Quotes about Self-reliance

Can anything be so elegant as to have few wants and to serve them one's self, so as to have somewhat left to give, instead of being always prompt to grab?

A man's weakness and strength, purity and impurity, are his own, and not another man's; they are brought about by himself, and not by another; and they can only be altered by himself, never by another. His condition is also his own, and not another man's. His suffering and his happiness are evolved from within. As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.

Circumstance does not make the man;

he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another. None but himself can alter his condition.

thus does a man garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husbandry.

A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine...

You will be what you will to be; Let failure find its false content In that poor word, environment, But spirit scorns it, and is free.

The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do. Doubt and worry are the exceptional enemies of understanding, and he who encourages them, who does no longer slay them, thwarts himself at each step.

A robust man cannot assist a weaker except that weaker is inclined to be helped, or even then the weak guy must grow to be robust of himself; he ought to, via his very own efforts, broaden the power which he admires in another. None however himself can modify his situation.

Al enseñar a los hombres y mujeres a ser buenos, les enseño a ser fuertes, libres y autosuficientes.

cease to be a slave to self, and no man will have the power to enslave you. As

Until you can stand alone, looking for guidance neither to spirits nor mortals, gods nor men, but guiding yourself by the light of the truth within you, you are not unfettered and free, not altogether blessed. But do not mistake pride for self-reliance. To attempt to stand upon the crumbling foundation of pride is to be already fallen.