It is always better to be sincere than to be a phony or to be sarcastic. Sincerity is a great trait for anyone to exude whether at work, or with loved ones, and we need more sincerity in the world. If people were more sincere and more genuine, imagine what a better place the world would be.

For many years, we have ended many letters with the word “sincerely,” followed by our name. Or we have sent a thank you card that may have said “sincerest thanks.” We have seen sympathy cards with “sincerest sympathies,” or “sincerest condolences.” Sincerity is a key ingredient in decent manners and cordial human relations.

Ben was wise to include this word in his list of thirteen virtues, and was sincere about compiling a list that could help others. He was quite the writer, publisher, printer, and many other things.

If you have never read his autobiography, it is highly recommended!
He actually wrote things, at times like a diary, and many years after his death, someone compiled all of those writings into what we now call his autobiography. Whether or not he intended it to be an autobiography is actually unknown to us, but we can all learn many great things about him, and more importantly, we can have timeless words of wisdom and excellent advice from this great man!

You can show an attacker your sincerity by introducing him to a high voltage stun gun!

http://www.tbotech.com/runt-stun-gun.htm

Being industrious, being productive, being enterprising, being busy with work, not to mention, focused and hard working and dedicated, were all things that the good Ben Franklin did regularly. We can learn from his good example, and we can be more industrious in our careers and in our personal lives. We shouldn’t be putting things off and procrastinating, and we shouldn’t be doing a half-hearted job. We should put 110% into projects, whether around the house, as a volunteer, or when it comes to our school or work.

The dictionary describes industry as “diligence in an employment or pursuit, especially a steady or habitual effort.” This is something that we have seen in all famous and successful people such as Walt Disney, Ray Kroc, Sam Walton, or William Wrigley, Jr.

It is important for those of us living in a time when we have every convenience, and many distractions, to keep working and plugging along. We have to remember not to put off until tomorrow what we can do today.

In the spirit of Ben Franklin’s humor, Mark Twain once said, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after tomorrow.” However, with all kidding aside, we are urged by this great virtue, of the thirteen, to work hard and steady, and keep plugging along, one day at a time.

Frugality is a wonderful word, and it should not be confused with cheapness. Being cheap is not a good human trait, but being frugal can be very good. The cheap person will order something in a restaurant that he doesn’t even want, just because it has a low price, and he’ll drink water, even though he wants coffee, and he will stiff the waitress. It is never a kind or decent thing to stiff the waitress, meaning “not giving her a tip.” The frugal person will order what they want, but within reason, and will have the coffee, and give the waitress a decent tip, but he won’t go to a restaurant all of the time.

When shopping for a gift for someone, the frugal person will try to get some value for his money, by perhaps buying something that is on sale, whereas the cheap person won’t even get a gift or get the cheapest thing they can find. You get the idea.

Being frugal was a trait of good old Ben, and when he once was visiting a city where he had never been, he walked into a bakery, to buy an inexpensive (frugal) lunch. His autobiography mentions how he knew that in his own hometown, three cents worth of bread was the perfect portion for his appetite, but in this city with which he was unfamiliar, he ordered three cents worth of bread and received three big loaves.

So, he walked down the street with one loaf under each arm, while chewing on the third, thinking to himself that it must have been a funny sight.

Every year on New Year’s Eve or on the next day, millions of people make a “resolution” that they break before the end of the month.
Maybe it’s best not to make one until another day of the year, and preferably not during the first two weeks in January. For some reason these New Year’s resolutions always seem doomed.

To make a resolution to do this or that, is an admirable thing, and we should all do it more often. Make a plan, and then follow your plan, is a good idea, and don’t forget that some people didn’t plan to fail, they failed to plan. To make a plan, or a goal, and stick with it, is a noble endeavor.

Why not take Dr. Franklin’s advice and make some resolutions right now, no matter what day or month of the year it is? It’s always nice to have a reason to get up in the morning, and to have something to look forward to and work towards. Whether your goal is a business of your own, your dream home, a fabulous vacation, or a certain amount of savings, or any other purchase, you have to make the resolution to do it, and then do it!

