pull oneself up by one's bootstraps

1.
American EnglishInternationalneutralformalidiomatic
- To improve one's situation through one's own effort, initiative, and self-reliance without assistance from others.
- To achieve success or overcome adversity by personal endeavour rather than by external help.
2.
Internationalliteraryhistoricalfigurative
- Originally, to attempt an impossible or self-contradictory action (derived from the literal impossibility of lifting oneself by one's bootstraps); used to describe a fanciful or absurd effort.

Examples: