Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Self-help \Self`-help"\, n.
   The act of aiding one's self, without depending on the aid of
   others.

Self-help \Self`-help"\, n. (Law)
   The right or fact of redressing or preventing wrongs by one's
   own action without recourse to legal proceedings, as in
   self-defense, distress, abatement of a nuisance, etc.

Source : WordNet®

self-help
     n : the act of helping or improving yourself without relying on
         anyone else