#self-reliance

The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is that he looks to himself for all help or harm.

Are you a new strength and a new right? A first movement? A self-rolling wheel? Can you also compel stars to revolve around you?

No one can construct for you the bridge upon which precisely you must cross the stream of life, no one but you yourself alone.

You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

Do not follow another; be a light unto yourself.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.

Do not look for a sanctuary outside of yourself.

One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when the need arises.

Cultivate self-reliance and fear no change of fortune.

We must be very suspicious of the pretenses of the world to help us.

What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.

Is there anything upon which the truly free man depends? He relies solely on the boundless Dao.

Only when walking the solitary path does its true depth reveal itself.

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.

The lion waits for no coronation ceremony in the jungle; he rules the forest by his own sovereign valour and strength.

The bird that perches on a branch is never terrified of the twig snapping beneath it, for its trust is not in the wood, but in its own wings.

A brave person carries their sanctuary and home wherever their two feet stand.

Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

Be a light unto yourself.

The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily.

Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.