041: Lessons from Mike's Idol Arnold Schwarzenegger

The podcast discusses the mindset and philosophy of Arnold Schwarzenegger, particularly focusing on his approach to life and success. Arnold's emphasis on being useful and striving to be the best in whatever endeavor is highlighted as a driving force behind his achievements in bodybuilding, acting, and politics. The hosts explore the balance between striving for excellence and avoiding attachment to outcomes, emphasizing the importance of setting ambitious goals and focusing on the process rather than personal gain. They draw lessons from Arnold's life to inspire listeners to adopt a similar mindset of relentless pursuit of excellence.

Connect with Mike Chang:
- Instagram: @mikechangofficial
-Youtube: Mike Chang
- Website: www.flow60.com

Connect with Stephen Yeh:
-Instagram: @iamstephenyeh
-Twitter: @iamstephenyeh

Transcript

Mike: [00:00:00] Welcome to another episode of body over mind. This is your host, Mike Chang, your cohost, Stephen Yeh. In this episode, I want to share this recent documentary that I watched, and it was on Arnold Schwarzenegger. And Arnold was one of my idols growing up. He was a massive, massive inspiration for exercise and for becoming fit.

There was some, a few other handfuls of people. But he was like the primary, and I think for many people in fitness and bodybuilding space, he's still considered one of the top bodybuilders and just the guy that really put bodybuilding on the map. And what was really interesting about this documentary that I watched where they talked about his life In like three parts, his early years in fitness and his later years in movies.

And then in politics, I had a really good idea of his life because I followed his work [00:01:00] and his career for a while, especially in the earlier years. But one thing that I was really surprised to hear, I almost paused it. And when I wanted to record that part and like share it in a lesson or something was when I heard him say that well there's a line that he used. First of all, the line that he used, which is actually on his current social media is be useful. That was, that's the first thing be useful. And at first I was thinking, Oh, well, you know, the guy's like 75 years old now, and maybe he's feeling like I'm losing some use.

So let me see, what else can I do? But even that has, valid points as well. And even for somebody who's younger, that line be useful. I think it's a very, similar line to focus on serving others, because when you're useful, that means you are producing value. You're being useful for something.

Okay. There's a purpose, and that can easily [00:02:00] correlate to serving. And so he has that to be like his model. And the second thing, which is also connected to that is being busy, staying busy, staying focused so much on his goals that he doesn't have time to complain. He doesn't have time to not feel like doing something.

He doesn't have time to. Sit around and just think about, , the problems in life, he's too busy getting things done. And he constantly talked about how when he gets to the top of a mountain, he's looking for the next mountain, he's looking for the next highest peak. Anytime when he's, getting into something, he always think in his mind, like, I want to be the best.

What can I do to be the best? Be the best. Be the best. And so, automatically, when a person's doing that, it's like, they're aiming for the stars. They're never aiming low. And whether or not they hit that stars, It doesn't matter. The fact that they're [00:03:00] aiming for it means it dictates and changes all of their decisions, the way they make choices.

And Arnold was the top. He was the best in bodybuilding. I think anybody who's been in this space would agree that he's like the guy. And also when it came to movies. he's the one that put the big guys on the map before the Wayne Johnson, before all these built guys, there was Arnold. And before that, there was not the bodybuilder, the huge muscular type of characters.

And there was a time in the, in like the eighties and nineties to where he was like the number one movie star, like in the world. So then after that, he got into politics and just, you know, and made a really big difference in there as governor of California. So I really enjoy that mentality. ... And I just wanted , to just share that message.

It's something I think we talk about often. But just to see, Arnold talk about it in that documentary. Which is really eye opening and it just really connected a lot of things together because it's somebody I looked up to for so many years [00:04:00] of my life. 

Stephen: Be useful and to reach to be the best.

I have a question about being the best, right? Especially if someone goes with that mentality because growing up I was surrounded by some people that really strive for the best. I'm thinking of my cousin. And, , she was the top athlete in the school, et cetera. But I guess there's also, it can carry some baggage with that.

Some type of just constantly feeling like you're not enough or you need to strive for more. So how do you find that balance? Between striving for the best and then also, not having all that tension and that weight that associates with it. 

Mike: Well, I think when somebody doesn't have the motivation to go after things, having this mentality of aim to be the best is a really, really strong driver for something to move forward.

I think when somebody has this mentality [00:05:00] of to be the best, they need to learn the next step, which is learning how to not be attached to the outcome as you are aiming to be the best. And, but if somebody didn't have the drive to be the best, if they didn't have the drive to really face challenges and go after things, there's no point to really even focus on not being attached to the outcome as much, because they're not even going for it.

