Benjamin Franklin: 13 Virtues
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While I don’t set specific goals each new year in January, I do reflect on goals I have set in the past. I always remember my father who taught me when I was young about Benjamin Franklin and his goal-setting program. My father gave me a copy of Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues and a notebook to write down some of my goals. I was delighted when I came across an old notebook and looked inside to see what my goals were back then. I found I had only written down one goal: “Don’t yell!” Haha. Still working on that one!
When I started writing my 13 Choices for Happiness and High Self-esteem, I started with just five choices. Over the years, I added additional choices until I reached thirteen. My father had taught me Benjamin Franklin’s self-improvement plan of working on one virtue a week for thirteen weeks and then starting over again. By doing this, he could focus on each of his virtues four times a year (13 X 4 = 52 weeks a year). I believed that if this plan worked for Benjamin Franklin with his 13 Virtues, it would also work for me with my 13 Choices!
13 Virtues Of Benjamin Franklin
Temperance
Silence
Order
Resolution
Frugality
Industry
Sincerity
Justice
Moderation
Cleanliness
Tranquility
Chastity
Humility
My Favorite Benjamin Franklin Quotes
Here are seven of my favorite quotes by Benjamin Franklin that I have read over the years:
“There are three things that are extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know oneself.”
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.”
“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.”
“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.”
“Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
”He that riseth late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night.”