615 things from this book went into her brain. Here are the first 6.
Marden argues that people usually get what they expect, so someone who half expects to stay stuck will work against their own progress.
Marden holds that before a person can lift themselves they must lift their thoughts, so mastering thought habits comes first.
Marden contrasts commanders who had the supplies but lacked grit with Napoleon, who did not shrink from difficulties and made his own opportunity.
Marden tells of Grace Darling, who rowed out with her father to rescue shipwrecked sailors, showing how courage can find strength nobody knew was there.
Marden holds that weak people wait for opportunities while strong people make them.
Marden holds that every ordinary task, conversation and responsibility is an opportunity, and that the idle person is the one who complains of having none.
Marden tells how Elizabeth Fry saw her chance in the English prisons and, by treating the women with respect, turned a wild crowd into a school.
Marden says open eyes, ears, hearts and hands will always find something worth doing, so attention is the first step to opportunity.
Marden notes that Galileo saw a useful principle in a swinging lamp, showing that close attention to ordinary things can reveal what others walk past.
Marden observes that Newton and Franklin were not favoured by chance, only quicker to see and use common facts and occasions.
Marden says the feeble and the purposeless see no meaning in good occasions until it is too late, because they never trained themselves to act on the present.
Marden argues that accidental circumstances only count for those who have been trained to take advantage of them, so the preparation comes before the moment.
Marden urges readers to make their own opportunities rather than wait for them, since industry makes the commonest chances golden.
Marden says the world wants people who keep their individuality, have the courage to say no, and see their work as more than a way to earn a living.
Marden wants people who are well rounded rather than one-sided, with common sense alongside their theories and their education.
Marden quotes Rousseau that a person should first learn to be a man, since a well-rounded character will find its place whatever fortune brings.
Marden says a young person who keeps every promise and guards their reputation as a priceless treasure will earn the lasting trust of others.
Marden holds that to be a man is to do no one a wrong and to stay within the unseen law of rectitude when desire tempts you.
Marden tells of the deaf boy Kitto, thought fit only for pauper shoemaking, who became a great Biblical scholar through steady study.
In the story of Creon and his sister Cleone, Marden shows devotion and courage, as Creon steps forward to confess and save the sister who protected his work.
Marden says Henry Wilson seized spare moments as though they were gold, reading widely and turning every circumstance of his life into material for success.
Marden tells of Horace Greeley, young and poor, who gave most of his earnings to help his father, then set out on foot to seek his fortune in New York.
Marden tells how James Gordon Bennett, after repeated failures, built the New York Herald from a cellar with a plank desk, steadily working toward his ideal.
Marden tells of George Childs, a poor boy whose motto, nothing without labour, carried him from bookshop clerk to owner of a great newspaper.
Marden quotes William Cobbett, who learned grammar as a private soldier with his knapsack for a bookcase, which shows a determined mind can learn almost anywhere.
Marden tells how Theodore Parker, with little schooling, saved his odd moments for reading and earned his way to Harvard, showing that steady effort can make up for a lost start.
Marden tells of Elihu Burritt, a blacksmith's apprentice who studied languages between heats at the forge, showing that a hard trade need not block learning.
Marden quotes Talmage that a poor young man is already equipped with a body and mind of wonderful make, and that reading is a free place to start.
Marden shows two unknown young men, Lundy and Garrison, taking on a powerful institution because they were fired by a lofty purpose and were in earnest.
Marden says Garrison, with no money, friends or influence, started his paper in a small upstairs room and vowed not to retreat a single inch.
Marden tells of Richard Cobden, who learned French by rising early while his companions slept, a reminder that the quiet hours can do the most for a person.
Marden tells how Michael Faraday, a bookbinder's apprentice, wrote to Humphry Davy with his lecture notes and was brought into the great chemist's laboratory.
Marden quotes Disraeli's belief that what has been done can be done again, and shows a determined will carrying a man from scorn to the top of politics.
Marden says Kepler worked calmly for seventeen years on his laws of planetary motion despite poverty, exile and burned books, a model of patient work.
Marden says Galileo, pushed into medical study, still built his own telescope and found the moons of Jupiter, showing that a real calling can outlast the path others choose.
Marden tells how George Stephenson, who could not read, learned from the engine itself by taking machines apart in the holidays while others idled.
Marden says Vanderbilt started again after losing his first boat in a wreck, working through the night to build the busiest trade in the harbor.
Marden tells how Frederick Douglass learned the alphabet from scraps of paper and almanacs, showing that no limits should be placed on someone who keeps reaching for learning.
Marden says Abraham Lincoln inherited no opportunities and gained nothing by luck, and that his good fortune came from untiring perseverance and a right heart.
Marden tells how James Garfield worked his way through school by sweeping floors, ringing the academy bell and planing boards, and says such an example is worth more than wealth.
Marden says a boy's start in life matters less than a resolute purpose, and that anyone who holds to one clear aim can rise from any beginning.
Marden suggests that too many advantages can be a disadvantage, since the hunger to learn often grows out of having little to start with.
Marden quotes Disraeli that the secret of success is to be ready for your opportunity when it comes.
Marden says many people who think they are poor are rich in opportunities, if only they could see the possibilities around them.
Marden tells of Ali Hafed, who left a good farm in search of diamonds and came to ruin, while the man who stayed found diamonds in his own garden.
Marden says the more opportunities people use, the more new ones appear, and that each person should find their own place and fill it.
Marden advises finding out what the world needs first and then supplying that want, since a clever idea is useless if nobody needs it.
Marden tells how Michelangelo saw a David in a spoiled block of marble, a reminder that a discarded or damaged thing may still hold real value.
Marden tells how Faraday, offered only bottle-washing at the Royal Institution, treated that humble job as an opportunity and went on to a professorship.
Marden says a person who studies their own wants will find that millions share them, and that supplying a great human need is the safest kind of work.
Marden tells how Franklin would not haggle over a book, because he would rather keep his time for his work than sell it cheaply, a lesson in what time is worth.
Marden says successful people gather the leftover fragments of time, the odd minutes and gaps between tasks, and turn them into real results.
Marden notes that days come like friends in disguise, and that lost time is gone for good, while lost knowledge or wealth can be won back.
Marden says an hour a day given to useful study can turn an ordinary person into a well-informed one within ten years.
Marden tells of Charles Frost, a shoemaker who gave one hour a day to study and became a noted mathematician.
Marden notes that Goethe stepped out in the middle of an interview to write down a passing thought, so that it would not be lost.
Marden says the present is the raw material we make everything from, so a person should get their lesson from the hour they are in.
Marden says the worst of a lost hour is the wasted power it leaves behind, since work has a system and laziness has none.
Marden says the way a young person spends evenings and idle time reveals their character, and each evening is a turning point in a career.
Marden says a student who starts from almost nothing and builds his life on self-reliance and integrity can still rise to great success in his field.
