Well, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Wow.
I am now a cougar.
Whose house?
Who’s house?
Whose house?
Let me try that.
It is wonderful.
Thank you so much for the wonderful introduction,
President Khator.
It is a wonderful day to be here at the University
and thank you also for the great work that
you are doing on behalf of all of those students.
Let’s give a big, big hand for the wonderful
work that your president is doing here at
University.
I tell you, When I read her bio, I am so proud
of her.
What a great immigrant.
How many great contributions she makes to
this university, to this state, and to this
country.
When I heard that she was the first Indian
immigrant to lead a comprehensive university
in the United States, I say to myself, I’m
going to hit it off really well with her.
The reason is because I love going to places
where I’m not the only one with an accent.
But seriously, I’m proud to be introduced
by a fellow immigrant.
And the students are very lucky here to have
such a fantastic and talented leader.
I also want to say thank you to the faculty.
You have spent years teaching the students,
inspiring them, and occasionally even arguing
with them.
But none of them will be here without you,
so big hand to the faculty.
Finally, I would like to say thank you to
the parents and to the families that are here
today.
You shaped the students from the beginnings
of their lives, way before they became proud
cougars.
You have been there for them every step of
the way, giving them advice and giving them
affection, love, and pushing them along, and
probably sometimes even worried about them.
But thank you very much for all of the great
work that you have done.
Let’s give the parents and the families
a big hand of applause.
Now, to the students; This is a big day for
all of you and I know some of you are going
to say, ‘Wait a minute, this is our day.
Why is Schwarzenegger thanking everyone here
in Houston?
When is he going to get to us?’
Well, first of all, congratulations to all
of you.
I know that it took a huge vision, great vision,
and a lot of work and a lot of studying and
there is no one that can study for you.
You have to do that yourself.
So I want you all to know that I am very,
very proud of all of you.
Thank you for the great work that you have
done.
Now, the diplomas — there will only be one
name and this is yours, but I hope it doesn’t
confuse you and you think that maybe you made
it that far by yourself.
No, you didn’t.
It took a lot of help.
None of us can make it alone.
None of us.
Not even the guy that is talking to you right
now, that was the greatest bodybuilder of
all times.
Not even me, that has been the Terminator
and went back in time to save the human race.
Not even me that fought and killed predators
with his bare hands.
I always tell people that you can call me
anything that you want.
You can call me Arnold.
You can call me Schwarzenegger.
You can call me the Austrian oak.
You can call me Schwarzy.
You can call me Arnie.
But don’t ever, ever call me the self‑made
man.
But this is so important for you to understand.
I didn’t make it that far on my own.
I mean, to accept that credit or that medal,
would discount every single person that has
helped me get here today, that gave me advice,
that made an effort, that gave me the time,
that lifted me up when I fell.
And it gives the wrong impression that we
can do it all alone.
None of us can.
The whole concept of the self‑made man or
woman is a myth.
Now, I know you are going to say, look, we
have read so many stories about you and we
saw documentaries where they talk about that
you are the model of the American dream and
that you’re the perfect example of the self‑made
man.
Well, let me tell you, I have seen, and heard,
and read those stories myself.
Enjoyed reading them, but the fact of the
matter is, it is not the whole story.
I didn’t just materialize out of nowhere
like the Terminator through a fireball in
the streets of Los Angeles, and then all of
a sudden I was there.
No.
I would have never made it in my life without
the help.
I happen to be someone, for instance, that
believes in God.
That we were created by God, but let’s assume
for a second that you are not into that, then
you must also believe in — at least believe
in a biological aspect, that parents creating
us.
I wouldn’t be here without my parents creating
me, nurturing me, feeding me, changing my
diapers, loving me, hugging me, and all of
that.
And then later on when I went to school there
were the teachers, and then there where mentors,
the coaches, and then my mother was there
in the afternoon helping me do my homework
and be tutoring.
