Arnold’s Game-Changing Mind Trick And How You Can Use It Too

I love stories like this because, as I am won’t to say, what one man can do another can do. Arnold’s trick is something any of us can use.

In the early 1970s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a nobody in Hollywood.

Thick Austrian accent. Giant muscles. No acting training. No agent. He was literally advised to “lose the accent, lose the muscles, and change the name.”

No one took him seriously.

Except for Arnold himself.

Enabling a Big Vision

Every morning in his tiny Los Angeles apartment, Arnold stared at a wall covered in photos.

• A mansion in Beverly Hills

• A red Ferrari

• A scene from a blockbuster movie

And most of all, a photo of President Ronald Reagan. Not for politics, but because Reagan had gone from actor . . . to Governor.

Arnold dreamed big

His “Future Memory”

He called it future memory - seeing what did not exist yet, but acting as if it already did.

So while everyone else saw a bodybuilder with a funny voice, Arnold walked into every room like he was already a star.

He took acting classes. Speech classes. Business classes. He invested every dollar from bodybuilding into real estate. In fact, he became a millionaire from real estate before he ever became a major movie star.

He showed up on low-budget film sets and talk shows like he belonged.

And slowly but surely, the pictures on his wall became the life he lived.

Movie star. Millionaire.

Governor.

The Takeaway

Arnold did not wait for permission. He built the vision first and then grew into it.

The world will not believe it until you do. You do not need better credentials, more experience, or someone to choose you. You need a picture in your mind so clear and so real, you start acting from it now.

Steal This Strategy

📖 Book – Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold’s 2023 book on discipline, vision, and reinvention.

🎥 Video – Arnold’s Vision Speech
His legendary speech on why you must have a clear vision before anything else.

🌐 Website – Canva Free Vision Board Creator
Create a digital version of Arnold’s wall using this free template.

Overnight Challenge

Make your wall.

Cut out or print 3 images that represent the life you want. Tape them up where you can see them. Do not wait to feel ready — act as if it is already yours.

As Goethe said: “Begin it now.”

About Steve

Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a ghostwriter or a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve!