The reason he wrote the phrase was not only because he was old, but because when he was governor of California, he inaugurated that hotel with his statue.
The hotel management told Arnold that “you can come at any time, and you will always have a separate room for yourself.”
When Arnold resigned as governor and wanted to stay at the hotel one day, the administration refused to give him a room, arguing that he would have to pay because the hotel was almost full.
He brought a “Sleeping Bag” and lay down under the statue and explained what he wanted to convey: “When I was in an important position, they always congratulated me, and when I lost this position, they forgot about me and did not keep their promise. Do not rely on your position or the amount of money you have, or your power, or your intelligence, that will not last.”
Trying to teach everyone that when you are “Important” in people’s eyes, everyone is your “Friend”. But once you don’t benefit or serve their interests, you won’t matter.
“You are not always who you think you will always be, nothing lasts forever.”
People come and go; everyone’s interests change overnight. They may embrace you today and betray you tomorrow and even trample on you.
THE CHALLENGE, then, is to learn to choose our connections well, disconnecting from the toxic and opportunistic ones, and taking the time to place, in our circles of trust, those who love us for who we are, and not for what they can take from us out of interest or reject out of disinterest.
