The often-quoted journalist and entrepreneur Elbert Green Hubbard (1856–1915) was born in Bloomington, Illinois. “Allow motion to equal emotion,” he once said.

With little formal education but deep passion for reading, he became a successful businessman. In 1895, he founded Roycroft Press in East Aurora, New York and built the Roycroft Campus—a creative haven for artists and craftsmen known as the Roycrofters.

“The brain is a commodity,” he said, “used to fertilize ideas.”

Roycroft books featured ornate pages and chamois or leather covers. Employees designed furniture, metalware, and fine goods—and owned stock in the company. The Roycroft brand became a beacon of innovation and artistry.

“Luck is tenacity of purpose,” he believed.

In 1899, he published A Message to Garcia, a motivational bestseller about getting things done with effort and integrity. With 40 million copies printed, the story became a global parable for loyalty and leadership.

“Character is the result of two things,” he explained: “mental attitude and the way we spend our time.”

Though the Roycroft colony faded after his tragic death aboard the Lusitania in 1915, Hubbard’s vision helped fuel the Arts and Crafts movement. His words continue to inspire with clarity and spirit. “Love we give away is the only love we keep.”