Three Lessons for Success from Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin was a self-improvement junkie before it was cool. At the age of 21, he created a club in Philadelphia, called the Junto, which was a collection of businessmen working together to get better.

Unlike many self-improvement “gurus” today, Franklin was an accomplished guy. He started his own printing business in his 20s, where he worked until age 42. Upon retirement, he sold the business to his partner with the stipulation that Franklin would receive an income for 18 years.

Franklin used “retirement” to pursue science and act as a dedicated public servant. He was well traveled, well read, articulate, and a practical problem solver.

Franklin was also the only person to sign all four of the United States’ founding papers: the Declaration of Independence, the treaty with France, the peace accord with Britain, and the Constitution.

Given these credentials, Franklin is a good example upon which we can model our own behavior. Here are three lessons from Franklin we can use to find more success in our lives - without the trial and error necessary to learn them on our own.

Trying to please everyone is a fools errand

Franklin was known for his practical advice, often delivered under a pseudonym or through a story.

One such fable involved a man, his son, and their donkey, and it goes something like this:

A man and his son were taking a journey from one town to another. They brought their donkey along to make the trip easier.

When the man rode the donkey, he was criticized for making his son walk.

When the son rode the donkey, he was criticized for making his father walk.

When they both rode the donkey, they were criticized for making the donkey carry too much weight.

And when neither of them rode the donkey, they were criticized for wasting a perfectly good donkey.

Determined to avoid any more unwanted criticism, the man and his son threw the donkey off a bridge.

In this short story, Franklin teaches an important lesson that takes most of us far too long to learn: If you are foolish enough to care about unhelpful criticism, you will do something stupid to avoid it.

Take it from Ben. When it comes to trivial matters, or when it comes from the mouths of those who don’t matter, stop caring what people think.

Reading is a key to success

Franklin was a voracious reader and had one of the largest personal libraries of his era. In the late 1780s, only several years before he died, Franklin remodeled his Philadelphia home, turning the entire second floor into a library with over 4,000 books.

In his early 20s, Franklin accompanied his boss, Samuel Keimer, on a business meeting. Reflecting on the meeting, Franklin noted that the customers liked him much more than they liked Keimer. He attributed this to the fact that he was well read:

“My mind, having been much more improved by reading than Keimer’s, I suppose it was for that reason my conversation seemed more valued. They had me to their houses, introduced me to their friends, and showed me much civility.”

Because he was well read, Franklin was adaptable. He was naturally curious and spent time learning about many different topics. Consequently, he was able to converse interestingly and intelligently with almost anyone.

Another example of Franklin’s advocacy for continuous education took place in 1785, when a town in Massachusetts named itself after him. The town requested that Franklin donate a church bell, but he told them they would be wiser to build a library than a church.

To emphasize the point, he sent books instead of a bell and told them that “sense is preferable to sound.”

Franklin’s example of constant reading and learning is one we could all stand to follow.

I spent a year or two after college reading almost nothing and learning very little outside of work. Had I not waited to follow Franklin’s example, I would be a much better version of myself today.

The ability to change your mind is crucial

Ben Franklin was criticized by some people for having weak convictions. What Franklin had were strong convictions loosely held. This ability is called intellectual humility, and it is a quality to be admired.

Franklin gave the closing address to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. In the address, he emphasized the role that compromise played in completing our nation’s governing document.

He stated clearly that he didn’t approve of every part of the Constitution, but he went on to say:

“I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise.”

If compromise and keeping an open mind was necessary to complete one of the nation’s biggest tasks, it is certainly important in our daily lives – in our personal and professional relationships, our political opinions, our thoughts on religion, even our choices in food.

Franklin went on to say:

“The older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgement and pay more respect to the judgment of others.”

One of the best things about biographies is that we get to learn the lessons of those who came before us. If we can learn these lessons from the pages of books, we don’t have to learn them by making mistakes in our lives.

As a young man, Ben Franklin was wise beyond his years. But even Franklin had to grow old to fully understand the importance of intellectual humility.

We are sitting on the winning ticket.

He gave us the instructions – all we have to do is follow them.