In late 2012, I read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story. Schwarzenegger is a fascinating character whose single-mindedness, discipline and absolute focus are both inspiring and deeply strange. The book is full of anecdotes that highlight his brutally direct mindset.

Below are a few select extracts from the memoir that stood out to me, presented verbatim, but with slightly snarky bolding added for flavor.

  • “Up till then, I’d thought that only girls cry, but I ended up crying quietly in the dark for hours.”
  • “Our apartment was always way cleaner than anyone else’s I went to, men or women. Especially women. They were like piglets.”
  • “I took off my clothes, put on the oil, and started pumping up.”
  • “I’d watched every installment, soaking up his ideas like a thirsty sponge.”
  • “I was like a sponge, soaking it all in.”
  • “For the next few weeks, I was basically in sponge mode.”
  • “Often it’s easier to make a decision when you don’t know as much, because then you can’t overthink.”
  • “Women always talked about emotions, but I considered it silly talk. It did not fit into my plan. Not that I usually admitted this to them, because it did not make them happy – instead I’d half listen and just say ‘Yeah, I understand.’”
  • “The economists who consulted for the state were saying ‘We’re facing some headwinds in housing, but the economy will pick up again in the next couple of years. The fundamentals are strong, and you can expect continuing healthy growth in 2009-10.’ Yet only two months later, our monthly revenues from taxes began falling alarmingly short: $300 million below expectations in August, $400 million in November, $600 million in December. The prediction was that we would have a $6 billion shortfall in our budget by the time the next fiscal year began in July 2008. I thought, ‘What is that about?’”