(Newswire.net — November 23, 2016) — On November 9th, 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan said that Donald J. Trump’s Presidential election victory was “the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime.” He was referring to the fact that when Trump first announced his candidacy, he did not appear to have much of a chance because he had never held any elective office. Today, as Trump prepares his cabinet, he will most likely be doing it from the perspective of a businessman rather than a politician. His list of economic advisers will probably include real estate moguls, oil tycoons, and chief executives from the financial sectors.
His selection of economic officials is based on the philosophy that the country needs more business owners rather than career politicians. While this may seem a radical departure from the political scene we have always known, the tie between business and politics has a long tradition in American History. America’s original business owner, after all, may have been Benjamin Franklin whose contributions to society and politics still impact us. Even today, you can buy historical autographs, including letters negotiating the U.S. alliance with France.
Remembering Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was born in January 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts and died on April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although educated at Boston Latin School, he was mainly a self-educated man, with a passion for science, philosophy, and personal development literature. He rose to prominence as a writer, diplomat, amateur scientist, and inventor, although he is best known for his role in drafting the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. His negotiation of the 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War.
Historians often remark on his eloquence and wit. For instance, one of his memorable quotes is: “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” Biographies about him refer to him as “a man of many trades” because of his eclectic life experiences.
Before he became one of the Founding Fathers, he was well-known as an intellectual who published Poor Richard’s Almanac. He was so passionate about the value of education that he organized the first lending library. As a polymath, he had a keen interest in mathematics and mapmaking, and he became famous for his scientific contributions to electrical theory and the invention of bifocal glasses.
Benjamin Franklin the Businessman
Still, while many people are aware of his intellectual, scientific, and political contributions, few remember that he was also an astute businessman. In fact by 1748, at the age of 42, he was considered one of the wealthiest men in Pennsylvania.
Although he had shared his business advice in Poor Richard’s Almanac, which was published from 1733 to 1753, he created a summary of his ideas in The Way to Wealth, published in 1757.
His ideas are still relevant for us today. Here are four of his primary ideas on how to prosper in business and in life:
1. Work hard and be industrious.
Franklin saw hard work and industry as a solution to end poverty regardless of what was happening in the economy.
“It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service. But idleness taxes many of us much more, if we reckon all that is spent in absolute sloth, or doing of nothing, with that which is spent in idle employments or amusements, that amount to nothing.”
2. Practice diligence in all your affairs.
Franklin emphasized the value of keeping an eye on things and of staying alert and vigilant over one’s affairs.
“But with our industry, we must likewise be steady, settled and careful, and oversee our own affairs with our own eyes, and not trust too much to others.”
3. Prefer frugality over self-indulgence.
Franklin was completely against the idea of conspicuous consumption, believing that one should not throw away money on luxuries because that would lead to regret.
“So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one’s own business; but to these we must add frugality, if we would make our industry more certainly successful. A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a groat at last.”
4. Shun debt to persevere your personal liberty.
Franklin was completely opposed to the idea of buying on credit and incurring debt. In his day, debt was taken so seriously that a creditor could put you in jail for not paying a bill. Franklin associated debt with the loss of personal liberty.
“But what madness must it be to run in debt for these superfluities! We are offered, by the terms of this venue, six months’ credit; and that perhaps has induced some of us to attend it, because we cannot spare the ready money, and hope now to be fine without it.”
Although much has changed over the past 250 years when Benjamin Franklin lived as a businessman and politician, much of what he said in Poor Richard’s Almanac and The Way To Wealth is still relevant today.