Historian Richard Morris suggests that there are seven key Founding Fathers. Predictably they are John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington. If you are an entrepreneur or a business owner, you may identify most with Benjamin Franklin. Arguably he may have been the most successful inventor, entrepreneur and business person of the group.
On this Independence Day weekend, reflect on these ten quotes of Ben Franklin and apply them to your business initiative (or personal life). And thank God for the republic.
1. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
2. Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.
3. He that rises late must trot all day.
4. Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt.
5. The US constitution doesn’t guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.
6. A penny saved is a penny earned.
7. I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.
8. To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.
9. Never confuse motion with action.
10. Work as if you were to live a hundred years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow.
Larry Sharp, Director of Training, IBEC Ventures
Larry.Sharp@ibecventures.com