He was the fifteenth of seventeen children and his father didn’t have enough money to send him to school, but that didn’t stop Benjamin Franklin from becoming one of the most prominent figures in early American history.
As one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S., Franklin was also an entrepreneur, inventor and writer whose legacy would leave a lasting impact the world over.
With his commitment to personal achievement and to improving the lives of his fellow Americans, Franklin proved to be one of the most successful statesmen, writers, entrepreneurs and intellectuals of his time.
Given that his father was a soap maker who couldn’t afford education for his 17 children, Franklin’s success is all the more astonishing. How did Franklin take control of his situation and turn his destiny around?
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.
Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry, all things easy. He that rises late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night, while laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him.
Energy and persistence conquer all things. Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What’s a sun-dial in the shade?
Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none. Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing. Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.He that blows the coals in quarrels that he has nothing to do with, has no right to complain if the sparks fly in his face.
He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. Never confuse motion with action.
If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting. A penny saved is a penny earned.If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect.
If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. Genius without education is like silver in the mine. Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.
Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out. The man who achieves makes many mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all – doing nothing.
Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to get leisure. Drive thy business or it will drive thee.“
