If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking. Lyndon Baines Johnson

• independence

You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. Abraham Lincoln

• courage
• character
• self improvement
• independence

This country [America] was not built by men who relied on somebody else to take care of them. It was built by men who relied on themselves, who dared to shape their own lives, who had enough courage to blaze new trails - enough confidence in themselves to take the necessary risks. J. Ollie Edmunds

• chance
• initiative
• self reliance
• risk
• America
• Americans
• confidence
• independence

Be yourself and think for yourself; and while your conclusions may not be infallible they will be nearer right than the conclusions forced on you by those who have a personal interest in keeping you in ignorance. Elbert Hubbard

• thought
• independence
• uniqueness

Whether we are aware of it or not, whether we are in control of it or not, there is a first creation to every part of our lives. We are either the second creation of our own proactive design, or we are the second creation of other people's agendas, of circumstances, or of past habits. Stephen Covey

• habit
• independence

This is the source.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. Mark Twain

• uniqueness
• independence

It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. Ralph Waldo Emerson

• independence

One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways. Bertrand Russell

• independence
• fashion

When you stand and overcome a significant setback, you'll find an increasing inner confidence and self-assurance that has been created by conquering defeat. Absorbing and overcoming this kind of punishment engenders a sober, steely toughness that results in a hardened sense of independence and a personal belief that you can take on anything, survive and win. Bill Walsh

• confidence
• defeat
• independence
• self reliance

This is the source.

The lesson taught at this point by human experience is simply this, that the man who will get up will be helped up; and the man who will not get up will be allowed to stay down. This rule may appear somewhat harsh, but in its general application and operation it is wise, just and beneficent. I know of no other rule which can be substituted for it without bringing social chaos. Personal independence is a virtue and it is the soul out of which comes the sturdiest manhood. But there can be no independence without a large share of self-dependence, and this virtue cannot be bestowed. It must be developed from within. Frederick Douglass

• independence
• self reliance