Showing posts with label success. Show all posts
Showing posts with label success. Show all posts

BRIEF HISTORY OF MY SAND TIMER

 


I have wondered about time all my life.

                                      - Stephen Hawking

 

To understand time, you need not understand the Einstein's ''Theory of Relativity''.  It is simply within everybody's reach.  

If you read science, it is so gripping that you go on clinging one book after other.   The concept of time in layman's language is entirely different.   It means, hours, minutes and seconds.  

 

Before the advent of these clocks and watches, we have sand timers in good olden days.  Now they are more as antique pieces.   I read about them in my childhood days, but I  saw them only during 1999 when my ex-boss got it ordered from Chennai.  That brass frame sand timer caught my eye.

 

I used to watch the passing sand granules in early morning to feel the significance of time.  When I gaze the passing granules  from one bulb to other, I wonder what this phenomena called Time.  

The sand timer on my Study constantly reminds me the eternity of time.  Whenever, I spend my time unproductively, to feel its significance  I gaze at  which itself reminds me my  lost time.    

WHO CAN REACH PERFECTION ?

 

Two Goals drive our lives. One is to know our roots - the Source of our creation - which is simply not parents but a greater Cause.  The other is to reach Perfection.  

My aim to read books is to find an answer to those nagging questions from the heap of knowledge accumulated by Man since the time immemorial. It is not theorizing the knowledge gained, but pragmatic on the issue of Perfection for higher elevation.

 

Why to reach Perfection ?  The reason behind this lofty goal is perennial Joy, free from Pain, Sorrow and Ignorance.  In the process of digging deep into what our Wisdom Masters said on the subject, I   come across  this superb poem of 20th century's Lebanese poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran, which is soul-lifting !


You ask me, my brother, when will man reach perfection. 

Hear my answer:


Man approaches perfection when he
feels that he is an infinite space and a sea
without a shore,
An everlasting fire, an unquenchable
light,


A calm wind or a raging tempest, a thundering
sky or a rainy heaven,
A singing brook or a wailing rivulet, a tree abloom
in Spring, or a naked sapling
in Autumn.


A rising mountain or a descending valley,
A fertile plain or a desert.
When man feels all these, he has already
reached halfway to perfection. To attain his goal
he must then perceive
that he is a child dependent upon his mother,
a father responsible for his family,
A youth lost in love,


An ancient wrestling against his past,
A worshipper in his temple, a criminal in
his prison,


A scholar amidst his parchments,
An ignorant soul stumbling between the darkness of his
night and the obscurity of his day,


A nun suffering between the flowers of her faith and
the thistles of her loneliness,


A prostitute caught between the fangs of her
weakness and the claws of her needs,


A poor man trapped between his bitterness and his
submission,


A rich man between his greed and his conscience,
A poet between the mist of his twilight and the
rays of his dawn.

Who can experience, see, and understand
these things can reach perfection and
become a shadow of God’s Shadow

DISCOVERY OF INDIA

 


Outlook, India's English Weekly News Magazine in its 12th January, 2015 edition chose Jawaharlal Nehru's much acclaimed book " The Discovery of India' as one of the 100 Great Books of the World.  

 
On one fine day in  May, 2014 when I went to a old newspaper vendor shop  which I do regularly to buy second-hand books,  this book  was stacked along with some other old books and kept in a dusty corner.   I bought   a couple of others books  including  this one  for a price in kgs.  


But Outlook's description of the book woke me up from the slumber.   The  magazine termed this book   as  rambling account of the history and culture of India - from  Indus valley civilization to the British Raj.

In his Preface to the book Nehru says that the book was written in Ahmadnagar Fort prison during the five months (April - September, 1944).  The contents of the book offer a scholarly look into India's past,  and no doubt  that it is a thoroughly researched book with a minefield of information nowhere found in a single book.

Being an Indian, it is the duty of every one of us to read the book, not as an obligation but for the love of such rich cultural history which no country in the world has ! 

WILLIAM PENN - A MINEFIELD OF QUOTES

 

Harvard Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1909.

Eliot stated in speeches that the elements of a liberal education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from the collection.