So therefore it's like, , there are different steps of things. If you haven't figured out how to run, don't figure out how you're going to fall. The right way when you run, don't worry about what happens when you fall, just focus on the running first. Just get that down, just start to run. And then when you start to run, eventually you'll fall and then focus on what to do when you fall.

Like a steps one, two, three, right? You're not at step three yet. So just focus on step one. So that's what I, think for that. And then once somebody gets there, then to become unattached. Well, you'll, [00:06:00] realize that you're striving to be the best but to do what, right? So this way you can sit on your throne and say that you're the best.

Or so that this way you can recognize that you have served a lot of people that your art, what you do, , you're striving to do it the best that it can be, something that can't be done. You're going to strive for that. And then you focus on the goal and you don't focus on your own gain.

You don't focus on how. Great. You become, you don't focus on that. It's not important. Focus on that goal on that mountain. Don't focus on the person you become when you climb that mountain. Focus on the mountain and the process, all of the struggles and the challenges and all the tools and everything that's needed to climb it.

Focus on that. And then by doing so, it helps a person not become attached to the outcome, because they're so focused on the process that when route one doesn't work, they look at route two. If route two doesn't work, they [00:07:00] look to see where is route three, where's another option. But if they keep looking at it as.

I'm going to climb this mountain so I can be the best. And then when they go after route one, it doesn't work. They automatically look at themselves and go, wow, what do I think about myself now? Now that route one didn't work, , do I feel like I'm doing a good job? , do I still feel like I'm the best or that I could be the best, right?

You see, it's like we start to constantly look at ourself. So we talk about being the best. I think it's about setting goals. Some people set low goals and some people like Arnold set really high goals. And that was just his mentality in life. That's why he achieved the way he did. He worked his butt off, but there's a lot of people that work hard, but some people work hard to get by and people like himself work hard to be the best.

And I think that's a really big difference. I think it really dictates our choices. And when we combine that with don't focus on your own self gain, work [00:08:00] hard to be the best at this thing. Whatever this thing is, if you're a carpenter and you're making sculptures or you're making furniture. Make the best furniture.

What is the best furniture? You decide what that is and now make the best furniture. So now you're focused on the best furniture. You're focused on the pieces, the material, the way, the concept, the design, whatever it is, right. And the cheapest price. So this way everybody can get it. So you're not focused on you being the best, but what happens when you are a furniture maker who makes the best furniture?

Right. Then they go, who made this? That guy, this is the best furniture. Then that guy is the best furniture maker, right? Automatically so we don't focus on ourself being this best person. We look at what we are doing and let's be the best at that. I think that's the combination. He says be useful, right?

He didn't say be superior to everybody. See yourself as the best. And he never, he never said that, you know? [00:09:00] And so that's what I, I really like that. , I think it's a good lesson and I think it's a great topic, uh, that you brought up about how to not get attached because that automatically produces a lot of pressure, but when somebody focuses so much on the process, when they focus so much on the thing that they're focused on, when one route doesn't work, they don't got time to go and sit there and feel bad about themselves, they're looking for a route two route three, they're looking for plan B, plan C, plan D, when one thing doesn't work, they're looking for another.

But when somebody is doing it because they want to do it for themselves and one thing doesn't work, they look at themselves and go, Oh, I feel bad about myself. That's the big difference. They seem so close together, but they're completely different. One thing is working on the goal. The other thing is looking at ourself completely different things.

Stephen: Hmm. So [00:10:00] the combination of those two, 

Mike: it's like if I drive a race car and now what's involved, the ground, the car, making these laps of this with the fastest time, but where am I focused on, , if I'm focused on how well this ground is built, you know, that I'm focusing on the ground or if I'm focusing on how I feel when I'm driving this.

Or am I focusing on how fast I'm going and how well I'm on the road because I need to focus on that. It's like there's so many things we can focus on, just like a person who wants to be the best, they wanna be the best at this furniture making thing, right? There's so many things they can focus on and how to do on the process of doing this. but 

Ultimately, if any of the things they focus on has to do with their own self, them as a person. Then they will get upset when they fail. They get upset when they run into challenges or they feel a lot of pressure versus if they were to focus on the process and not so much on themselves and that pressure decreases.[00:11:00] 

Stephen: So something that ties into this is, you also hear a lot of, just extremely successful people when they achieve a certain feat, whether it's winning a world title, whether it's getting to. Their goal of a billion dollars, whatever it is, usually once they achieve that they get ultra depressed right afterwards, where do you think that comes from?