And then in the evening my father was there
helping me in sports, coaching us in soccer
and in the winters skiing, sledding, ice skating,
ice curling, and all those kinds of things.
My father taught me about discipline and my
love and appreciation for sports.
And he gave me my first great advice, by saying,
‘Whatever you do, Arnold, be useful.’
So, you also read so many times that I decided
from one day to the next to become a bodybuilding
champion and I started training 5 hours a
day and then I became the youngest Mr. Universe
ever.
Well, it is true, but the fact of the matter
is, it is not the whole story, because if
I wouldn’t have met a lifeguard at the lake
where I grew up and some bodybuilders that
introduced me to weight training and taught
me the first chin‑up on a branch of a tree
of that lake, and that eventually introduced
me also to a weightlifting club locally, where
the coaches taught me powerlifting and weightlifting
and bodybuilding.
They helped me and they nurtured me.
They pushed me.
And then eventually I saw a magazine with
Reg Park on the cover.
It said, Mr. Universe becomes Hercules.
There was Reg Park in a Hercules pose on the
cover.
I bought that magazine.
I read the story from the front to the end
cover and let me tell you something.
I read exactly how he trained; 5 hours a day.
And how he became a champion, Mr. Universe
three times, and how he went to America.
And then discovered in the movies — Hercules’
movies.
Well, when I read that, I found my vision.
And let me tell you the most important thing
in life is to have vision, to know exactly
where you’re vision.
I found my vision and that magazine, Reg Park,
gave me my blueprint for my life, and five
years later, after training 5 hours a day,
just like him and doing his exercises, I became,
through his help and his inspiration, the
youngest Mr. Universe ever.
And this is what made then Joe Weider the
father of bodybuildings, the owner of a giant
food supplement empire, the editor of Muscle
and Fitness invited me to America.
So, it was Joe Weider that brought me to America,
to the greatest country in the world, to give
me the opportunity to train in Gold’s Gym
and to get me a little apartment.
I came over here with absolutely nothing.
It was his help.
I had $20 in the pocket and some sweaty clothes
in the gym bag.
But, let me tell you I had this one little
apartment and on Thanksgiving, the bodybuilders
from Gold’s Gym came to my apartment and
they brought me pillows, dishes, silverware,
all of those things I didn’t have.
And even a black and white TV and the transistor
radio, which I still have today on the end
table next to my bed.
The generosity that I saw.
The amount of help that I got when I came
to America was absolutely extraordinary, saw
firsthand how generous the American people
are.
And then in Gold’s Gym, there was a magical
place with all of the champions, Mr. Americas,
Mr. World, Mr. Universe, everyone was training,
powerlifters, Olympic champions and so on.
And they helped me change from an amateur
champion to a professional champion.
And after that, I won champion after championship,
Seven times Mr. Olympia.
You heard it all.
And became the greatest bodybuilder of all
times according to the bodybuilding magazine
in 1975.
Now this is just — with all of the help,
I would not have made any of that by myself.
So, this is why I don’t believe in the self‑made
man and even when it comes to show business,
it was the same thing.
I mean — you read the stories that Schwarzenegger
decided from one day to the next to retire
from bodybuilding and to go and become an
actor.
And in no time, he did Conan the Barbarian
and Terminator and Commander and so on.
Well, it is true, but it is only half of the
story because the reality of it is without
a lot of help I wouldn’t have made it.
First of all, it would have been fun to make
it that easy and to be that easy, but it was
very, very difficult to get into the movies.
Very difficult.
And only because I had help, I could get in
because in the beginning every agent, every
manager, every studio executive said, you
will never become a leading man.
Look at your body.
You look like a monster.
I was upset about that because I trained so
hard and for so long and all of a sudden they
call me monsters, but the bottom line is,
they said, ‘This is the 70’s.
Twenty years they did Hercules.
Movies today, the little guys are in; Dustin
Hoffman, Al Pacino, Woody Allen.
Those are the sex symbols of the 70’s.
Don’t you understand it?’
