Region: US | Usage example: He pulled himself up by his bootstraps after losing the job.

Pull yourself up by your bootstraps

Meaning

Rise through effort and self-reliance.

Used to describe self-made success.

Origin notes can vary by region and source; this page gives the commonly reported explanation and usage context.

Early 19th-century imagery of lifting oneself by bootstraps, originally ironic.

Later adopted seriously in American self-help rhetoric.