More from Arnold Schwarzenegger

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.

AS

Arnold Schwarzenegger

University of Houston Commencement 2017, 2017

4:19

Video starts at 4:19 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

Schwarzenegger used his trademark humor to set up the central thesis of his speech: the myth of the self-made person. After playfully listing his accomplishments — greatest bodybuilder of all time, the Terminator, predator killer with his bare hands — he delivered this line with unexpected gravity. He explained that accepting the self-made label would discount every person who helped him along the way — the parents who raised him, the coaches who trained him, the mentors who guided him. 'It gives the wrong impression that we can do it all alone. None of us can.' The line became the most quoted moment from the speech.

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