When Branden split with mentor (and lover)
Ayn Rand in the late 1960s,
she reportedly asked him what he'd ever developed or created on his
own, and what he'd be able to do without her endorsement. Branden had
tried to integrate his groundbreaking work on self-esteem into Rand's
Objectivist philosophy, but Rand hadn't given it much consideration.
Branden was thus free to build a new career in self-esteem studies,
without Rand's help, and did just that.