Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924) was an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded Success magazine in 1897. His writings discussed principles and virtues which Marden argued would make for a successful life through adoption of the New Thought philosophy.
His first book, Pushing to the Front (1894), became an instant best-seller. Marden later published fifty or more books and booklets, averaging two titles per year.Margaret Connolly, Marden's biographer, mentions fifty or more books and booklets. Wherever possible, duplicate or revised works, republished booklets or reprinted book chapters are footnoted in the bibliography section of this Wiki article.
Biography
The "Bound Out" Orphan Marden was born 11 June 1848 in Thornton Gore, New Hampshire, to Lewis and Martha Marden. When he was three years old, his mother died at the age of 22, leaving Orison and his two sisters in the care of their father, who was a farmer, hunter, and trapper. When Orison was seven years old, his father died from injuries incurred while in the woods. Consequently, the children were shuttled from one guardian to another, with Orison working for five successive families as a "hired boy" to earn his keep.Connolly, Margaret. The Life Story of Orison Swett Marden - A Man Who Benefited Men (1925). See "External links" below for biography and rare photographs. Chapters one through twelve relate details of Marden's early youth. Connolly was a contemporary of Marden who served in his publishing firm in the early 1900s. Her biography provides much valuable information on Marden's life and may be considered an important primary source on the subject.
During his early to mid-teens, Marden discovered a book entitled Self-Help by Scottish author Samuel Smiles in an attic.Self-Help was originally published in 1859. The book marked a turning point in his life, inspiring him to improve himself and his circumstances. Marden valued the book as if it were "worth its weight in diamonds" and virtually committed its contents to memory. He developed a deep respect and admiration for the author, whose work instilled in him a desire to inspire others as Samuel Smiles had done for him.Connolly, The Life Story. "A Book That Marked a Turning Point" (Chapter 9).
Marden's young manhood was marked by remarkable energy and unbroken achievement. By his early thirties, he had earned his academic degrees in science, arts, medicine and law. During his college years he supported himself by working in a hotel and afterward by becoming the owner of several hotels and a resort. He remained a successful hotel owner till his early forties (see "Timeline" for dates and other details).Connolly, The Life Story. See "Boston Days - Working Through Two Universities" (Chapter 13), and "Lucky Marden" (Chapter 14) for dates and other details.
Pushing to the Front (1894) At age 44, Marden switched careers to professional authorship. It was a bold decision to which he had given careful thought, having suffered repeated business reversals and a hotel fire. His fervent sense of idealism along with an urgent sense of "now or never" in middle life spurred him onward in his new goal.
Margaret Connolly, a contemporary who worked for Marden's publishing firm in the early 1900s, describes the incident of the hotel fire, his narrow escape from death, and the loss of his original manuscript, which he later re-wrote and entitled Pushing to the Front. Marden's unwavering determination to start from scratch after this devastating loss was characteristic of the man and his writings. Connolly writes:
Over five thousand pages of manuscripts – the fruit of all the spare time he had been able to snatch from nearly fifteen crowded years of business life – had gone up in smoke...
Having nothing but his nightshirt on when he escaped from the fire, he went down the street to provide himself with necessary clothing. As soon as this had been attended to, he bought a twenty-five-cent notebook, and, while the ruins of the hotel were still smoking, began to rewrite from memory the manuscript of his dream book.Connolly, The Life Story. "Making and Losing a Fortune" (Chapter 15).
Overwhelmed and heartbroken, Marden picked himself up and started all over again. With little money, but with much time on his hands, he decided to rewrite the manuscript. He took a train for Boston, boarded an inexpensive little room, and threw himself energetically into his work. In a short time, he finished writing not only his dream book - Pushing to the Front - but also a second book, Architects of Fate. He then made three manuscripts of Pushing to the Front and submitted them to three Boston publishing firms for approval. All three firms wanted to publish the book upon a first reading of the manuscript. Ultimately, it was published by Houghton, Mifflin & Company (Boston) and presented to the public on December 1, 1894.Most of the information in this paragraph is taken from The Life Story, by Margaret Connolly, "Pushing to the Front" (Chapter 17).
Pushing to the Front (1894) became the single greatest runaway classic in the history of personal development books at that time. American presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as England's Prime Minister William Gladstone, praised the book. People like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and J. P. Morgan cited it as inspiration. In summing up the scope and impact of Marden's first literary effort, Connolly states that "[t]wo hundred and fifty editions of Pushing to the Front have so far [in 1925] been published in this country alone. It is known and read in practically every country in the world."Connolly, The Life Story. "Pushing to the Front" (Chapter 17). Marden went on to write 50 or more books and booklets during his career. Each of his books has produced dozens of famous quotes, and he is considered the base and inspiration of dozens of modern authors of self-help and motivation.
