Politics & Power Quote by Drew Carey

Drew Carey isn’t offering a policy white paper here; he’s pitching a mindset, in the blunt, garage-door pragmatism of a guy who came up through stand-up and self-reinvention. The line lands like a pep talk, but it’s also a cultural tell: an insistence that adulthood means opting out of reliance, especially reliance on institutions that feel slow, impersonal, and, in America, perpetually suspect.

The intent is motivational and prophylactic. “As far as your personal goals are” narrows the claim to the realm of self-authorship: your life’s arc shouldn’t be negotiated through bureaucracy. The repetition of “never” works as a rhetorical barricade, a way of turning contingency into moral clarity. It’s not just “be prepared”; it’s “dependence is a trap.” That’s why “for anything” hits hardest. It overreaches on purpose, not because it’s literally workable, but because absolutism makes a cleaner identity.

Subtextually, the quote flatters the listener with a familiar American fantasy: you are one disciplined set of choices away from being ungovernable. Coming from an actor and comedian, it also echoes the gig economy before the phrase existed: careers built on volatility teach you to treat stability as something you assemble yourself, not something you’re issued.

Context matters because the statement quietly recodes the social safety net as personal weakness rather than collective insurance. It’s aspirational, even bracing, but it also sidesteps the reality that “never depend” is easiest advice to follow when you’ve already had a few lucky breaks, good health, or a cushion.