Nobody is self-made. Even the guy who says it learned to walk holding somebody’s fingers.

Independence is a story told from a particular point in the timeline. Trace any capable adult backward and you reach someone who fed them, someone who taught them to read, someone who held their hands while they learned to stand. The account starts later than the help did, which is what makes the claim possible. Nobody is lying exactly; they are just beginning in a convenient place.

Tell the longer version occasionally. When somebody asks how you got here, include one person who usually gets left out. It is more accurate, and it is a better story anyway.