Orison Swett Marden

He died in 1924 at the age of 74.

In 1925, Margaret Connolly authored an autobiography of him titled, ‘The life story of Orison Swett Marden: A man who benefited men’.

Orison Swett Marden was born in 1850 to Lewis and Martha Marden in Thornton Gore, New Hampshire. He lost his mother at the tender age of three and his father at the age of seven.

After the death of his parents, he and his two sisters were left in the care of various guardians. He had to work as a ‘hired boy’ in order to earn his livelihood and support his sisters.

His tough childhood and difficult circumstances were driving factors that inspired him to read self-help books. He was deeply inspired by author Samuel Smiles, whose book he accidentally discovered in the attic.

In spite of all the hardships he faced, he was persistent to make a better life and enrolled himself at the Boston University, from where he graduated in 1871.

In 1881, he graduated from Harvard University, from where he obtained an M.D. The following year, he graduated with an L.L.B. degree from the university.

During the time of the Great Depression, after he had lost his hotels, he took up a room on top of a livery stable and worked hard on his first manuscript. The manuscript was destroyed one day, when the livery stable caught fire.

He was devastated when his 1000 page manuscript was destroyed. However, he motivated himself to write again and re-wrote the manuscript. When he tried to get publishers, he faced many rejections as it was also the third year of the Great Depression.

After many rejections, in 1894, his book, ‘Pushing to the Front’ was published. The publisher of the book thought that it would be a great time for people to read such a book in the middle of the depression.

In 1895, he came out with his second book titled, ‘Architects of Fate or, Steps to Success and Power’. The book aimed to inspire the youth to build character, self-culture and motivate them to achieve success.

In 1896, he published his next book ‘How to Succeed or, Stepping-Stones to Fame and Fortune’. The book was a self-help book that advised readers on how to be successful in anything they wish to pursue.

His ‘Pushing to the Front’ was a book that provided guidelines on how to achieve success. It became one of the most sought after classics that inspired people like J.P. Morgan, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford.