Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on Howard Stern this week, not shying away from spitting some truths and taking the U.S. to task for the current crop of what he calls “overbabying.”
“You can only strengthen your character and become a really strong person inside if you have resistance, if you fail, if you get up again and if you work hard,” Schwarzenegger told Stern. “Anyone that tries to baby themselves and pamper themselves . . . it’s over. You’re never going to get there.”
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For Schwarzenegger, those who accept the pain, misery, and discomfort will grow in life. He pulled out the body-building history, his career ambitions, and his knowledge of history to hit out at the “wimpy,” though it sounds like old people complaining about younger people at times.
“Is it people that slept in? Is it people that were wimping out? This, ‘Oh, I want to feel good. Oh, I want to be comfortable.’ No,” he continues. “This is where ballsy women and men that went out there at five in the morning and got up, and they struggled . . . they fought . . . they worked their butts off. That’s what made this country great. And so now let’s continue this way.”
This isn’t to say that Schwarzenegger is out to be the cruel host of Taskmaster USA’s second attempt, he does still want people to be nice. “Let’s go and teach kids to be tough . . . go out and do sports . . . to struggle . . . and go through this kind of painful moments sometimes,” he added.
He also talked about his desire to be president, though he knows it is “the one thing” he can’t do despite his success and power. “It really wasn’t because I felt like everything I’ve accomplished in my life-[the] bodybuilding career, the movie career, becoming Governor, setting up my Schwarzenegger Institute, all this stuff, the millions of dollars I made and everything-it’s all because of America,” he says. “So, why would I complain about the one thing I can’t do?”
“I think that I would’ve made a great president. I think that I have the energy and the will to bring people together,” he continued, noting how people have told him they wish he’d be president. “There are so many people out there in America who need help, so I think we should all concentrate on that…and not just think about ourselves.”
