Skip to content
AS
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
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.

A Martínez, Morning Edition, NPR, 6 October 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 69 →
Mario Molina Atmospheric chemist; Nobel laureate in Chemistry, 1995
At first the research did not seem to be particularly interesting – I carried out a systematic search for processes that might destroy the CFCs in the lower atmosphere, but nothing appeared to affect them. We knew, however, that they would eventually drift to sufficiently high altitudes to be destroyed by solar radiation. The question was not only what destroys them, but more importantly, what the consequences are.
Recorded Laureate-written autobiography, provided by the laureate in November 2007, Nobel Prize Outreach, 1 November 2007 source ↗
Warren Buffett Chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, 1970–2025
My first mistake, of course, was in buying control of Berkshire. Though I knew its business - textile manufacturing - to be unpromising, I was enticed to buy because the price looked cheap. Stock purchases of that kind had proved reasonably rewarding in my early years, though by the time Berkshire came along in 1965 I was becoming aware that the strategy was not ideal. If you buy a stock at a sufficiently low price, there will usually be some hiccup in the fortunes of the business that gives you a chance to unload at a decent profit, even though the long-term performance of the business may be terrible. I call this the "cigar butt" approach to investing. A cigar butt found on the street that has only one puff left in it may not offer much of a smoke, but the "bargain purchase" will make that puff all profit. Unless you are a liquidator, that kind of approach to buying businesses is foolish.
Recorded Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder letter, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., 2 March 1990 source ↗
Peyton Manning American football quarterback
That's a real challenge and a real issue. Reading the statistics, they had a ranking of quarterbacks, and the statistic was the percentage of a touchdown drive after an interception. To me, that is a telling statistic. The guys that have a high percentage are the guys that have short memories. They talk about having amnesia as a quarterback. You better move along from it. It is hard to say you forget about it, because you want to learn from it. You want to address it. You can't just say it never happened.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interviewer, Academy of Achievement interview, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 April 2007 source ↗
Mike Krzyzewski Basketball coach at Duke University, 1980-2022; winner of five NCAA championships
The world would say it was failure. But the difference was so small between us. They played great, but they lost.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interviewer, Academy of Achievement interview, Durham, North Carolina, 1 May 2001 source ↗

More from Arnold Schwarzenegger

View profile →
Question Which teacher, parent, coach, or friend most made you who you are, and what did you learn from them? Relationships
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.
Recorded A Martínez, Morning Edition, NPR, 6 October 2023 source ↗
Question Which writers or artists have most influenced your work? Taste & recommendation
Well, there were, you know, several poses that was known for everybody, that is known for certain poses. And to me it was the three-quarter back pose. And it was a very difficult pose to do, to twist your body and to show the small waist and to show at the same time your wide shoulders, your back. And you also see the front and you see the abs and you see the calf and the thighs and all of those things. But it was a difficult pose to do. Very few bodybuilders could master it. I copied basically Reg Park, who was my idol and who won three times the Mr. Universe competition. And he was known for that pose in a kneeling position and in a standing position. And so because he was my idol, I was, you know, absolutely fanatic to copy his poses and then to kind of improve on that. And that's exactly what I did.
Recorded David Greene, Talk of the Nation, NPR, 2 October 2012 source ↗

More on failure & regret

Also answered this

Joyce Carol Oates, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Norman Borlaug, Li Na, Frederick Sanger, Ben Bradlee

Search the directory for somebody in particular.

Explore further

Report this answer