I said, ‘Oh, my God.
Who are they?’
But they even belittled me with my accent.
They said, ‘Look, the way you talk.
I have to be very honest.
I don’t want to offend you, but you give
me the creeps with your accent, with that
German accent.
It’s scary.’
They said, ‘Maybe we can get you a job in
Hogan’s Heroes, in that TV show, to play
a Nazi officer.
And plus your name, Schwarzen, Schmitzl, or
whatever it is, I can see that already up
there on billboard, and people running in
because of the name.’
The bottom line is, it was very, very difficult
but only because I decided not to listen to
the nay‑sayers and because I decided to
work as hard as I did in bodybuilding, to
take acting lessons, to take voice lessons,
English lessons, speech lessons and accent
removal lessons.
Now, I know you are going to say: ‘Get your
money back, Arnold.’
But the bottom line is I ran around, ‘The
fine wine grows on a vine,’ because the
Germans always had difficulties with the F,
W, and the V. The fine wine grows on a vine.
And then, ‘The sink is made out of zinc’
and all those kinds of things.
So, I did this thousands of time and eventually
it worked.
I started getting little parts and then I
started getting bigger parts, and then eventually,
even though it was very difficult, it was
Dino De Laurentiis and Ed Pressman that came
to me with Conan the Barbarian.
And if they wouldn’t have helped me to get
that part, I would not have broken through
and become a leading man.
This movie came out — they spent $20 million,
which in today’s terms is around $200 million
on that movie.
It was number 1 in the box office.
That was, for me, the big breakthrough.
And at the press conference, the director
even said, if we wouldn’t have Schwarzenegger,
we would have to build one because I was the
only one that could act and had a body like
that for Conan the Barbarian.
And then, of course, there was James Cameron
that directed Terminator.
When Terminator came out, James Cameron said,
the reason why Terminator worked is because
Schwarzenegger talks like a machine.
Now, I don’t know if I should take this
as a compliment or what, but the bottom line
is, it was the two things that the studio
executives said would be big liability, became
big, big assets and my career took off.
And this is why I always say thank you to
the people that helped me along the way and
not ever think that I’m a self‑made man
because, not only was the producer and directors
that are helpful, and the studio executives
are helpful, but every person that works in
a movie.
As a matter of fact, when we have a wrap party,
which is the party at the end of the movie,
I always make sure every person gets invited
to that wrap party, to say thank you to them
at the wrap party.
And go to the microphone and you say thank
you to the cameraman because without him,
I wouldn’t look as great on the screen;
to the makeup person; to the visual effects
person; to the stunt people; the stunt coordinator;
the cable pullers; craft services; and the
list goes on and on and on.
There’s 280 people that work in a movie
that make you look great on that screen so
how can I say I’m a self‑made man?
So, this is why it is important for all of
us to recognize and this is why I tell you,
on every step of the way I had help.
Even when I ran for governor, people say,
‘One day he decided to run for governor
and to take over the sixth largest economy
in the world.’
No, this is not the way it was.
Yes, I took over and yes, I won the governorship,
but if it wouldn’t have been for Jay Leno,
who hosted the tonight show, who I called
a week before and I said, ‘I want to announce
my candidacy on your show, on the Tonight
Show because I want to sell myself as an outsider
because the people in California are sick
and tired of the typical politician.’
So, he said to me, and he was a great friend,
he said ‘Yes.
I’m going to help you with you that.’
And I announced, without anyone knowing, on
August 6th, on the Tonight Show, my candidacy.
And he even organized 100 journalists from
politics to sit in the back when I announced
my candidacy.
So, this is the kind of help I got.
Then, of course, I didn’t even have a team
yet.
People came out of nowhere and just started
helping organizing the campaign, and with
fundraising, and with communication, and with
all of those things.
And I became, two months later, the governor
of the state of California, but it took a
lot of help.
And I have to say that it is important to
acknowledge that because people make it always
sound that you did all this yourself.
I didn’t.