One such book which contains a minefield of quotes is Volume 1: The author is : William Penn   ( 14 October 1644 to 30 July 1718). As I was not familiar with the author in American Literature, I searched for clue from Wikipedia to know more about him. The online encyclopedia reverted back saying that he was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher and founder of the Pennsylvania, a U.S. State located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic region.

Like a wine, literature also when it becomes older gives more excitement and elation beyond the boundaries of sobriety. Penn's book "Fruits of Solitude" is a pithy comment upon human life. This literary giant has commented on all aspects of life and he is a man of permeating intelligence.

When you read his quotes, it reflects the amount of moderation required while handling our relationships with the outer world. Some of his quotes are enchanting and addictive which raise our awareness as the world we are living is shrouded with so many mysteries and the very mystery starts with our own bodies to pervading universe whose boundaries are unknown or you could say Unknowable.

Here are his best quotes to lift your soul:

- It were Happy if we studied Nature more in natural Things, and acted according to Nature, whose rules are few, plain and most reasonable.

- All Excess is ill : But Drunkenness is of the worst Sort. It spoils Health, dismounts the Mind, and unmans Men.

- If Love be not thy chiefest Motive, thou wilt soon grow weary of a Married State, and stray from thy Promise, to search out thy Pleasures in forbidden Places.

- There can be no Friendship where there is no Freedom. Friendship loves a free Air, and will not be penned up in straight and narrow Enclosures. It will speak freely, and act so too; and take nothing ill where no ill is meant; nay, where it is, it will easily forgive, and forget too, upon small Acknowledgements.

- Friends are true Twins in Soul; they Sympathize in every thing, and have the Love and Aversion.

- Between a Man and his Wife nothing ought to rule but Love. Authority is for Children and Servants; yet not without Sweetness.

- A true Friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a Friend unchangeably.

- Avoid Company where it is not profitable or necessary; and in those Occasions speak little and last.

- Never assent merely to please others.

- Knowledge is the Treasure, but Judgement the Treasure of a Wise Man.

- He that has more Knowledge than Judgement, is made for another Man's use more than his own.

- The Jealous are Troublesome to others, but a Torment to themselves.

A great writer does not descend from Heaven. He is groomed here. He weaves daily thoughts into an interesting  prose order thereby etch our hearts like William Penn !

 


SKY IS THE LIMIT FOR THIS DIFFERENTLY ABLED

 

One important prerequisite to qualify as a writer is  to listen with empathy  to the other’s view point.   It is what Daniel Goleman calls Emotional Intelligence or E.Q which is much more essential than the traditional I.Q.

Once you are opened up on these lines, the world appears as a big stage  to churn your stories.  You must have energy enough to record these experiences in a better prose order.

In fact  the craft of writing  is a painstaking job.  The writer  needs tremendous mental energies, high degree of solitude,  passionate eyes to catch the episodes of societal transactions.   A part of your mind needs to grab information and other part must analyze and carve out the insights.  The best prose  occurs only when the writer's personal insights are added contextually to the subject.  It must be a daily ritual.

Nobody can't say how a story unfolds.  Sometimes, a banner in a newspaper may trigger you to write.  Some other times, the courageous act of a commoner and some other times, the efforts of a physically challenged person to win over life's constant battles.  These are really the unsung heroes who need to be brought to limelight to draw inspiration.


The man climbing  on the electric pole here is unusual in one sense.  Despite having only one limb, he is not lagging behind in competing for the post of Junior Lineman Electric like normal person.  Annom Reddy Lova Reddy of Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh came out with flying colours in the test, ahead of other competitors.

Few people will have  guts like  Reddy.  He belonged to Kandipudi village in Paikarao pet Mandal of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh.  With his achievement, Lova Reddy became a overnight celebrity as he was captioned in a prominent Telugu Daily on 3rd August, 2014.  His story should be an eye-opener for people with sloth and blame the world with their mediocrity.

The world is replete with examples of such physically challenged persons who have achieved more than what a normal man can do.

Sudha Chandran is an ordinary girl until her leg was removed by amputation when she met with an accident.  But that did not deter her from achieving her goal of becoming Bharatanatyam dancer.  The rest is history.  People now know her as an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer, film and television actor.  Her film career started with a fiery note in 1984 (after accident  and replacing with Jaipur leg)  with Telugu film "Mayuri'' which was later re-made in Hindi.

