I always wanted to be a leading man: Arnold Schwarzenegger

For Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, the journey towards success was not easy. The actor says that it was his vision that helped him reach the top as "you don't get to the top by accident".

"I always wanted to be the leading man. I believe if you think big you will end up big. You need to have a clear vision and then go after that vision. I shot for the top as I was hungry for success. I dreamt big," the actor said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here Saturday.

The 67-year-old went on from being a body building champion to an action hero and rolling out some classics like "Conan The Barbarian", "The Terminator" and "Commando".

The actor, who has also been governor of California, said there are no shortcuts to success.

"There is no shortcut and you need to work hard. Just stay focused on your goals. Everyone goes through failures. I have had failures - be it flop movies, lost competitions or personal life. But what makes you a winner is the moment when you get up again, dust your self and start working for your goal again," he said.

"Don't listen to the naysayers. Everyone in Austria said that body building is an American sport. 'Thats crazy', they used to tell me. Then people said 150 pound guys don't make actors. 'You will never make it'. 'And the accent will not work for you either'. 'Don't do it'. I said I am gonna work just as hard as I did on body building.

"'Conan The Barbarian' stood no.1 at the box office. They wanted a muscular body and the makers said "If we didn't have Schwarzenegger, we would have to build one. Then 'Terminator' came along and the director said it worked only because he talked like a robot. With that German accent, 'I'll be back' worked so well," the actor added.

Although Schwarzenegger grew up in Austria and he came to USA because of opportunities.

"Everything that I've achieved is because of America, it is the land of opportunity. I went into politics as I wanted to give back to America as the country opened it's doors for me," said the "True Lies" actor.