You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb.

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) American industrialist and philanthropist

(Attributed)

Most common form of an adage Carnegie frequently used regarding charity. Variants:

• "It is of no use to boost a man up a ladder unless he is willing to climb himself." -- In Cyrus Holdridge, "A Millionaire and His Hobby," Our Day (Jan 1900).
• "You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb a little himself." -- Elbert Hubbard, Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Business Men, Vol. 25 (1909).