Atlas Shrugged…why I have not written a blog lately.

The title of this blog probably does not make sense, but I will do my best to explain below.  Unlike many blogs, I write my own blog.  There is no ghost writer, so when I run out of time, I can’t write and recently, a project for my nonprofit has consumed a large amount of my free time.

Many of you know that I am fluent in French.  I speak, read and write it as easily as I do English.  Many of you might also know that one of the most influential books in my life is a novel entitled Atlas Shrugged, which was published in 1957 by a woman named Ayn Rand who had the misfortune of growing up in Russia at the horrific times of the Russian and Bolshevik Revolutions in the early 1900s.  Those tumultuous times gave rise to Communist Russia and the Soviet Union as we knew it.  In this book Ayn Rand praises what a uniquely wonderful creation America is.  I guess that is not surprising coming from someone who lived through the horrors of those times in Russia, which gave her a unique appreciation of what makes America great.  She admires our wonderful freedoms and the bold, creative individual spirit that defines our great country and she reminds us of how blessed we are to be here.  Each of the three times I have read the book in my life, it has influenced three of my most important business decisions.  First, when reading it back in 1986, I was encouraged to close my law practice and devote myself full-time to my passion – my then 7 year old vitamin-hobby.  And then, when reading it in 1996, it reinforced my decision to leave QVC and then reading it again a decade later in 2007, it reminded my why I should not return there.  This book has positively influenced three of the most important business decisions in my life and as a result I have always felt an enormous debt of gratitude to its author, which is why I now find myself translating this American novel into French - to both repay a special debt of gratitude to its author and as a gift to the French people who need to read it so desperately.

The translation project started about 4 years ago when I decided to reread the book in French, but much to my surprise, the book had not been translated into French…German, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, etc., but not in French.  Apparently someone began the French translation 50+ years ago, but never finished.  I then contacted the author’s estate (Ayn Rand is now deceased) and I acquired the rights to perform the translation.  The French translation is now complete, having been translated by a wonderful French translator/writer, and I am repaying my debt to Ayn Rand by editing it – going through it word for word to make sure that it is faithful to Ayn Rand’s English.  The book is over 1,400 pages long in French so this is no small undertaking.  It will be done in the next few months and it will then be distributed in France.  It is not a profit-making venture, but it will repay my debt of gratitude to Ayn Rand for the creation of the book while enabling the French to also read this important American novel that many Americans say is their second most influential book – only to the Bible. 

I hope you now understand why I have not blogged recently and that things will soon return to normal.  As I said, I am so dedicated to this translation because without it I would not have a vitamin company, nor would there be any shows of mine to watch on HSN, nor hundreds of millions of prenatal vitamins to donate to needy mothers, etc., etc.  I thank God and this book (and my parents J) for insuring that my life followed its intended path. 

Healthy New Year!

Andrew