Ofcourse you should have an exit strategy if you plan to HODL. It doesn't mean you have to stick it for the rest of your life, if you still think of HODLing then how will you make money (That is what most of the people needed here)? You must sell your holdings atleast one point in your life.
It depends on your interpretation of hodl. In most cases hodl indeed means that people at some point plan to unload their coins, but that's only if they are fiat centric. In my case hodl means that I will keep holding through until I don't need to cash out my coins anymore to buy whatever I want, because I can buy everything with Bitcoin by that time. People keep complaining about banks and this system, but don't do anything to change that, which is quite odd in my opinion with Bitcoin being available to offer you the freedom you always wanted to have, but never was allowed to have. This thread perfectly shows how people are focused purely on fiat, which at the end of the day is their rightful choice. People are free to choose.