108 Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder
I'd always loved the excitement of winning, but I loved it es-
pecially when there was a contest. It seemed to me that I had
made my mark in bodybuilding. I knew there were other con-
tests, other worlds to conquer. I was already into business, and I
was working and studying to get into acting. My acting classes
opened up an entire new space for me: myself. One thing I
learned was to look back and analyze who I was and what I'd
done.
Working in the same way I had to build my body, I wanted to
create an empire. Because of my business education and the
practical aspects of business I learned from Joe Weider, I felt I
was equipped to go ahead with my own enterprises. I estab-
lished a series of mail-order training courses which enabled me
to help educate thousands of bodybuilders all over the world. I
sold photo albums, tee shirts, posing trunks, personalized pro-
grams. I worked out seminars all over the world—Japan, Aus-
tralia, South Africa, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy,
France, Finland, Spain, Canada, Mexico and the United States. I
began promoting bodybuilding competitions in America. In or-
der to keep up my name and make it grow, I continued to defend
my titles. Eventually, I wanted every single person who touched
a weight to equate the feeling of the barbell with my name. The
moment he got a hold of it I wanted him to think, "Arnold."
I think the most important things I developed through body-
building were my personality, confidence and character. When
you have a well-developed body and you're confident, you see
people bending your way, wanting to be on your side, wanting to
do things for you. When I was young I suffered from the same
insecurity even." kid has. But as I transformed myself into some-
thing strong and unique, discovering I could do one thing well,
confidence came to me naturally. And that gave me a great deal
of security.
I believe you overcome a lot of frustrations in the gymnasium,
things you're not even aware of. I found that the more I worked
out, the less violent I became. It trimmed away tensions and
taught me how to relax: When I put in a good workout I felt a
sense of accomplishment. I felt like a newborn person. I had the
strength to go on and conquer in other areas and feel confident