Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - List of Books by Orison Swett Marden

"The man who has no money is poor, but one who has nothing but money is poorer. He only is rich who can enjoy without owning; he is poor who though he has millions is covetous." -- Orison Swett Marden
Orison Swett Marden (1850 - 1924) was an American writer associated with the New Thought Movement. He also held a degree in medicine, and was a successful hotel owner.

Marden was born 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, a farmer, hunter, and trapper. When Orison was seven years old, his father died from injuries incurred while in the wood, and the children were shuttled from one guardian to another, with Orison working as a "hired boy" to earn his keep. Inspired by an early self-help book by the Scottish author Samuel Smiles, which he found in an attic, Marden set out to improve himself and his life circumstances. He persevered in advancing himself and graduated from Boston University in 1871. He later graduated from Harvard with an M.D. in 1881 and an LL.B. degree in 1882. He also studied at the Boston School of Oratory and Andover Theological Seminary.

Marden supported himself during his college years by working in a hotel and afterward by becoming the owner of several hotels and a resort. Financial reverses ended that career, and in 1893, he was again working as a hotel manager, in Chicago, during the time that the World's Columbian Exposition was attracting visitors to that city from all over the world. It was during this period that he began to write down his philosophical ideas, with the goal of inspiring others as he had been inspired by Samuel Smiles.

In addition to Smiles, Marden cited as influences on his thinking the works of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom were influential forerunners of what, by the 1890s, was called the New Thought Movement.

Marden's first book, Pushing to the Front, was published in 1894. He followed this with several more volumes on the subjects of success, the cultivation of will-power, and positive thinking. He founded Success Magazine in 1897 and was also a regular contributor to Elizabeth Towne's New Thought magazine Nautilus during the first two decades of the 20th century.

Like many proponents of the New Thought philosophy, Marden believed that our thoughts influence our lives and our life circumstances. He said, "We make the world we live in and shape our own environment." Yet although he is best known for his books on financial success, he always emphasized that this would come as a result of cultivating one's personal development: "The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone."

Marden died in 1924 at the age of 74.

Quotes   more

Bibliography   more

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Orison Swett Marden", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 760
Selfdiscovery Or Why Remain a Dwarf
2016 - Selfdiscovery or Why Remain a Dwarf (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781537604985
ISBN-10: 1537604988
Genres: Business & Money, Education & Teaching
  ?

An Iron Will
2015 - An Iron Will (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781517222246
ISBN-10: 1517222249
Genre: Literature & Fiction
  ?

How to Get What you Want
2015 - How to Get What You Want [Orison Swett Marden] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781515277286
ISBN-10: 1515277283
Genre: Self-Help
  ?

Cheerfulness as a Life Power
Prosperity How to Attract It
2012 - Prosperity How to Attract It (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781480077829
ISBN-10: 1480077828
Genre: Self-Help
  ?

He Who Thinks He Can
2010 - He Who Thinks He Can (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781162577852
ISBN-10: 1162577851
Genre: Literature & Fiction
  ?

The Miracle of Right Thought
2010 - The Miracle of Right Thought (Hardcover)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781163317082
ISBN-10: 116331708X
Genre: Literature & Fiction
  ?

He can who thinks he can and other papers on success in life
2010 - He Can Who Thinks He Can and Other Papers on Success in Life (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781171870159
ISBN-10: 1171870159
  ?

Self Investment
2010 - Self Investment (Hardcover)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781161383966
ISBN-10: 1161383964
  ?

Pushing to the Front
2010 - Pushing to the Front (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780217038829
ISBN-10: 0217038824
  ?

How They Succeeded Life Stories of Successful Men Told by Themselves
Talks with Great Workers
2010 - Talks with Great Workers (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781142158071
ISBN-10: 1142158071
Genre: Health, Fitness & Dieting
  ?

Woman and Home
2010 - Woman and Home (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781142338435
ISBN-10: 1142338436
Genre: Nonfiction
  ?

The Optimistic Life
2010 - The Optimistic Life (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781142545239
ISBN-10: 1142545237
Genre: Health, Fitness & Dieting
  ?

Rising in the World Or Architects of Fate a Book Designed to Inspire Youth to Character Building SelfCulture and Noble Achievement
Every Man A King
2010 - Every Man a King (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781603862905
ISBN-10: 1603862900
Genres: Business & Money, Health, Fitness & Dieting, Religion & Spirituality
  ?

Love'S Way
2010 - Love's Way (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781141979066
ISBN-10: 1141979063
  ?

Rising in the World Or Architects of Fate
2010 - Rising in the World or Architects of Fate (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781151850348
ISBN-10: 1151850349
Genre: Health, Fitness & Dieting
  ?

Selling Things
2010 - Selling Things (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781152039087
ISBN-10: 1152039083
  ?

Winning Out A Book for Young People on Character Building
2009 - Winning Out a Book for Young People on Character Building (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781151245816
ISBN-10: 115124581X
  ?

How to Succeed Or Stepping Stones to Fame and Fortune
2009 - How to Succeed or Stepping Stones to Fame and Fortune (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781151086907
ISBN-10: 1151086908
Genre: Health, Fitness & Dieting
  ?

2009 - Architects of Fate or Steps to Success and Power [Illustrated Edition - Dodo Press] (Paperback)
2009 - How They Succeeded [1901] (Paperback)
2009 - Thrift (Paperback)Paperback
2008 - Collected Works of Orison Swett Marden [Large Print Edition] (Hardcover)
2007 - Selfimprovement Through Public Speaking [Laws of Leadership] (Audio CD)
2007 - Peace Power Plenty [Cosimo Classics: Personal Development] (Paperback)
2007 - He Can Who Thinks He Can [and Other Papers on Success in Life] (Paperback)Paperback
2005 - Mother (Paperback)
2005 - The Art of Advertising [Kessinger Publishing's Rare Reprints] (Paperback)
2005 - Dare (Paperback)
2005 - Courage (Paperback)
2005 - Economy (Paperback)
2003 - Success (Paperback)