Success Magazine (1897) Founded in 1897, Marden's Success magazine eventually grew to a circulation of about half a million subscribers. The publication had its own building and printing plant in New York and was backed by a workforce of two hundred or more employees.Connolly, The Life Story. "The Rise and Fall of Success" (Chapter 19). For his magazine, Marden wrote articles that focused on self-culture, personal development and principles of success. Other articles featured personal interviews of successful men and women.These were conducted by Marden, though at least one interview (i.e., with Marshal Field) was probably carried out by a representative. See Marden's editorial sidenote in Everybody Ahead (1916), "Can You Finance Yourself?" (Chapter 8). Notable public figures included the late president Teddy Roosevelt, the poet Julia Ward Howe, inventors Thomas Alva Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, and leading industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Over fifty of these interviews were later compiled into book form. The magazine is still published today by Dallas-based SUCCESS Partners.
Marden served as editor-in-chief in supervising the publication of the Consolidated Encyclopedic Library (1903, 1906, 1907), a collaborative work of nineteen volumes written for the benefit of the general public and young people in particular. He was also a regular contributor to Elizabeth Towne's New Thought magazine, Nautilus, during the first two decades of the twentieth century. During this time he served as the first president of the early New York City-based New Thought organization League for the Larger Life.
Timeline Note: Information condensed from Margaret Connolly's The Life Story of Orison Swett Marden (1925) and Wende Marden Sinnaeve's Out of the Ashes - The Life Story of Orison Swett Marden (2004). Those marked with an asterisk are plausible approximates where no exact year was found. Events where no approximate year can be ascertained are marked (--).
1848 - Orison Marden is born in New Hampshire 1853* - Martha Marden, mother of Orison, dies at age twenty-two 1856 (January) - Lewis Marden, father of Orison, dies from an accident in his early thirties 1856-57* - Orison and his two sisters, Mary and Rose, are briefly taken into the home of their grandmother 1857* - Orison is "bound out" to his first home (the Glover family) by his guardian, Herod Fifield 1857* - Orison goes out on an errand and runs from a wildcat, fends off a bear and evades a catamount 1858* - Orison is removed from the Glover family and placed in his second home (Mr and Mrs Strong, a Baptist couple) 1862* - Orison is transferred to his third home (Mr and Mrs Chapman) 1864* - After two years at the Chapman home, Orison runs away to serve a new master at his fourth home (the Foss family) (--) In his early to mid-teens, Orison discovers Samuel Smiles' book, Self-Help, in a dilapidated condition in an attic (--) Orison takes residence on the land of a neighboring farmer, which probably became his fifth homeIt is not quite clear whether this was Marden's fifth and final home to which he was "bound out." His stay with the farmer may have been a mere temporary arrangement arranged by Marden himself, without the involvement of his guardian Herold Fifield. It is also possible that his fifth home was with General Luther McCutchins, for whom Marden worked for later on. (--) Attends Colby Academy, a preparatory school in New London, New Hampshire (--) Works for General Luther McCutchins during the summer where he earns his board for Colby Academy (--) Teaches in a schoolhouse attended by unruly boys (--) Attends New Hampton Institute, New Hampshire (--) Secures a position as waiter at the Crawford House hotel during the summer 1873-74* - Attends Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts to become a clergyman.Marden attended the junior class and studied at the seminary for one year. He had done so initially on encouragement from his grandmother and relatives who wanted him to become a clergyman. Marden later decided that this was the last thing he wanted to do. (See Marden's biographical side note from his book How to Choose Your Career (1922), Chapter 7, "Following in Father's Footsteps.") 1874* - Abandons his studies for the ministry, on the conviction that he was better suited for something else. 1877* - Graduates Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Boston University 1877 - Becomes second assistant clerk at Ocean View Hotel, Block Island, Rhode Island, during the summer season after graduation. 1877 - Promoted to hotel manager at Ocean View hotel by the end of the summer season. (--) Graduates Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Boston University 1879 - Graduates Bachelor of Oratory (possible degree for B.O., see footnote) with honors, Boston UniversityGraduated with honors from Boston University School of Oratory, Emerson College. The acronym B.O., which may have stood for Bachelor of Oratory, is probably now outdated as Connolly's book was published in 1925. 1879 - Graduates Master of Arts (A.M.), Boston University 1881 - Graduates Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Harvard Medical School 1882 - Graduates Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), Boston University Law School 1882 - Sails for Europe (number of months is not given) and visits France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain and Ireland. (--) Becomes owner of the Hotel Manisses, Block Island (--) Becomes proprietor of the Palmer House, Grand Island, Nebraska (--) Becomes proprietor of Midway Hotel, Kearney, Nebraska (--) Elected as President of the Board of Trade in Kearney, Nebraska (--) Becomes treasurer of the Fort George Island Company in Florida 1892 - Helps open a new hotel in South Dakota; manages the hotel, fits it up and buys furniture for it. 1893* - Marden's hotel in Kearney, Nebraska, burns down along with his original manuscript for Pushing to the Front.