “People don’t rise from nothing” (Ch.1). The traits of success that Gladwell defines can clearly explain how Schwarzenegger was able to become so successful; the accumulation of ten thousand hours to achieve mastery, reorienting difficulties to his advantage, and utilizing the Matthew effect to build upon previous accomplishments. Ultimately, the points and arguments that Gladwell presents prove that “The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all” (Outliers; Epilogue).
Schwarzenegger grew up in a hostile household. His father was an abusive alcoholic and ex-Nazi cop. His mother, a strict Roman Catholic, didn’t provide much support for young Arnold either. His older brother, Meinhard, was favored by their father, which prompted a 10-year-old Arnold to dream of creating a successful life in America, the land of opportunity and success (goalcast.com). Despite his family’s low earning income and the early death of his brother (1971) and his father (1972), he continued to create a name for himself in bodybuilding and later, acting. After leaving his toxic household and immigrating to America, Schwarzenegger starred in James Cameron’s Terminator in 1984 . In an interview, Cameron made the comment “What really makes this movie work is Arnie talks like a machine” (inews.co.uk). Arnold grew sick and tired of Hollywood producers telling him that his body was “too big” and his accent was too heavy. At first, no one wanted to cast Schwarzenegger and in his first films, the directors even dubbed over his voice in post-production. Despite his Hollywood dreams, the cards seemed to be stacked against the 32-year-old actor and ex-bodybuilder.
The main point in Gladwell’s David and Goliath revolves around the relationship between unfortunate circumstances and success. Emil Freireich is a cancer biologist and pioneered the use of chemotherapy. His mission was to cure childhood leukemia and he did exactly that As a child, he struggled. Living without his parents created a gaping hole in his life that he struggled to fill. Gladwell continues to write, “What he went through as a child no child should ever have to endure… Yet they also knew firsthand what the price of success was” (David and Goliath, 161). There has been a significant amount of scientific literature published revolving around the parental loss and eminence (British Journal of Political Science). Although Schwarzenegger didn’t grow up completely without his parents being present, he didn’t receive much support or encouragement from them but, mostly abuse and harshness.
Schwarzenegger has been, in Gladwell’s view, gifted with many desirable difficulties; Being a first-generation immigrant, abusive parents, a larger-than-life body, a ‘creepy’ accent, and little to no experience in the careers he wished to succeed in. Despite what could have easily been the end of his career, Arnold used each disadvantage to spark incredible amounts of motivation and passion. He continued to leap past his goals by reminding himself of his insatiable hunger for success.
The heavy barbell slammed back into the rack. They weight he just pushed, 500 pounds. Schwarzenegger’s new personal record on bench press left the other bodybuilders in the gym speechless. He had truly earned the nickname, Austrian Oak. Arnold spent countless hours in the gym perfecting poses, mastering technique, and getting gains beyond belief. He worked out early in the day, attend classes and go work at his construction job. After a long day of school and hard labor, he would return to Gold’s Gym to finish the night with another heavy workout (Muscle Pharm interview). The amount of time and dedication that Schwarzenegger poured into his training and attention to diet was a major key in his bodybuilding success story. By 1980, he had won the title of Mr. Olympia seven consecutive times (evolutionofbodybuilding.net).
“Now, I know there are some of you out there that would say well, wait a minute, I sleep eight hours or nine hours. Well, then just sleep a little faster”
Gladwell recognizes the importance of accumulating 10,000 practice hours for skill mastery. He further explains that “The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise” (Outliers, pg 40). Most certainly, Schwarzenegger met that minimum practice hour count. He was always hungry for more and wanted to be different from everyone else. He wanted to win in the bodybuilding realm, become an A list actor, and achieve seemingly impossible goals. The amount of time that he spent with acting and English lessons allowed him to turn his dreams of becoming a real-life action hero into a reality. Early on, Schwarzenegger recognized the importance of dedicating his time towards achieving excellency. Using the practice of sheer hard work, He has left the world in shock by how much he has accomplished and has clearly demonstrated understanding on how to apply this Gladwellian principle. Schwarzenegger gave a speech at the University of Southern California on May 15th 2009 and, made the comment “Now, I know there are some of you out there that would say well, wait a minute, I sleep eight hours or nine hours. Well, then just sleep a little faster” (motivatingdaily.com). This moment reflects a moment that Gladwell had included in his book, Outliers. The Beetles, an incredibly famed music group that rose to glory in the 1960s, started off as small time performers in Liverpool. What really gave way to their success was their decision to play unbelievably long concerts, nearly every day of the week, which allowed them to clock in at 10,000 hours early on.
