Judith Clark, on whom I based my character in the prison trilogy. She has served over 35 years and turned herself around. She is an inspiration.

Joseph Opio, a Ugandan writer who has discovered the secrets of happiness.

Michelle Obama (not that Barack wouldn’t be right up there). She seems genuinely to enjoy her life and do the best with all the tasks that she sets her mind to.

Wow, so many – Robert De Niro, James Cameron, Will Smith.

From a heart attack at the Kodak Theatre when they announce I won best actor for Terminator 3.

Well, maybe it was successful in the end. But, I mean, to get there - one of the things that I talk about is not to be afraid of failure because you're going to fail. And I was 19 years old. I was competing in the Mr. Universe contest, and I lost. I had movies that went in the toilet. I have had policy issues and referendums that went in front of the people that I lost. And, of course, in my personal life, you know, my marriage is a big loss. So there's a lot of losses and failures that I've had. And I think that it is important that we recognize that. But no matter what it is, I always had an exciting life and always chased something, and that made, to me, the whole thing worth it. I always felt I was enriched by the fact that I always knew where I was going. And then there were some things that were unexpected. Like, running for governor was something that kind of unfolded only because there was a recall election.

I am petrified of bikini waxing. I had a very bad experience in 1978.

It became such a big part of my life that even when I sleep in past 6 o'clock in the morning, I feel guilty because I hear my father's voice saying, you know, Arnold, that's not how this country was built, by sleeping in. Be useful. Do something. What are you doing now?

Spending time with my family—with no phone, no fax, and no meetings.

My father would make sure that I knew what it meant. Just to give you an example, I started bodybuilding with the age of 15, and my father would say, why are you lifting these dumbbells and barbells? Don't you think it would be better to just go out and chop some wood and shovel some coal for some poor people that don't have anyone? Therefore you would get muscles. But at the same time, you're doing something useful. You're doing something for somebody rather than just for yourself and looking in a mirror at yourself and stuff like that. So he would make sure that you knew what being useful meant.