No matter how self-reliant or self-sufficient you may be, you cannot do without the input of others. I mean, at a point, you will need to climb on the shoulders of others if you want to have a better view of life and you should appreciate that. This is why the term "self-made" is only metamorphic and figurative because in the real sense, the help of others is indispensable in the success story of anyone.
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In academic field, for example, if you want to write your dissertation, you must reference other people's work. This shows that you need the help of people that have gone ahead of you if you must attain that same height. Anyone that says that they have grown beyond the help of others will soon lose their position.
Take this instance; when you were born, you did not bath yourself, someone else did. So how do you think you are entirely self-reliant? There is a particular adage in the Southeastern part of Nigeria that expresses the fact that:
Gidigidi bu ugwu eze [Igbo proverb].
Meaning:
It is in the multitude of the people that the king draws out honour from.
Any school of thought that makes you to believe you can survive without anybody's input is already not following the natural law of success. The truth is, your success is basically a subset of someone else's success and you must appreciate that.
Someone may spend decades to learn something because of multiple trials, failures, experimentations etc. However, that same knowledge can be taught and passed on to others in a matter of minutes. It only demands that you align yourself with the person that possesses that knowledge and learn from them.
Whatever height you attain, you must realize that you got there because you had, at a point, enjoyed help and favour from others. Having this in mind will make you not to take people for granted and you will also appreciate their efforts.
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