Monday Motivation: Fight The Devil by Arnold Schwarzenegger

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In his script for King Conan, John Milius wrote one of the most powerful scenes I’ve read in any script.

Conan had become complacent after years on the throne. He no longer had the same hunger, and his sword had become an artifact on his wall instead of the instrument of action you remember from Conan the Barbarian. He was at that point in his life where he was content to relive his glory days instead of creating new ones.

Then, one night, he’s walking through the dark halls of his castle, and Death — the devil — confronts him.

The devil tells Conan he’s old and tired, and invites him to just come with him, where he can relax and rest in comfort.

It awakens something in Conan, and in his old Barbarian fashion, he tells the devil, “Fuck you,” and unsheaths his sword for the first time in ages to literally fight Death himself.

I won’t spoil the whole story in case someone ever decides we should finally make King Conan, but I think a lot of you, especially those of you who are aging, might see yourself in this scene.

And last week, when I went to visit John Milius, I had to use his own lines on the man himself, because he needed to hear it. You know John as the writer of some of the greatest movies of all time, like Apocalypse Now, and as the director of Conan and other amazing movies. He’s a friend and a mentor, and I owe my career to him, so as he is fighting cancer and other health challenges, I feel a duty to be there to pump him up.

Let’s be honest: aging can be a real pain in the ass, and seeing ourselves and our best friends get older can make us want to hide.

But that’s when we have to show up for ourselves and them.

John has been a real champion, fighting this cancer with courage. But I know it’s hard to go through chemo, and his nurse told me he needs to get up and walk more, so I asked him if he’s walking.

He told me he didn’t feel like it, and I reminded him of what he wrote about Conan.

I said:

“John, that’s not you who doesn’t want to walk. That’s the devil inside you. You know better than anyone he will play tricks on you. He will tell you to lie down, to just relax, to choose comfort. That’s because he wants you sooner. But you have to say “Fuck you!” like Conan. He can have you some day, but not today. This is a battle, and you are a gladiator. It goes from morning to night.”

I saw that famous Milius fire light up in his eyes, and he put out his hand for me. I helped him up, and we did a lap, and then another. His body was waking up and his mind was deciding to fight. He wanted to walk more, and I had to make him rest between sets of walking.

I’ll go back to keep pushing him, but I asked him if I could tell this story to all of you.

Because the reality is, that devil tries to play tricks on all of us. It will tell you that there is no point, that your best days are behind you, that you might as well be comfortable.

It is your job to fight back, every single day.

Yes, exercising might be uncomfortable.

Yes, eating good food might not be as tasty.

I get it. We all want easy. But that’s the devil talking, because the reality is that the “easy” life is a mirage.

People who choose easy end up living a much harder, less joyful life. We know this from science, and from experience. They are more likely to have diabetes, heart problems, Alzheimer’s, aches and pains, low energy — you name an ailment that people complain about, and not exercising and eating crappy food makes it a certainty. That devil on your shoulder wants the best for him, which is the worst for you.

The great news is, like John and me, all of you have the power to fight.

All you need is the will.

I have seen it over and over.

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