"The humbleness of a warrior is not the humbleness of a beggar. The warrior lowers his head to no one, but at the same time he doesn't permit anyone to lower his head to him. The beggar, on the other hand, falls to his knees at the drop of a hat and scrapes the floor at anyone he deems to be higher; but at the same time, he demands that someone lower than him scrape the floor for him." - Carlos Casteneda



Asserting a hierarchy is the same as asserting low self-esteem. You can stand tall and strong without defining your relationships to those around you.