Orison Swett Marden 
How They Succeeded: Life Stories of Successful Men Told by Themselves 

How They Succeeded is the life-stories of successful men and women Each story contains the elements that make men and women successful; and they are intended to show that character, energy, and an indomitable ambition will succeed in the world, and that in this land, where all men are born equal and have an equal chance in life, there is no reason for despair.