Most of us have heard the question, “If you could spend an hour with
anyone in the world, alive or dead, who would it be?” My response would unequivocally be Benjamin
Franklin. Of course, he was one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States, but besides that, the man was simply brilliant!
Not everyone knows that Franklin was born in Boston, in what would later
become the United States. He accomplished more in his lifetime than 100 “normal”
men could have done.
There are dozens of well-known quotes attributed to Franklin that are
still used today, centuries later. Here
are just a few:
A
penny saved is a penny earned.
Never
leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.
Early
to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
But
in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.
Life's
tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.
By
failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
When you're finished changing, you're finished.”
He
that is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else.
Well
done is better than well said.
One of my personal favorites is, “Never confuse motion with
action.”
We have all used some of these common phrases, perhaps not even knowing
that Ben Franklin was the first to do so.
Ben Franklin established the first public library and organized the first
volunteer fire department. He was a
writer, publisher, diplomat and philanthropist.
Franklin was the author, publisher and printer of Poor Richard’s Almanack. He invented bifocals, the
lightning rod, the odometer, the wood burning stove and several other items
still used today. Daylight Savings Time
was Ben Franklin’s idea as well.
Is it any wonder that I would love to have met and gotten to know such a
man?
