I’m back to an accelerated learning program again – reading and studying. Lots of good books read through, but I have found one very interesting gem and have been trying to work out the best way to share the discoveries from it. It is a book called “Pushing to the front” by Orison Swett Marden. You can find it on the Project Gutenberg pages. This was the authors first book, but is just a couple of hundred short of 1,000 pages long! Even though it was published back in 1894, it has stood the test of time very well. Over a century after it was written, it still covers the essentials for successful living, despite the monumental changes that have taken place in society during the intervening time.

Orison Swett Marden may well be the founder of the American success movement, although he himself credits his start to a book by Samuel Smiles. Mardens’ personal story is one of success despite tremendous disadvantages. He was born in 1850 to poor parents, on a farm in New England, but was orphaned at an early age. Despite difficult circumstances, he achieved both business and academic success, even in the face of various set backs.

Over the next month or two I’ll post thoughts, most likely a chapter at a time…