As one of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin played a crucial role in forming America.
But throughout his life, he played several other imperative roles — politician, inventor, scientist, musician, entrepreneur and author. He also gave tons of great advice (which he admitted that he only tried to follow) in his serialized "Poor Richard's Almanack" and elsewhere.
On the 223rd anniversary of his death (April 17, 1790), we compiled some of his best advice on productivity, the workplace, and careers.
"Plough deep while sluggards sleep and you shall have corn to sell and to keep."
Franklin claimed to get up every morning at 4:00 a.m.
Many of the world's most successful CEOs also get up early, including GE's Jeff Immelt, who's up at 5:30, or GM's Dan Akerson, who rarely makes it past 4:30 or 5 a.m. before he gets up and starts calling Asia.
Some tips for turning into an early riser include skipping late day caffeine, stopping the use of technology before bed, and outlawing the snooze button.
"Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure."
If you want to be done with your work, you must first finish it. This means that you should be as productive as possible during your work hours, and always place work ethics above your leisure time.
As a young man, Franklin "seemed to work all the time, and the citizens of Philadelphia began to notice the diligent young businessman."
"If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Then if you are your own master, be ashamed to catch yourself idle."
An easy way to motivate yourself is to imagine that you were working for a favorite boss or mentor, and whether you'd be disappointing them.
It's hard to argue that Franklin spent much time idle. In addition to his accomplishments as a statesman, he was a prolific inventor, notably creating bifocals and the lightning rod.
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