Be Useful Seven Tools for Life - Arnold Schwarzenegger

 Author: Arnold Schwarzenegger

ISBN: 9781529146547

Hi Everyone

When I look at Be Useful Seven Tools for Life - Arnold Schwarzenegger on Goodreads I am told it belongs in the following categories:

• Non-fiction
• Self-help
• Biography
• Memoir
• Philosophy
• Business
• Autobiography

Let's start analysing these and see what I come with.

Memoir and autobiography 

Definitely a yes for belonging in this category. Most of the book centers around Arnold Schwarzenegger and where he has come from, what he has achieved, and who he has become.  I spent my most informative years watching Arnold Schwarzengger on the big screen and our TV screen. Movies like 'The Terminator 'were the most captivating and thought-provoking movies of the generation. The lines he spoke were flicked around in conversations all across the school grounds. Arnold Schwarzenger was one of the best.

So when I picked this up, it was his story I was interested in. I had no idea how much Arnold had done in his lifetime. He is living proof that if you put hard work into what you want to accomplish then you can get the results. It is worth the read just to know all that he has achieved.

Quote - " I'll be back" - Terminator 

And Arnold Schwarzengger keeps coming back with something new for us. Time after time.

Biography

Not really. This is Arnold's story told by Arnold.

Business

If you want inspiration then this is a good read. Don't read this if you want a quick fix though. You will be told to work! Work! Work! You have 24 hours in a day, Arnold Schwarzengger tells us. If you want results then pull up your socks and use them. Stop scrolling and wasting time. You know how you are wasting time... sort it. If you want results then put the time in. Make the time. Get up early. You get the picture.

Quote - "Selling your vision means being open about what you're trying to achieve and telling your story in such a way that it is perceived in the most positive light possible by the people you need or want to get a yes from. Your customers, in other words" - Page 119

Philosophy

Be Useful. Arnold was ingrained with this as a child and has taken it into his adulthood. With good results. As you venture through the book you will see that it ends with the same concept put differently. He calls it -  breaking the mirrors. Helping others is what the book ends with. Take your usefulness out to others near and far. That is the foundation of his philosophy but not nearly the end. 

He starts the book with - Have a clear vision and ends the book with - breaking the mirrors. The whole book is a philosophy book. From having a vision and working hard, to taking it to the world. Every chapter has something to take from it.

I had to start the book again just to highlight and tab the pages. I got 118 pages in and decided this needed to be annotated. It didn't matter who else was going to read this book, I was going to get every little piece of inspiration from every single paragraph. 

Quote - "...everything good, all great change, starts with a clear vision" - Page 4

Self-help

If you are willing to read this book not just by turning the pages but by reading every paragraph and then taking a moment to reflect, you will find this deserves more than a self-help category. We can all read self-help books. They line the shelves of every library and bookstore. There is a market out there making millions from our need to be told what to do. 

In my hand, I have a book that will tell me in Arnold's written word to... Get clear with your vision. Never think small. Work your ass off. Sell, sell sell. Shift gears. Shut your mouth, open your mind. And, break the mirrors.  They are chapters!

If you want inspiration and someone to tell you to do the work, then you know what book to pick up. You will get something from this book.  I don't know what that is for you. But you will get something.

Quote - "Use it or lose it. These words apply to so many areas of life, they should be considered a law of the universe" - Page 216

Description: 

If there is one unavoidable truth in this world, it's that there is no substitute for putting in work.

There is no shortcut or growth hack or magic pill that can get you around the hard work of doing your job well, of winning something you care about, or of making your dreams come true.

People have tried to cut corners and skip steps in this process for as long as hard work has been hard.

Eventually, those people either fall behind or get left in our dust, because working your ass off is the only thing that works 100 percent of the time for \ 100 percent of the things worth achieving.

Happy reading