There are certain tales which are inspiring, that help us to propel ourselves forward by learning of the power of the individual and personal will.  If we allow ourselves, we gain knowledge from others and can admire their personal courage and deliberate action and in turn, change our lives for the better.

One such tale of entrepreunurialism is the story of Benedikt Taschen.  The year was 1980 and the eighteen year old Taschen opened a store in Cologne selling graphic novels, trading and selling them from his personal collection.  Within one year, he was publishing catalogues for the shop.  The real breakthrough, however, occurred in the year 1984, when Taschen purchased 40,000 copies of an English text book on Rene Magritte and sold them each for a fraction of the original price.  This proved to be a genius move as it was a way of providing art and cultural enlightenment to the masses, in a sense democratizing it.  The next year he published his own original art book on Pablo Picasso and Taschen was birthed as we now know it today.  And the world is a better place for it.

“The intellect of the wise is like glass; it admits the light of heaven and reflects it.”
–Augustus Hare

Courtesy of Taschen Press, The Selby, All Rashid Mall, Selectism