Pushing to the Front

Pushing to the Front By Orison Swett Marden

Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924) was born in Thornton Gore, New Hampshire to Lewis and Martha Marden.

He was an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897. His writings discuss common-sense principles and virtues that make for a well-rounded, successful life. Many of his ideas are based on New Thought philosophy.

During his early to mid-teens, Marden discovered a book entitled Self-Help by Scottish author Samuel Smiles in an attic. And so, Marden was profoundly influenced and inspired by Samuel Smiles. Smiles book Self-Help was instrumental in elevating and triggering Marden’s career and life.

Marden was successful at everything he undertook or started because of his deep and vast knowledge about success and how to put it into use in his own life.

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.

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.