Those with disability,  whether at birth or  at later on , should  not feel sorry  but draw inspiration from those who already achieved despite so many odds.  Take the case of celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking who is strewn with Motor Neuron disease but his mental abilities remain intact.  Another tall personality is celebrated American writer Helen Keller who blossomed into creative writing, despite blind and deaf.  The famous English Author John Milton who become blind at the age of 43 went on to create his most famous epic, Paradise Lost.

The very perception of disability has changed over the years.  Now, nowhere it is written ''disabled or handicapped'.   It is replaced with ''Differently Abled''  which is an apt and empowering to the affected person and remind of his/her other strengths to achieve more.

Respecting human potential is divine law and when we see such differently abled people who hit headlines, it conveys a message : Achieve something worthy in life !


PERSONAL BRANDING !

 


There is a Zen proverb which says that when the student becomes ready, the teacher will appear.

Exactly the same happened to me some years ago when I was distraught with overwork lashing out the Creator why He is so unkind to me ?  In fact the work that comes to my way is not teasing,  but the comparison mania associated with it which is sadly lowering my performance. The pain is subtle with occasional outbursts. My deeper self wants permanent solution to quell the problem once for all. Suddenly, a close friend of mine gave an insightful article written by one of the India's best known corporate gurus - Mr. Anand Pillai.  It is about 'Personal Branding'.  I read it and re-read it repeatedly. The substance somewhat sunk into my system. Being not satiated with it, I wanted more on the subject which lead to watching a couple of his videos on You Tube.

The interesting point is the way he convinced to undertake any work, public or private with a unique Personal Branding is simply awesome. But the motivation gushes occasionally like a mountain stream. Is there is any way we could  pull the strings of motivation as a daily allowance ? The answer is ‘yes’.

It is a journey of self-discovery.  Once you are reflective enough, Gallup (American research-based, global performance-management consulting company. Founded by George Gallup in 1935) gives five simple tests to discover your strengths :

- Yearning
- Rapid learning
- Flow
- Glimpses of excellence
- Satisfaction

First identify what kind of activities are you naturally drawn towards ? The question needs a candid answer from the bottom of your heart. You may find it difficult to instantly recognize it because most of us are out of sync with our own selves in the hustle and bustle of modern  life. But one needs a deeper look to go to the next level in performance.

Second key to unlock your potential is to identify which activities trigger you rapid learning or you seem to pick up quickly.

The third in the row is ‘flow’.  Identify in what activities does the steps come to you automatically.

The forth test is identify in what activities you suddenly get a feeling of immense satisfaction or aha moment.

The fifth and final test is identify which activities that give you a kick or ultimate satisfaction.

Once the brainstorm is over, your awareness reaches to a point that you are not the previous self of mediocrity rather want to excel in whatever  activity you undertake to create your own Personal Branding !

 

GHALIB - THE HEART'S POET

 


Mirza Ghalib is a tall Urdu and Persian poet of Mughal era. He is also a gifted letter writer.     With his masterly works, Ghalib left an indelible mark in the hearts of millions of Urdu poetry and ghazal lovers all over the world.

 

Surprisingly, the trigger to relish Ghalib's poetry came to me one fine morning when I read the interview of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is an Andhraite stating that he loves Ghalib's poetry. He compares poetry to code - the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer program or the set of such instructions. He says that you can say something that can be described in many, many sentences and pages of prose, but you can convert it into a couple of lines of poetry and still get the essence, so it's that compression the poetry does. His very idea of comparing poetry to the programming code caught my imagination.

Mine, otherwise with a natural inclination to read more of  non-fiction, for the first time changed my gears to devour the poetry. The result is buying a book on Ghalib's poetry with English translations. In the course of reading that book, one day my attention was grabbed by one small article published in a popular Indian English weekly magazine on Ghalib's Haveli in Old Delhi.

