Money & Personal Finance | Knowledge & Wisdom
Money Advice From Benjamin Franklin
Six real quotes that are actually worth understanding.
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Eighteen years before John Nixon first read aloud the Declaration of Independence, the eccentric polymath and statesman Benjamin Franklin published a short book titled The Way To Wealth. In his work, Franklin summarized most of his thoughts about how to succeed in business, and delivered the concepts in the form of sage advice that promoted work ethic and frugality.
It’s far from a perfect text, and many have criticized Franklin’s works as a reflection of the norms and social mores of his times, which we all know were within a patriarchal and racist society. Rather than create philosophical writings that sought to expand freedoms such as those from Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, or Thomas Paine, Franklin opted to write in a manner that suggests he believed in the legitimacy of the white landowner, as well as several nauseating concepts such as controlling the sexual lives of servants for the economic benefit of their masters.
Regardless of his antiquated ideologies, Franklin was an extremely important force in creating the United States of America. His famous book about business was the very first of its kind and continues to inspire business leaders and entrepreneurs around the world, with The Way To Wealth having been printed and reprinted almost 400 times and translated into almost every single language in the world.
While many know of Benjamin Franklin’s role in achieving American independence, few are aware of what he did prior to 1776.
Born in Boston, Franklin arrived in Philadelphia at age 17 practically penniless. Over the next two decades, he would become enormously wealthy as a print shop owner, land speculator and publisher of the popular Poor Richard’s Almanack, of which The Way to Wealth was a preface.
In essence, Franklin lived the American dream before the USA existed, and this was one of the reasons he was selected to be the face of the $100 bill.
While some of the content in his book is indeed a bit dated, whether you are a proud and successful capitalist, a struggling believer suffering the American Dream…
