Pull Oneself Up By One's Bootstraps Meaning

(idiomatic) To begin an enterprise or recover from a setback without any outside help; to succeed only on one's own effort or abilities.

Example:   We can't get a loan, so we'll just have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.
1834, Workingman’s Advocate, 4 Oct. 1/1:
  It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.