This word can refer to so many areas of life; it’s almost a challenge in itself. To have order and organization in your home, your schooling, and your business is an extremely important key to being productive and successful. To have your schedule for the day, week, or month in order is a good start for a successful approach to the work at hand.

Order in your behavior, so as not to be acting foolishly or incompetently is also a good idea for a successful person, or someone striving for success.

To have your priorities “in order,” is extremely important, as many people have a mixed up view of what they should be focusing on, and consequently, they are scattered and having a tough time getting any one thing accomplished.

If Ben were here, he might say, “So, in order to have law and order in your life, make a list of tasks in the order of importance as you order your breakfast. Then you can regain some order in your life, and thus your world will be more orderly.”

After all, he did have a pretty good sense of humor.

We have all heard the saying, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

This was probably what the good doctor was referring to when he mentioned “silence.” Too many times, we humans, feel the need to put in “our two cents worth,” meanwhile, others don’t really care what we have to say. For example, have you ever been between jobs, and while you are looking, people around you will sometimes make ridiculous suggestions as to a job you might try to obtain? This is extremely annoying, as it’s bad enough that you are forced to look for a new job, which most folks don’t really enjoy, but you have the added annoyance of a friend or relative telling you a job that they think you should pursue.

Silence is also a good idea when you are asked a question by someone looking to start trouble, or spread a rumor, or create a gossip situation. It is a good exercise in self control if you have views that would only upset the people around you. They say that we are not supposed to discuss politics or religion, and perhaps that is the best use of silence.

Temperance, as Ben used the word, was referring to restraint, and probably more accurately, moderation in or the abstinence from the use of alcoholic beverages. Even back in his day, too many people would overindulge in drinking, and their drunkenness would adversely affect their behavior, and of course, their work.

Ben knew that in order to be productive and successful, a person needed to remain sober and with the ability to think clearly, and focus on the jobs at hand. The things that needed to be done to further his career, could not be given the proper attention and care, in a drunken state of mind.

So, Benjamin Franklin chose to list this as the first of his thirteen virtues, and we don’t really know if these are in any particular order or not, but it’s interesting to see that the very first virtue listed, is the one pertaining to a common human frailty, one which causes many folks to be unfocused about their jobs, and their lives.

Ben’s advice for the folks of today would probably be, “If you can manage it, stay away from alcohol, but if you do drink, do it responsibly, and for heaven’s sake; don’t drink and drive!”

Always good advice.

Remember to always take protection with you wherever you go.

I’m talking bad guy protection such as a lipstick pepper spray.

http://www.tbotech.com/lipstick-pepper-spray.htm

Stay Safe!

Many years ago, our brilliant Benjamin Franklin gave us a quote, which contained his ideas about thirteen virtues that were needed for a human being to be successful. His insights and concepts were always fascinating and very accurate. I would like to spend the next several days, taking a look at Dr. Franklin’s astute observations and this most interesting quote, which could probably be dissected and analyzed in an entire college course, lasting for a whole semester.

The quote is as follows, “Thirteen virtues are necessary for true
success: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.”

Wow! What a powerful 21 word sentence, and truer words were probably never spoken. Good old Ben Franklin was certainly familiar with human behavior; and with the ingredients needed for a happy and successful life.

Benjamin Franklin, with his infinite wisdom, used to actually take a two hour lunch break, every day, so that he could spend a few minutes eating, and then the rest of the time reading books, and gaining more knowledge.

He also established the first libraries in this country, and the first fire departments, plus the invention of bifocals, and of course his experiments with electricity, but his life was so busy and full of extraordinary things, that one must really read his autobiography to actually gain some insight into the man and the legend that he was!

I’ll bet he also believed in the concept of self defense.

http://www.tbotech.com/wildfire-pepper-spray.htm

Stay Safe!