Principle of Success

Author: Orison Swett Marden
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: Classic works of success masters. The seminal work of the founder of the success movement, an inspiring motivational masterpiece. Orison Swett Marden, founder of Success magazine, was revered as a pioneer of the American success movement. He was born in 1850 in a poor farming family in New England. Later, he attended Boston University and graduated in 1871. In 1881, he received his medical degree from Harvard University, and in 1882, he obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from Harvard. He later studied public speaking at Boston University. During his time at university, he worked part-time in public dining and hotel management, achieving great success. By the time he completed his formal education, he had accumulated a capital of $20,000 (which was not insignificant at the time). Then, he came to Block Island near Newport, bought a piece of land, and developed it into a popular tourist destination.
The greatest influence on Marden's life was meeting Samuel Smiles. This English motivational writer became the person he most admired in his writing career. Smiles' Self-Help laid the foundation for his future career path. He had read works by authors such as Emerson and Longfellow, but Smiles was the true "awakenings." From then on, he set a goal: to become America's Smiles. Undoubtedly, he later achieved his life's goal! From then on, he began to compile his thoughts and ideas, especially those about optimism—which became the central theme of his later writings. In 1894, Marden's first book was published and sold well. In 1897, he founded Success magazine, which had high sales from the start, reaching over 500,000 copies and millions of readers. By 1912, the publication ceased due to financial difficulties. In 1918, Marden re-founded a new Success magazine, and its sales rapidly increased, helping countless people change their destinies.
Since the publication of his first book in 1894 until his death, it is said that he published two books every year. His works, like those of others in the New Thought movement, were imbued with a positive and progressive belief, but Marden's writings were closer to the thoughts and lives of ordinary readers, making them timeless classics of life.