In Grand Rapids he was the Vice President and Creative Director of an advertising firm. A prolific writer for various industry publications, his inspirational essays began to appear on the "Words To Live By" page of "This Week" magazine in 1960 (which was distributed in 42 metropolitan Sunday newspapers with over 13 million readers). Letters of praise from admiring readers led to the publication of "The Art of Living", the first of a series of books that would sell millions of copies. Essays in this book were also recorded by William J. Nichols, editor of "This Week" magazine, to produce an album called "The Golden Album of Inspiration."