Marden, Orison Swett: How to Succeed v1. 16 Dec 07
 

"How To Succeed; Or Stepping-Stones to Fame and Fortune" was written by Orison Swett Marden who was inspired by the works of Samuel Smiles (I posted Smiles' first book to the forum earlier).

Marden graduated from Boston University in 1871. He later graduated from Harvard with a M.D. in 1881 and an LL.B. degree in 1882. He had a great deal of experience overcoming hardships. He based his life on the idea of good old-fashioned hard work to get what you want, regardless of your circumstances. He also went on to found "Success Magazine."

This is actually Marden's second book, but I'm posting it because I read it first and it's a really great read. I think it's a little better than Samuel Smiles work, but both authors are really great about inspiring you to do your best. I highly recommend these books if you feel the need to focus your life a little bit. The basic idea here is to stop crying and get to work and keep at it--if you can't find a way, make a way. He goes into examples of successful people who have done just that. Awesome stuff.

Please note that there is also a Sony Reader .lrf file of this book that I posted a couple of months ago.