A Birthday Salute to Benjamin Franklin: A Man of Curiosity, Creativity, and Compassion
It’s Benjamin Franklin’s birthday today!
Well, it’s the first of his two birthdays.
Why?
Ben Franklin was born on January 6, 1706. And Ben Franklin was born on January 17, 1706.
How’s that possible?
He has two birthdays because in 1752 England moved from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar and this skipped over 11 days.
So you can pick which one you want to celebrate. I’m celebrating the first one.
Now let me say I’m a huge fan of Ben Franklin. He never let anyone pigeon-hole him into just one specific category.
Here’s what I mean.
How could you define Benjamin Franklin?
Was he…
- the diplomat and statesman who was the only Founding Father to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris (establishing peace with Great Britain), and the U.S. Constitution which brought life to a country committed to freedom?
- the inventor that gave the world the Franklin Stove which gave more heat with less smoke?
- the scientist who explained electricity using key words like ‘positive’, ‘negative’, ‘battery’, and ‘charge’?
- the originator of bifocals that allowed you to combine two types of glasses into one lens?
- the author of “Poor Richard’s Almanack” that gave people weather predictions, poems, jokes, and sayings?
- the developer of a flexible catheter he came up with when his brother was having trouble with kidney stones?
- the writer of his own autobiography that talks of his quest to become a better person and challenge others to do the same?
- the creator of the spinning glass armonica for which Mozart and Beethoven composed music?
- the founder of the University of Pennsylvania, America’s first university, which would train some of the greatest minds to shape this world?
The answer is yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and…yes.
Ben Franklin’s what you’d call a polymath. Someone whose knowledge spans a substantial number of topics.
And because of those wide-ranging interests, he left a profound mark on the world.
All the things he did can be summed up in one phrase from his biographer, J.A. Leo LeMay:
“He tried hard, and he meant to do good. He wanted to improve himself, others, and the world he lived in.”
Now I don’t claim to be an inventor or diplomat or scientist.
But I do take pride in having enough varied interests to keep from being cast as a one-trick pony.
It makes life so much more fun.
It also gives me (and you) the excuse to try my hand at a whole bunch of stuff that some might say to shy away from.
In the spirit of fun, join me in using Ben Franklin’s ideas to kick start your own.
Here are a few strategies using Benjamin Franklin’s example to inspire you to reach your goals:
- Focus on the values that Franklin embodied: Benjamin Franklin was known for his curiosity, his love of learning, and his desire to make the world a better place.
- Consider how Franklin’s example can help you achieve your goals: Franklin’s many accomplishments demonstrate that he was a man who was not afraid to take on challenges and work hard to achieve his goals.
- Reflect on what you admire about Franklin: What specifically about Franklin do you admire? Is it his creativity and innovation, his dedication to improving the world around him, or something else? By identifying the qualities you admire in Franklin, you can use them as a foundation for your own personal growth and development.
Anyway…
Enough of me being a Ben Franklin fanboy.
Let’s talk about you.
And let’s do it with a Ben Franklin quote:
“Look before, or you’ll find yourself behind.”
This means you should always plan for the future or you’ll find your behind in a crack.
So to help you think through which financial documents you should have available in case life throws you a curveball, I’ve developed the “Stock Your Treasure Chest” PDF.
It’s a checklist of all the money papers you should have in one place.
Click the link below to get it…
“Stock Your Treasure Chest” PDF
You’ll sleep better at night knowing where all your money documents are.
Until next time,
Darren
P.S. Benjamin Franklin tried (and succeeded) at a lot of different things. You can do the same by following his lead.