I did it with a lot of help.
Yes, I was determined.
Yes, I never listened to the nay‑sayers.
Yes, I had a great vision.
Yes, I had the fire in the belly and all of
those things, but I didn’t do it without
the help.
And even when you then say, Schwarzenegger
did the most unbelievable environmental laws
in California, well guess how laws are done?
It took the legislators — 120 legislators
to negotiate for weeks and months at a time,
and then to send down legislation and then
you sign that.
So you need help too.
I had a lot of help along the way and this
is why it is so important for all of you to
recognize that.
And the biggest help, of course, was from
America.
If I wouldn’t have come to the United States,
if I would have come to any other country,
I would not have had the success.
I mean, America has proven not only to the
be the land of opportunity image‑wise, but
America has proven to be the greatest country
in the world.
Anyone can make it!
This is why I always tell people, none of
my careers would have happened if it wouldn’t
have been for the United States of America.
I could have gone to the Middle East.
Do you think I would stand here today?
I could have gone to Africa.
Do you think I would stand here today Or to
Australia or to Asia, to any other country
in Europe, it makes no difference.
This place has given me the opportunity, step
after step, all the way through all my three
careers and the millions and millions of dollars
I’ve made all because of America.
So, thank you, America, for the great thing
that you’re doing for immigrants that come
over here.
And the reason why I want you to understand
that is because as soon as you understand
that you are here because of a lot of help,
then you also understand that now is time
to help others.
That’s what this is all about.
You got to help others.
Don’t just think about yourself.
Help others.
As my father‑in‑law, sergeant Shriver
said, at Yale university commencement speech,
just like I’m speaking right now here, except
I speak to a better university, but he said
— Sergeant Shriver said — you know he
was the guy that created the Peace Corps,
the Job Corps, Legal Aid to the poor and an
extraordinarily human being under the Johnson
and Kennedy administration.
So, he said to those students, he said, ‘Tear
down this mirror.
Tear down this mirror that makes you always
look at yourself and you will be able to look
beyond this mirror and see the millions of
people that need your help.’
And let me tell you something, when I heard
that, it all made sense to me, that we have
to go out and help.
And this is why I got involved in special
Olympics, to be the international coach of
special Olympics, and then eventually became
the chairman of the president’s council
on physical fitness and sports.
I was appointed by President Bush, my favorite
Houstonian and — I should not say the only
one, but Barbara.
I should add Barbara because I see them later
on.
I don’t want to leave out Barbara here because
otherwise, she gets really mad.
Yeah, so anyway, So both of them.
And then drive through around all 50 states
to promote health and fitness and then eventually
started after‑school programs and now we
are in 40 different — 48 different cities
providing after‑school programs for over
100,000 kids and all this.
So, i mean it is — to me, it was very important
to give back and also to go — every time
I travel around the world, to go military
bases and to visit our brave men and women
that save us, that protect us, to say, thank
you, thank you, thank you to them, anywhere
in the world that I travel.
So it is important to recognize that.
So all I’m saying is, it is my challenge
to you today to go ahead and to celebrate
your accomplishment.
You should.
This commencement is a great success and each
of you earned your diplomas, but at some point,
take a break from the celebration, away from
the Instagrams and snapchats, and think about
all of the people that help you.
Make sure to go and to recognize President
Khator and to say thank you to her for the
great work that she has done.
Say thank you to the deans of this university
that are responsible to make this university
so great.
Say thank you to the professors and associate
professors, everyone that taught you and everyone
that’s responsible for you to be here today,
and go to your parents and give them a big,
big hug and tell them that you love them and
thank you for everything that you have done
to get me here today.
do that, And give something back to your community
and to your state and to this country because
remember, in the end, we are not going to
be remembered for how much we made but for
how much we have given.
Make sure that it is not about me.
That it is about ‘we.’
Turn the ‘me’ into ‘we,’ and I guarantee
you that you can change the world.
Thank you very much all of you cougars.
Thank you.
