I don’t like Arnold Schwarzenegger much, he is at best smug, and at worst, well it’s probably best if I don’t go there. There is a lot that can be learnt from him though.
- At the age of 15 he started weight training
- When he was 23 he won the Mr Olympia body building title
- By the age of 30 he was a millionaire business man
- His first film success was arguably (and we can argue, I have seen it) Conan the Barbarian when he was 35
- When he was 56 he was elected as Governor of California, the 9th biggest economy in the world.
Not too shoddy for a post man’s son.
The thing that sets Arnold apart isn’t his muscles, it is his focus. He is a living embodiment of what can be achieved if you have a clear sense of purpose. Perhaps he deserves to be smug.
Dr. W. Edwards Deming the famous statistician and consultant had 14 key management principles, his first was:
“Create constancy of purpose for continual improvement of products and service to society.”
He didn’t have the physique of Arnold, but a very similar approach.
It sounds obvious, keep focused on a goal and continuously strive to achieve that goal, always improving. Why wouldn’t you? All organisations do, don’t they?
Well, not quite.
Image by AZRainman
Yes focus is everything. Very difficult to be a sprinter and a marathon runner at the same time.
Pat