 

Though I stayed in Delhi for long time, I did not know that Delhi housed this famous poet. Stirred by the inspiration of  Satya Nadella , I made a  visit Ghalib's Haveli located in Qasimjan Street, Balli Maran in Chandini Chowk of Walled City - Delhi. It is an exhilarating experience to visit the Haveli. In the dilapidated structure called Ghalib's Haveli, nothing belonged to the Poet's life were showcased except a long old notebook of his Urdu poetry beautifully calligraphed and kept in a glass case. The walls were decorated with his immoral stanzas which ignite the visitors.

 

According to the biographic note, the real name of Ghalib is Mirza Asadullah Khan. Ghlaib is his pen name which means 'dominant'. Born on 27th December, 1797 at Agra, little Ghalib left for Delhi at the age of 11 and married Umrao Begum at 13.

 

Ghalib had 7 children, but none survived. He is witness to the uprising of 1857.   Ghalib's hobbies include kite flying, pachcheesi and chess.

 

The Ghalib's Mausoleum in Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, Delhi is jostled with crowds to take a glimpse of the poets larger than life image !

 

Here are some of the  immortal stanzas of Ghalib :

 

I do not hanker after praise, nor seek reward,

If my verses make no sense, I do not care a jot.

 

I wish to live at a lonesome place,

With none to converse, none to communicate.

 

The renown of my verse will come after I am gone.

The prison of life and the bondage of grief are

one and the same.

 

Before the onset of death, how can man 

expect to be free of grief ?




LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT RIGHT NOW

 

A lyric in my vernacular Telugu goes like this:

"No use to have heaven in front of you,

if you don't have liberty "

It further says that

' there could be no merriment in doing things in your 60's which you were supposed to do in your 20's'

The highest goal of human existence is perpetual bliss which Hindus fondly call  'moksha'. Why we call it as a supreme goal is, because of our entanglement with daily affairs leaving  little  to think other than material comforts of life. Only few are blessed enough to have zeal and think beyond petty survival.


The very purpose of human birth is something go beyond the mundane existence. Happiness which we cherish in every act we do, is mostly begged from others. In that begging, we become so dependable on others. In order to win the daily battles of life, we sometimes indulge in acts  which  the heart says a firm 'No'.

Suppose, a man who feels the dying need for money did amass wealth to enjoy life. Imagine what happens ? In the first place, he can not put a tab on his need for more money. The more he starts earning, the more fierce his desire becomes. By the time, he knows the real happiness lies not outside but within himself, his end may come. It happens with majority of people who repent at death-bed cherishing the things they could have done much early in life but go on postponing continuously due to one reason or other.

The world is replete with countless examples of people not being able to enjoy simple pleasures of life, irrespective of their position on the social ladder. The surprising thing is when they come at their door, they simply shoo away, only to realize their credence much after it is gone.


Robin Sharma in his great book ‘Who will cry when you die ?’gave the plight of one father (who attended his seminar in Toronto) about his not giving piggyback ride to his son. The father says that “ while my son was growing up, he constantly asked me to give piggyback rides and I was always too busy to play with him. Now he had grown up and I am prepared to give anything to give that little son (now young man) a piggyback ride”.  


So the wisdom of present moment awareness should always prevail. Henry David Thoreau, in his monumental work 'Walden' beautifully portrays that the occupation of a day-labourer is the most independent of any professions. He says that the labourer's day ends with the going down of the sun and he is then free to devote himself to his chosen pursuit, independent of his labour. But his employer, who speculates from month to month, has no respite from one end of the year to the other.

So live the life you want right now with the available means before your time is run out !



BUFFETT's BEST ADVICE

 


Money is a handmaiden, if thou knowest how to use it ; a mistress, if thou knowest not.

                       - Horace (Roman Poet)

People generally tend   to listen a word of advice from a prominent person of society.   If that advice comes from one of the richest persons on the planet, it would attract more eyeballs.

Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men in the world is undisputedly the fountain of advice both on financial and personal arena.

In the era of glittering websites to seduce the netizens, Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s website is so simple and elegant. It not only loads swiftly but is also clutter free, leaving no room for confusion to obtain required information.

The website of Buffett epitomizes his philosophy of life. If we peep into his personal life, it is apparent that he regrets of buying his first share at the age of 11 years which he feels too late.

This American business magnate and the most successful investor of 20th century has very humble beginning. He started earning income at a very early age by selling newspapers.

