Monday Motivation 3/20
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Founder, The Pump app and Arnold’s Pump Club free daily newsletter. Beat the Predator. Traveled through time to save the human race. Public servant, not party servant. Bodybuilding champion.
Years ago, before I was the Arnold you know now, I ran into Henry Kissinger (former Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, and Nobel Peace Prize winner). He was probably like I am for many of you — someone I saw on TV all the time. I read whatever he wrote, and I was blown away by his intelligence. It was a big deal for me, so I had to use my opportunity to ask him a question.
“How are you so calm and collected in all of your interviews?”
He gave me advice I’d never forget. “Arnold, the trick is, I start out by asking the interviewer questions. I show that I’m curious about them and want to know about their life. It throws them off wanting to interrogate me and it also puts my mind at ease since now it isn’t an interview where I’m waiting nervously for the first question; it’s just a regular conversation.”
Last week I talked about listening to people because sometimes they need to be heard. This week, I want you to try to go a step further: be curious about people. You never know what you’ll learn.
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As a bonus, when you go on the offensive and start asking other people questions, you’ll find it eases any anxiety you might have about conversation or even a job interview. It’s a skill that will help you in all aspects of your life. I’ve been lucky to meet almost all of my heroes — from Nelson Mandela to Mikhail Gorbachev — and one thing they have in common is never-ending curiosity. They’re always hungry for more information.
A few years after my conversation with Kissinger, I had a big interview: I was sitting down with Barbara Walters for the first time. While we were getting settled, I said, “Who is one of your favorite interviews?”
Barbara lit up, and she told me that Henry Kissinger was a fantastic interview. She went on and on about how he always wanted to know everything about her, and we both relaxed more as we laughed about it. I couldn’t help but start the interview with a smile; the only reason we were talking about Kissinger was that I’d started out by using what I’d learned from him. I’d become the questioner.
Spend this week being as curious as you can, and tell me how it works out for you. Stay hungry.
Project and interim manager, business mediator
1 年Thank you
pe aripile muncii
1 年WFM Professional/Specialist USMC Veteran
1 年Great story. I met two of the three men who were both at the very top of their fields (one yours) that I originally set out to meet. In those encounters I learned valuable lifelong lessons. The one I missed was Ronald Reagan.
Senior Management Consultant, Veteran Non-profit Specialist, President at WJM Consulting, Inc. Founded in 2011.
1 年Good message. I like to refer to it as 'getting into their story' and everybody has one, but too few people want to spend the energy to discover it. That kind of goes hand-in glove with the realization that every person we will meet has a secret battle that we know nothing about. Therefore, we should be kind. Always be kind!