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Believe in yourself; you may succeed when others do not believe in you, but never when you do not believe in yourself.
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“Believe in yourself; you may succeed when others do not believe in you, but never when you do not believe in yourself.”

Orison Swett Marden

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Source
How to Succeed
Date
1896
Meaning

Meaning of “Believe in yourself; you may succeed when others…”

External encouragement can help, but Marden makes self-belief the non-substitutable part of action: progress is difficult when a person has already decided internally that success is impossible.

Source context

Where does it come from?

How to Succeed, chapter “Hold Up Your Head,” in the Project Gutenberg text; the book’s period language and success philosophy are preserved as historical self-development writing.

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Be YourselfChange and GrowthConfidence Quotes About Ability & Self-TrustGrowthIdentityIndependenceInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLoveMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistenceSelf ImprovementSelf LoveSelf RelianceSelf TrustSelf-Respect Quotes About Dignity & BoundariesSelf-WorthSuccess
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“My sole aim is to insist that every man shall perfect his machine to the best of his powers, not to the best of somebody else's powers.”

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“Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice.”

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“The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual.”

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Source details

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Self-respect, originating in self-love, instigates the first step of improvement.
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“Self-respect, originating in self-love, instigates the first step of improvement.”

Samuel Smiles · Thrift · 1875
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Improvement can begin when a person values themselves enough to believe that their conduct, circumstances, and future are worth deliberate effort.

Source details

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Remember it is not other people's faith in you but your faith in yourself that counts most.
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“Remember it is not other people's faith in you but your faith in yourself that counts most.”

Orison Swett Marden · The Victorious Attitude · 1916
Meaning & context

Other people’s confidence is useful but not decisive; Marden emphasizes the belief that must remain available when approval, reassurance, or encouragement from others is absent.

Source details

The Victorious Attitude, chapter on faith; Marden explicitly distinguishes other people’s good opinion from the faith in oneself he calls imperative.

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