In these days of lavish life styles, Warren still lives in a small 3 bedroom house in the mid-town Omaha (U.S) which he bought 50 years ago. Further he drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security person around him.

He never travels by private jet. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of his companies, giving them goals for the whole year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO’s only two rules : Rule Number : 1 : do not lose any of your share money. Rule Number 2 : Do not forget rule number 1

Buffett does not carry a cell phone nor has a computer on his desk. After first meeting with Buffett, Bill Gates (Microsoft) became his instant devotee. Buffett’s advice to young people : Stay away from credit cards (bank loans). He says that money does not create man but it is the man who creates money. He further says that live your life as simple as possible.

The most stunning advice of Buffett which caught my attention is : Don’t waste your money on unnecessary things ; just spend on them who really in need rather.

Prevailing on the wisdom of simplicity even at the height of success is really inspiring.

Hats off to this man of ultimate simplicity !

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTHFUL ENERGY

 


Vivekananda is synonymous with rousing enthusiasm and youthful energy. Though the soil of Bengal has given birth to so many spiritual luminaries  like Ramakrishna, Lahiri Mahasaya, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Aurobindo Ghosh, no other had huge public outreach like Swami Vivekananda. This darling child of Mother India propagated the message of Indian Spirituality beyond national boundaries.

 

Whoever remembers Vivekananda,  they are engraved with his famous Chicago Speech given at Parliament of Religions on 11th September, 1893. It had an electrifying effect on American minds of that time and literally created waves in their society.

 

Narendranath Datta (Vivekananda's family name) was born on Monday January 12, 1863 to Bhuvaneswari Devi and Viswanath Datta in Kolkata.  He soon showed a precocious mind and developed a keen memory. Vivekananda in his later years once said to an audience that " I am indebted to my mother for whatever knowledge I have acquired.'   At the age of fifteen he experienced his first spiritual ecstasy.

 

Naren had first heard about Sri Ramakrishna from a relative, Ramachandra Datta who was one of the foremost householder disciples of the Master.   Having understood his spiritual bent of mind, he was advised to visit Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar.  The young Naren met Ramakrishna for the first time in November 1881 in the house of the Master's devotee Surendranath Mitra.  He was invited there to entertain the visitors with his melodious music. Having been impressed, Ramakrishna asked Narendranath to visit him at Dakshinewar. During the meeting when he  posed Ramakrishna a question "Sir, have you seen God ? the master replied without a moment's hesitation " Yes, I have seen God.’’ He further said him that ‘’ I had seen God like I saw you.’’ Naren was astounded with the master’s reply.  Ramakrishna in fact waited the eager arrival of Vivekananda to whom he transferred his spiritual energy thereby, he became a World Teacher with his first visit to America and later to Europe and other countries.

 

Ramakrishna knew the energies of Vivekananda. The master in his own words said that “among lotuses, Narendra is a thousand-petaled one”. Naren assumed the name of Vivekananda at the time of his departure for America in 1893.

 

Vivekananda's famous Chicago speech at Parliament of World's Religions on 11th Sept., 1893 with his starting salutation "Brothers & Sisters of America" enthralled the seven thousand packed audience. His extempore talk captivated the audience and sprouted the seeds of spirituality on American minds.

 

The influence of Swamiji on stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose not only enriched their personal lives but contributed immensely in liberating India from British clutches. What we need to learn from Swamiji's life is his inquisitive mind. 

 

Reading his literature stirs the blood with mystical energy. The core philosophy of Vivekananda centers on divinity within us. While defining education, he says that it is the manifestation of perfection already in man.

 

Vivekananda in his brief sojourn of 39 years on this planet has literally brought a spiritual revolution. He is the first Indian who propagated the Message of India on Western soil. Swamiji's words are like live ammunition which triggers us into deep thought process, sharpening our intellect and bring utmost humility. Swamiji is a hardcore pragmatist. What he taught, he lived through. He exemplified the life of Advaita philosophy.

 

He is a living embodiment of what an ordinary man could achieve even without sufficient ways and means but only an iron will to spread the message of his Master. In a tribute of his immense contribution, Govt. of India declared 12th January as  'National Youth Day'.

