Quotes About Self-reliance

Well, father, in the shipwreck of life, for life is an eternal shipwreck of our hopes, I cast into the sea my useless encumbrance, that is all, and I remain with my own will, disposed to live perfectly alone, and, consequently, perfectly free. (Eugenie to her father)

A man is bound to make for himself in this world, that fortune which heaven had refused him at his birth.

Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to 'carry it off.'

she began to choose her own projects, Marilyn

Heed my words, daughter, if you ever mean to be happy: Never give yourself to a man.

We are not the victims of our circumstances; we are the creators of them!

I'd much rather have a brain of my own than be popular.

But notice that where you must do work not your own, assume these responsibilities; see that you do not allow them to be thrust upon you. What you undertake open-eyed will seldom be made later a cause of martyrdom and sullenness.

As Dorothy Canfield Fisher says in her excellent little book for parents and teachers, Self-Reliance, "Success or failure in adult life depends largely on the energy, courage and self-reliance with which one attacks the problem of making his dreams come true. Self-confidence in any enterprise comes as a rule from remembrance of past success.

The matter was that never before had she known what she was doing in school. She had always thought she was there to pass from one grade to another, and she was ever so startled to get a glimpse of the fact that she was there to learn how to read and write and cipher and generally use her mind, so she could take care of herself when she came to be grown up.

To the men exposed to his rule Lymond never appeared ill: he was never tired; he was never worried, or pained, or disappointed, or passionately angry. If he rested, he did so alone; if he slept, he took good care to sleep apart. "—I sometimes doubt if he's human," said Will, speaking his thought aloud. "It's probably all done with wheels.

A mother is not a person to lean on but person to make leaning unnecessary.

Everything, good or bad, was down to me.

There is something I want to do. But it's something to work towards, not something that should be handed to me on a plate. What's the point of doing something if you know you've got someone to rescue you if you fail? I like to work hard at something and then to reap the rewards. I take pride in what I do. What's the point if I know my rich husband will bail me out if I mess up?

No matter how much you love a man, always have a stash of money that would get you as far away from him as possible in an emergency.

for if we try to go on protecting them we prevent them from growing up to be ordinary, confident adults, capable of looking after themselves.

The best remedy for a bruised heart is not, as so many people seem to think, repose upon a manly bosom. Much more efficacious are honest work, physical activity, and sudden acquisition of wealth.

It's a very good idea for everyone to learn to live single—to figure out how to get your needs met without being partnered so you don't find yourself seeking a partner to fill needs that you could equally well fill yourself.

The problem is that when you blame someone else for how you feel, you disempower yourself from finding solutions. If this is someone else's fault, only that person can fix it, right? So poor you can't do anything but sit there and moan. On

There was nobody to help us. And nobody to stop us.

And most dreams can only be fulfilled by yourself. It's a bit like happiness: you can never depend on someone else for that elusive state of being. In the end we are all directly responsible for our own happiness... or lack thereof.

You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...

Make decisions from the strong part of you, not the weak.

The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one's self.