Ben lived in a rather small city of 15,000 people. He spoke of it as wonderfully designed. He liked the large streets that made up a perfect grid. Ben cared about where he lived. So when the unpaved streets became muddy and wreaked havoc on the merchants, he worked to get the community involved and the streets paved. But dried mud on the paved streets was also a problem. So Ben created and distributed a pamphlet that stated the advantages of hiring a street sweeper. A few days later when he canvassed the neighborhoods, Ben discovered unanimous support.
About this time the townspeople wanted to light their city. Ben took note of John Clifton's house. John simply kept a lit lamp outside of his front door at night. Ben and John purchased a few lamps from overseas. Ben noticed a flaw in the oil lamp's design. There were no provisions to draw air from the bottom which would prevent a buildup of smoke and soot. Ben redesigned the lamp to allow air to move freely through the lamp.
Wisdom quickly became a byproduct of Ben's life. He used the street paving and lamp stories to tell folks about happiness and attention to small matters. He said that dust (or soot) blown into the eyes of a single person or merchant was not much of a problem. But when dust was blown into the eyes of an entire city, it could shut down the city. A simple plan to sweep the streets or a small design change to the lamps were examples of paying attention to seemingly small matters. Ben said human happiness is not so much a result of lucky events that rarely come our way. Rather, happiness is more often a result of the little advantages that accumulate every day.
He went on to say that if you want to make the world a better place, do something as basic as teaching a poor young man how to shave himself and keep his razor in good shape. In doing this, you may contribute more to his happiness in life than by giving him a lump sum of money. He said, money easily gained is often foolishly spent and latter regretted, but a good skill pays dividends for a lifetime.
A few small incidents from Ben's life here demonstrate a remarkable ability to market, to be creative, to design, to pursue happiness and to teach.
Ben was a pretty smart guy and yes, Benjamin Franklin loved Philadelphia, his city. Do you love yours?
This story of Benjamin Franklin can be found in Benjamin Franklin by Blaine McCormick.
Wow! What a great application of Franklin's life to what it means to be a citizen today.
I've read several biographies of Franklin. In many ways he is indeed the prototype of what it means to be an American.
Thanks for telling a story worth repeating.
Keep creating,
Mike
Posted by: Mike | December 20, 2007 at 10:32 AM