 

As long as Indian philosophy lives through this civilization, Vivekananda remains the torch-bearer of Wisdom at the world stage.

STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH

 

There is no straight-jacket formula for success. It is an assortment of strategies combined with precision, and of course luck and destiny play  their roles.

When we see the lives of great leaders, it looks that they have not been extra-ordinary to reach to that level.   Only their passion drove them insanely great.           

 

Steve Jobs falls into  this rare category of unconventional leaders. The world is abyss to carve out his difficult lessons. His biographer Walter Isaacson says that he acts as if the normal rules don’t apply to him.

          Jobs’ life is a story of rags to riches. The reason behind why people attentively listen to his words is  that he brought passion, intensity, and extreme emotionalism to everyday life that helped to shape his products viz. iMac, iPod, iPod nano, iTunes Stores, Apple Stores, MacBook, iPhone, iPad, App Store, OS X Lion.


            For me he is an essence of arduous spiritual practices doing silently behind scenes. He abhors the idea of ''market research'' to see what customers wanted. He says that customers don't know what they want until we have shown them. He invoked Henry Ford's line " If I had asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, Á faster horse !

           His earthly sojourn of 56 years is worth to be remembered. He redefined the way we do personal computing. Now computers not only shrank their size, but envious features were injected  into their circuit boards   making sharing of data & multimedia an effortless spool across all devices and platforms.

          The company, Apple he co-founded in his parents’ garage in 1976 rose as the world’s most valuable company. When asked why he has a tendency to be rough on people, he replies that “look at the results”.   His inspiring leadership could be emanated from the fact that each year he takes his top 100 people on a retreat so as to indoctrinate them with his philosophy. He loves white-boards because they give him complete control of  situation and they engender focus.

         The ads of his products are always unique in a sense that they give much larger meaning. Take this ad appeared in his first marketing brochure : “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

       His product launch sessions are worth to be watched. Even being in the midst of provocative technological aids, he hates power-point presentations.  His argument is palpable. He says that ‘I hate the way people use slide presentations instead of thinking. People would confront a problem by creating a presentation. I wanted them (his team) to engage, to hash things out at the table, rather than show a bunch of slides. People who know what they are talking about don’t need Power Point.’

           One would never forget his immortal words at Stanford University on June 12, 2005 ”Remembering that I will be dead soon is the most important tool I have ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not follow your heart.”

         At another occasion, he says that “your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” Though, the fate has mercilessly taken away jobs from the world 5th October 2011 by pancreatic cancer, his pragmatic approach to life continues to inspire succeeding generations.

SUCCESS SAGA : ORISON SWETT MARDEN

 

He is the mountain of wisdom and documented  the success sagas of many giants of world.  This 20th century personality development guru is responsible for New Thought Movement of America. His unparalleled insights on life through his writings lift even the dud.

I was introduced to  his literature  while I was reading   ‘ Awaken the Giant Within', the much acclaimed work of Tony Robbins, sometime in 2004.

 Mr. Robbins needs no introduction as he is one of the America's top most personality development gurus and has a reputation of conducting courses on 'Fire Walks'.  I was awestruck when I read the following fiery quote of Marden :

Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers,
powers that would astonish him that he never dreamed of
possessing; Forces that would revolutionize his life,
if aroused and put into action.

The above quote invigorated my perception of life. When it comes to his groundbreaking works, I could say that his magical words mesmerize the readers instantly to unlock their inner potential. His selective phrases and apt adjectives fit the context like colours and shades in a fabric. After reading  the  Marden, my level of enthusiasm grew manifold.   Marden's life story itself is very interesting. A medical doctor and successful hotelier, he devoted his career to writing inspiring books. He founded Success Magazine in 1897. Marden believes that our thoughts influence our lives and our life circumstances.

His famous books include "Pushing to the Front, Cheerfulness as a Life Power”. His sublime narrating style triggers so many positive thoughts and his laborious task of culling out the wisdom of past centuries is above board. All his books are must read ones which  can be freely downloadable from the web.

After reading a few of his books, I feel that no new book needs to be churned out in self help category as abundant efforts had already been made by Marden. So when you are in low spirits and searching for a pill to put you back on rails, turn to Marden's treasure trove.