Schwarzenegger sat in the middle of a heated political debate. He was receiving sarcastic comments and in argument over his fame and fortune, and how it was related to media attention as the governor of California. “And Schwarzenegger is on billboards across the nation to lure business to the Golden State. Nobody paid any attention to the governor of California. They’re all paying attention now and offering to pay a premium just for his star presence.” It appears as if the governor’s previous successes have built upon themselves which allow him to demand a serious presence in whatever field he chooses.
In Outliers, Gladwell writes about the Matthew Effect; success can be looked at like an investment that grows with interest. Previous success tends to lead to another, and another, and so on. Those who are placed in positions of fortune continue to grow and flourish more (study.com). Schwarzenegger established himself as a serious contender when he won Mr. Europe at the age of 18. Ever since then, his pursuit of bodybuilding, acting, and becoming a politician and television host have built like massive blocks, one on top of the other.
As a politician, Schwarzenegger has been fighting in favor for environmental preservation, nutritious public-school lunches, and the Three Strikes law (ontheissues.org). Gladwell elaborates on the origin of the Three Strikes law in David and Goliath, going on to tell the story of Mike Reynolds. Kimberly, Mike’s daughter, was shot in the head and killed on the corner of Shaw Avenue. In shock, Mike wanted to prevent such horrors from ever happening again. He continued to develop the Three Strikes law in his own backyard. Despite his daughter’s tragic death, Reynolds’ story is an example of the Matthew Effect in play. He was interviewed on the Appleton show and his story was heard throughout the State. When he presented his Three Strikes law, it passed with 72% of the State’s voters in favor.
Fortunately, none of Schwarzenegger’s daughters have been murdered. Despite not being able to fully sympathize with Reynolds and understand his grief, Arnold fully supports the Three Strikes law and builds upon the Matthew Effect. His star status gave him attention that other governors could never dream of having. His political policies have been greatly reinforced by his previous accomplishments.
In 1965, immediately after Schwarzenegger won the title of Junior Mr. Europe, he returned to the Austrian army military camp. He tried to sneak his way back in to avoid the angry authorities. It was quite obvious that he had gone AWOL and the generals sent him to military prison for a few days. The idea behind sending him to jail was to make him learn his lesson and follow the rules. Arnold was never a rule follower. He knew that he had to go beyond what was culturally accepted to become an idol.
Schwarzenegger took the unfortunate circumstances that life gave him and made them into positive motivators. He made his dreams work for him. He tapped into his inner motivational drive and was able to clock in his 10,000 practice hours with ease. Having built a solid and successful career, he used his previous accomplishments to gain even more fame and fortune. Gladwell writes, “Special opportunities are the rule” (Outliers). Throughout his life, Schwarzenegger has clearly shown this statement to be true through his early action on acquiring 10,000 hours, utilizing the Matthew Effect to benefit from previous hard work, and being delt a hand full of disadvantages that he could turn around and spark motivation with.
WORKS CITED
Ryan, James. “Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Our States: California, Great Neck Publishing, 15 Aug. 2018, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=11105513&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
LEE, DAVE. “The Legendary 13.” Muscle & Fitness, vol. 79, no. 8, Aug. 2018, p. 188. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=130567393&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Berns, Gregory. Iconoclast : a Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently / Gregory Berns. Boston : Harvard Business Press, 2008.
Gladwell, Malcolm. David and Goliath Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. Turtleback Books, 2015.
DeRosa, Robin. Simulation in Media and Culture : Believing the Hype / Edited by Robin DeRosa. Lanham, Md.: Lexington, 2011. Print.
Schwarzenegger, Arnold. “Blueprint to Cut.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 Mar. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcM9CZMMDkU.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ben Martin, a freshman from Maplewood, Minnesota, seeks success in the business world as an entrepreneur and social media influencer. Martin has competed on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior and plans on returning for future seasons. He enjoys photography, editing videos, and loves playing the drums.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
When you want to go far, put aside what you think you already knew.
If aren’t confident in your writing abilities, ask for help.
Teamwork, truly does, make the dream work.
Dogs are lovable. The cutest dogs have the cutest names.
Matt Nordby spoke with a booming voice. He said what was on his mind, whenever he wanted. In a way, Matt taught me how to be comfortable with who I am and share it with others.
Speeches that we gave helped me to develop my public speaking voice. Before I was exposed to speaking in front of a larger group, I always croaked and never knew what to say. Inquiry class helped me to learn confidence.
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, David and Goliath isn’t as impressive as Outliers or as impressive as Gladwell’s hair. After reading his book, Outliers, I was excited and had new ways of viewing success. When I read David and Goliath, I was extremely unimpressed with it. It very quickly became monotonous and read the same as Outliers.
(Editor’s note: This paper was written as a part of a GES160 Inquiry Seminar class at Bethel University in St. Paul. Minn.)
