Theodore Roosevelt Quotes

Living in a society, instead of on a desert island, does not relieve a man of the responsibility of supporting his own life.

America always pivots between collective responsibility and the idea that the individual can pull himself up by his bootstraps.

We're on our own on spaceship Earth. So we have to solve our own problems.

You have to do it by yourself. You can not do it alone.

The American culture ideal of the "self-made-man," of everyone "standing on his own feet" seemed as tragic a picture as the initiative-destroying dependence on a benevolent despot. He felt and perceived clearly that we all need continuous help from each other, and that this type of interdependence is the greatest challenge to maturity of individual and group functioning.

You never work for somebody else. Someone else might sign your check, but you're the one who fills in the amount.

The two kinds of people on earth are the people who lift and the people who lean.

Through a huge duration of my life, someone has always picked up after me. And when you're on your own and you're trying to be independent, it's definitely different.

There are some parents who have really done it right and told their kid, 'You know, we have this dough, none of this is for you. You have to get your own.'

I've enjoyed the pleasures of working since I was 12 and earned all my own spending money since I was 14.

Being self-supporting is important to me.

Now, in Texas, we believe in the rugged individual. Texas may be the one place where people actually still have bootstraps, and we expect folks to pull themselves up by them. But we also recognize there are some things we can't do alone. We have to come together and invest in opportunity today for prosperity tomorrow.

I'm a big fan of community, and I think independence is over-rated.

I care not so much what I am to others as what I am to myself. I will be rich by myself, and not by borrowing.

My son's going to have a job, and if he wants to get a car when he gets his license, he's going to pay for it on his own like I did.

I'm doing it, I took responsibility in my country and I've done it with my bare hands.

The reality about being economically dependent on someone else usually doesn't work out for women in the end. It's about being an adult and being responsible for your life. Most women have to work, so let's just get on with it.

You know, there's nobody where I've said, 'Man, I really want that guy's career.' I mean, each of us has to make our own go of it.

The important thing is to concentrate upon what you can do - by yourself, upon your own initiative.

We have broken the cycle of dependency. People have found out they're better off working.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.

My perception of life is not to ask Francois Hollande, who isn't the father of my children, to support me financially.

It's no good being nice and young and naive. There's no good in that at all. You've got to do it all yourself, and you've gotta learn quick. And you can't look for sympathy either.

Many people, especially young people, would like to be more independent and on their own. But it is very difficult and they suffer from feelings of isolation. I think that is one reason why young readers support my work.

I earn and pay my own way as a great many women do today.