I thought the same thing when I watch the latest UFC Fight Night when there 20 yr old kid that was fighting that looked Amazing and he won AND Already has a mma record of 14-0
what....the...fuck lol
I think the key is simply that these people were very serious from an extemely young age on. Myself and almost everyone wasted his whole youth with partying, bitches, getting drunk....and then you hit your 20s and start asking yourself what to do with your life.
Those people were 100 % focused on their goals from 13-14 on, and are now able to enjoy their success. These are 5-10 years of buildup work you won't ever be able to catch up anymore your entire life. If you had focused completely on BB or UFC (or even school grades; you're done with average grades) from that age on you could have gone far there too, but what teenager thinks of tomorrow?
If you don't have your family pushing you in that direction from childhood on it's almost impossible. That's what makes Arnold even more special, cause he did it all completely on his own, even as a teenager, and never gave up.