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 Benjamin Franklin |
Suggestions for Living Better from the Life of Benjamin Franklin By John R. Fisher Unique in his day,
Benjamin Franklin’s
accomplishments rank greater than most people of any age. He was a
scientist,
an inventor, a statesman, a printer and author, a philosopher, a
musician,
and an economist. He prescribed a way of living better and a means of
overcoming
bad habits and replacing them with good. He called this “the art of
virtue.”
He followed a daily plan and used a workbook to check his progress in
reaching
his personal goals and establishing virtue in his life.
Ben Franklin sought to establish virtues that would guide his life. His life story described in this book shows how these virtues were factors in governing his daily activities. In his autobiography (a section of which is included in this book) he described his attempts to live a virtuous and good life. It wasn’t enough to just want to be good or recognize the virtues and his weaknesses. He realized he had to take action, so he came up with a method to overcome his bad habits and replace them with “virtuous” ones. Franklin identified 13 virtues he felt were key to good living. These he worked on daily, focusing on one per week for a 13-week period. While focusing on one virtue per week, he still recorded his daily success with each one. Soon he had replaced his bad habits with good ones. His attitude toward life and his success in living are reflected in his sayings, many of which were written as a young man in annual editions of “Poor Richard’s Almanack.” Many of these quotes are included in this book. Reflecting upon his life, he said: “Were it offered to my choice, I should have no objections to a repetition of the same life from its beginning, only asking the advantages authors have in a second edition to correct some faults of the first.” Benjamin Franklin made mistakes and had faults. However, in overcoming his weaknesses he gained success and he became one of the greatest figures in American history. And most of this happened after he was fifty. Download forms to use in changing your habits. Order The Art of Virtue
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