"Respect gods before demi-gods, heroes
before men, and first among men your parents,
but respect yourself most of all."

That's a quote ascribed to Pythagoras, coming from the 6th century BC.

There is no recipe in there about how to fix any esteem-related issues, but it contains profound wisdom nonetheless.

It's a good one to meditate upon once upon a time.

Because, once you respect yourself most of all, you have gained all the power there is available for a human being in this world.

As the power and high self-esteem doesn't come from having power over other people. Many people who had "power" (by today's standards) had very low selfesteem, and look how they ended - some on the trap-door of history, others left a large but extremely negative trail on this world.

My definition of what power is, is that it comes from within you, and is almost an equivalent of self-confidence. If you build it from the outside, the nucleus will be rotten, if you will build it from inside, there is nothing to worry about.

I absolutely love what Pythagoras said.