Ben Franklin's App

Greetings All:

We recently celebrated the 4th of July, a day known as our nation's birthday and for many a (this year) four-day holiday.  It is a time to attend a parade, watch fireworks, get together with friends and family and celebrate our nation's independence.  I also think it is worth recalling that Ben Franklin not only signed the Declaration of Independence but also lended counsel to the author, Thomas Jefferson.  Franklin's mark on early American was as deep as it was wide.  He was an inventor, a civic leader, an academic, a diplomat, a radical, and perhaps above all else, a writer.  His wit was sharp and to this day, his quotes are readily stated.  I have seen (and used) this one recently:

"They who would give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

However, for the purpose of this blog post, I wish to focus on the following Franklin quote:

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

 

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/benjamin_franklin.html 

I would argue Franklin did both.  His accomplishments are many and his writings are worth learning and sharing.  He never commanded troops in battle and was mocked in London.  Yet they LOVED him in Paris, especially the "les belle dames."  Nicely done, Ben.

Keep in mind please that he did all this without a smart phone, lap top, computer, typewriter or even a ballpoint pen.  He did it with a quill pen and ink on parchment, that's it, that was his app.  I have no doubt that he would love what Bill Gates and Steve Jobs came up with.  And yet, they never saw it, never hit "send" or downloaded "Words With Friends" or any of the other thousands of apps out there.  He had one- his brain.  Guess what?  So do we.

I am not saying that I or anyone else is on the same league with Franklin, of course not.  He was truly one of a kind.  Then again, so are you,...and me.  

I mention this for I am beginning a project that I am going to be rolling out on this blog about an idea I have for goal-setting.  As an introduction, I take my inspiration from Mr. Ben and how he used the 18th Century app, a pen.  

It worked for him and I bet it can work for us too.

Until next time, be well my friends.

Best,

Jeno

The picture above is courtesy of the web and is listed as part of the public domain.