Mike: Well, if they achieved it thinking that they're going to be really, really, really awesome, that they're going to be the best and when they achieve that they realize they don't feel any better. Didn't matter the title, they don't feel any better. Also now because they achieved it because they wanted to be a better version of themselves because they saw a lack in themselves.

Now when they achieve it, there could be more pressure. Oh my god, now that I achieved this, now I'm gonna have to achieve something bigger. Oh wow, that's gonna be so hard. Look at the route that it took just to get here. And [00:12:00] now I have to achieve something bigger. If not, I can't be better. And I know that there's a bigger thing now.

Oh man. I'm so tired. I'm just so tired of doing this because so much work you see they're focusing on themselves. Now, if this person, let's say this is a professional boxer and they're the best right now, like they hit the title, whatever that title is. So now they want to be the best in a sport.

So they want to be best in a sport. That means, okay, I got this title. Now who else is going to, am I going to go out next? Who else is going to show up and try to take this title away? Because whoever that is, I'm gonna knock them out. When is the next fight? I'm ready. Whoever wants to come, come on. I'm the best, and I can take on anybody.

Let's go. They're focused on the fight. They're not focusing on how cool they are or how awesome they are. They're focusing on who's the next opponent. So they're gonna knock them out. See, they're still focused on the work. They're focused on the training. They're going to get back into a train because they're going to be the best, the best fighter.

Nobody's going to be able to touch him. Anybody [00:13:00] that, can even compete and they think that they're a threat, they're going to go and train and do whatever is needed to go ahead and surpass them. If this person is really good at this skill and they're not, they're going to increase that skill set so they can.

That's exactly what Arnold did when he competed, he was doing good. And then he got into a bigger league and then these guys were just bigger or leaner. There's some better shape. And then he lost. So then he goes, no, that's the last time I'm going to lose. And then he trained his butt off. So next time he can come around and he won, and he just continued on.

That's just his mentality. Just constantly like that. So there was no time to think about, am I doing a good job? Do I like the fact that I'm doing this, right? Or I'm doing that all that self judgment. We don't focus so much on it. It's not that we may get away from it completely. There's just a little bit of focus on it.

Majority of the focus is on the goal on that work. The part about being useful, the part about serving. So. I think this [00:14:00] topic is good for, people when they find themselves either in a place where they, struggle to feel motivated. And so I think somebody may go, well, how do you motivate yourself to be the best?

You know, to want to be the best at something like, oh my God, , that's like a really, really, really big mountain to climb. That's a big thing to aim for. It's one thing that do a good job to be the best. That's like you're competing against the world of people that are in that field.

And what I want to say to that is the limitations is within our own mind, completely in our own mind. If we decide that I'm going to aim to be the best, then all I'm going to do now is go look and see who's the best, who's the best. If we want to make this the best company, then what's considered the best company?

What are they like? What are they doing? What [00:15:00] makes them the best? And so you're not looking at the whole entire world. You're just looking at the best, right? What we determine the best that we can do on what that best is. Then we look at the characteristics of it. And then we go, okay, well, that's what I need to build.

That's what I need to do. And then from there, we start on our step one, step two, we start to climb that ladder and it may take many, many years, , something on the documentary Arnold was talking about, , he was a big movie star, but he talked about how it took him 10 years to go from being the best in bodybuilding to then landing a really solid role and actually making a name for himself in the movies, 10 years.

Those that during the 10 years, it's like, he just struggled. Nobody wants to hire him. Oh, your accent. You don't know English. No, you're too damn big. You know, nobody's going to use you. Nobody cares. Everybody's all about, you know, Al Pacino, look at him. He's cool. And that's what it's like. The, [00:16:00] so he had struggles.

It wasn't like he just showed up and just winning all the time. He was constantly facing struggles, but he just surpassed them because he wasn't focusing on it. He had a fixed goal. And I think that mentality, even if you don't want to be the absolute best, but the mentality of striving for more. And combine that with letting go of your own self value and look at how by striving for more, how you can serve more, be useful, do more for the world, do more for the people, combination of that I think would increase anybody's life.

Because it changes the way that we make decisions, because when we strive for something different, then the things that we do become different. The way we plan become different. If somebody's striving to be the best, it's different than striving to be okay, or striving to not lose. It's like, if you're striving to win, it's different than striving to not lose.

The way we [00:17:00] think and the way we approach it is entirely different. And I think that's big. And I'll say that's a really huge mindset. It's a game changer. 

Stephen: Awesome. All right. Well, thanks once again for sharing the wisdom. I hope you guys got value out of this episode. Once again, you can see that there are similar themes and really because so important and sometimes it takes different perspectives to really understand it at a deeper and deeper level.

So once again, appreciate you guys for hopping on and we'll see you on the next episode.