Book info

• Title Be Useful
• Author Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Year 2023
• Genre Non-fiction

The world's greatest bodybuilder. The world's highest paid movie star. The leader of the world's sixth largest economy. That these are the same person sounds like the setup to a joke. But this is no joke. This is Arnold Schwarzenegger. And this did not happen by accident. Arnold's stratospheric success happened as part of a process. As the result of clear vision, big thinking, hard work, direct communication, resilient problem-solving, open-minded curiosity, and a commitment to giving back. All of it guided by the one lesson Arnold's father hammered into 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, powerful voice, BE USEFUL takes readers on an inspirational tour through Arnold's toolkit for a meaningful life. Arnold 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.

Thoughts

I didn’t know that Arnold S had gone the wise old owl route and was really turning into something of a self help guru, but here we are, the proof is in the audiobook! I listened to Arnie’s reading of this book and I’m glad I did because I think it gave it an authenticity and approachability that reading the text may not have done. Lots of wisdom in here, lots of common sense, a little bit of hard love as well - you have to do the work to make your dreams come true. But overall a really good listen, quite inspiring and honestly a pleasant surprise!

Rating: 5 / 5