Be Useful

The seven rules to follow to realize your true purpose in life, distilled by Arnold Schwarzenegger from his own journey of ceaseless reinvention and extraordinary achievement, are available for absolutely anyone. The world's greatest bodybuilder, the world's highest-paid movie star, and the leader of the world's sixth-largest economy—these are all the same person, and this is no joke. This is Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his stratospheric success did not happen by accident.

Arnold's success is the result of a process characterized by clear vision, big thinking, hard work, direct communication, resilient problem-solving, open-minded curiosity, and a commitment to giving back. All of this was guided by the one lesson his father instilled in him above all: be useful. As Arnold conquered every realm he entered, he kept his father's adage close to his heart.

Written with his uniquely earnest, blunt, and powerful voice, "Be Useful" takes readers on an inspirational tour through Arnold's toolkit for a meaningful life. He shows us how to put those tools to work in service of whatever fulfilling future we can dream up for ourselves. He brings his insights to vivid life with compelling personal stories, life-changing successes, and life-threatening failures alike—some of them famous, some told here for the first time ever.

Too many of us struggle to disconnect from self-pity and connect to our purpose. At an early age, Arnold forged the mental tools to build the ladder out of the poverty and narrow-mindedness of his rural Austrian hometown, tools he used to add rung after rung from there. Now he has shared that wisdom with all of us. As he puts it, no one is going to come rescue you—you only have yourself. The good news is that you are all you need.