Winning Words 9/29/09
“A will finds a way.” (Orison Swett Marden) Marden is the father of the modern “Success Movement,” preceding Peale, Schuller, Mandino, and the like. He founded Success magazine in 1897. Some of his writings: You Can, But Will You?; Not The Salary, But The Opportunity; Optimism. In my life, I’ve discovered that roadblocks are not necessarily negatives. New roads can have interesting landscapes. ;-) Jack

FROM ML IN ILLINOIS: that's just what made that little old ant think he'd move that rubber tree plant! that and high hopes! FROM JACK: Once in awhile an OOPS, but continuing on with high hopes.

FROM PRJS IN MICHIGAN: Would you include Joel Osteen as a part of that movement? FROM JACK: Joel Osteen is an interesting and complex individual, as are we all. I've listened to and read some of his stuff. I don't happen to name him to the Success Movement team (maybe in the minor leagues).

FROMN GOOD DEBT JON: I have read most of Marden’s 69 books. I bought most of them on eBay or Abebooks.com Some of them are worth several hundred dollars. He wrote his first book at age 46 inspired by Samuel Smiles 1859 book Self Help. He lived well but never became wealthy. He left a legacy that has lasted far beyond mere money though. His books are reprinted still today in many countries including here. List of Marden books and short bio: http://gooddebt.com/marden/ His original books are sought as collector items. His first book Pushing to the Front sold millions and is fairly common others like Do It to A Finish had small runs are extremely rare. I first read Marden (sitting at the counter at Bob Evans). I can still recall the oddly intoxicating scent of 108 year old book and could not get over how it seemed like he was speaking right to me, my situation, he knew my needs. That’s the kind of writing I wanted to create. Will anything we write today be
useful to people 100 years from now? You can read Orison Swett Marden today and apply it today. As I often say, “Carnegie may have built libraries, but Marden made them worth going to.” FROM JACK: I wonder where Smiles got his "Self-Help" inspiration? We stand tall, because we stand on the soulders of giants.

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN: Just have to add my two cents worth! In my collection of things that I have written (and do not have time to look for right now) I know that I have written an essay about having to take a detour and finding interesting things on the alternate route. But in the little time that I have I did find one of my Thoughts For The Day that is kind of pertinent to todays WW: If something happens to slow you down, don't whine about something you can't change anyway. Relax--try to enjoy the slower pace! (Hope that you do not mind my ramblings!) FROM JACK: One of the great things about the blog is that it allows the exchange of ideas, such as yours. Your words show an other interesting path for our thoughts to travel.

FROM MOLINER PHANNING: Positively, Positive Philosophy.

FROM PRPH IN MINNESOTA: you are such a fountain of wisdom!!!

FROM CJL IN OHIO: That's one reason to take "The Road Less Travelled"...scenery FROM JACK: I think I'll read Robert Frost's poem again. THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: When my husband and I went to the Harvest Dinner at the Gleaners downtown, we got a free copy of Yes! Magazine. It says the Yes! theme is "The New Economy: This downturn marks the end of an unsustainable economy. Rather than trying to reinflate the old bubble economy, these activists, visionaries, and upstarts are trying something new: an economy that puts people first and works within the carrying capacity of Mother Earth." One article is about Cleveland and the people building on the city's most
significant assets: the network of health care, higher education, and cultural "anchor institutions" that are a legacy of the city's once-strong manufacturing base."That's certainly very hopeful. The solutions apparently aren't so much in casinos and sports but rather in worker-owned cooperative businesses and communities. Seems like there must be some activists, visionaries and upstarts in Detroit too since they were giving out
free copies of this magazine to all who attended the Dinner. I think there is considerable will too.