Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 33 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Wisdom from Ben Franklin – Part 1

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast.  This is Day 33 of our Trek, and in honor of Independence Day in the United States, for the next four days we are going to consult one of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, who was known for his wisdom and practical sage advice.

Today we are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio.  It has been a fairly busy day, but not quite as hectic as the first part of the week, so I have been able to get through some of the project work that was not quite as crucial.

Before we head back to North Carolina on Sunday, we do hope to start moving the furniture back into the renovated office, sand and varnish the floor in the eating area, and get the lawn mowed. It will be a challenge to accomplish it all, but we will try.  Below is a picture of the new flooring and wainscoting in our renovated office.

As we begin on our Trek today, we find a buried box near our camp and on opening it, we realize that it contains a listing of 85 Practical tips written by Benjamin Franklin. Let’s take the next few days to see how they apply to our lives.  Old Ben was one of my mom’s favorite authors, and she read many of his quotes to us growing up in hope that his seeds of wisdom would be planted and grow in our lives.

These nuggets of wisdom, when consumed regularly like the book of Proverbs, will teach us to live disciplined and successful lives and to help us do what is right, just, and fair.  Now, it may take a few days for us to reflect on all 85 sayings, but I will add some of my own thoughts along with Ben’s so that we can apply them most effectively.  Some of the sayings do contain words that are not used often today, but I think they are easily enough translated.  So let’s get started.

1. God helps them that help themselves. – While this is not actually listed in the Bible as many have thought, it still contains Biblical truth.  God is not going to miraculously do for us what He has already given us the capability of doing. 
2. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears while the used key is always bright. We will remain brighter, sharper and more useful by effectively working than we ever will by being lazy. Proverbs 6:6 says to, “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!”
3. Dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of. – Ephesians 5:16 puts it this way, “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”
4.  The sleeping fox catches no poultry. – You can’t accomplish your goals if you don’t take action. Proverbs 6:9 puts it this way, “But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?”
5. There will be sleeping enough in the grave. – I have to admit, that I do like to work. My kids think that the old hymn “Work for the Night is Coming” is my theme song. I have to admit that I may have repeated that phrase a time or two while they were growing up, but on a serious note, we do need to take advantage of the times in life when we can be productive. As John 9:4 says,  “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work.”
6. Wasting time must be the greatest prodigality. – Prodigality is excessive or extravagant spending. Money you can always earn again, but time we can never get back once we waste it.
7. Lost time is never found again. – We are starting to see a theme here in Ben’s anecdotes. Unlike losing money or material possessions, once time is lost it is gone forever.
8. Time-enough always proves little enough. – You always have time enough to do a task right the first time, otherwise how do you ever think you will have time to redo a task?
9. Sloth makes all things difficult but industry all easy. – If you just get about the task at hand and work at it, then the tasks will become much easier.
10. He that riseth late must trot all day,and shall scarce overtake his business at night. – If you want to complete the needed work or task for the day, don’t put it off, but get right to it. Otherwise, you will be playing catch up all day.
11. Laziness travels so slowly, that poverty soon overtakes him. – The best way to become financially secure is to avoid the trap of being lazy and ineffective. Proverbs 10:4 tells us, “Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.”
12. Drive thy business; let not that drive thee. – In all aspects of life whether it is in business or personal matters, we need to proactively plan and manage each part, or it will manage us.
13. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. – This is probably one of Ben’s most famous quotes, but do we heed it? Yes, many of us are able to rise early to tackle the monsters of each day, but few of us get the proper sleep and end up sick, poor, and ignorant. The choice is ours.
14. Industry need not wish. If we do the work needed, we will have what we wish for. Many times our desires will change based on what we learn from working. My Grandma Burkhart used to call when we wished for something as a child a mugwamp, which translated meant, “wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up first.”  In other words, if you desire something don’t just stand there. Get going and make it happen.
15. He that lives upon hope will die fasting. – We all need to have hope in life, for it gives us a reason to continue on, but we can’t sit waiting for hope to happen. We need to get out and turn our hopes into reality. Proverbs 13:11 reminds us, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. ” So, stop just hoping. Take action, and fulfill your dreams.
16. There are no gains without pains. – This quote is commonly used in sports today, but it applies to anything that is worth obtaining. If we desire to have something, then we need to do what is necessary to obtain it.
17. He that hath a trade hath an estate. – In other words, if you are willing to work and are shrewd financially, then you will be able to have a place that you can call your own. The size of the estate is not important at all. It’s just the fact that you have one.
18. He that hath a calling hath an office of profit and honor. – Your calling can be your occupation or any worthwhile endeavor where you are making a positive impact on your world. At that point, your life is profitable and honorable.
19. At the working man’s house hunger looks in but dares not enter. – If we are industrious and wise with our finances, there will be few if any instances where we will go hungry. Yes, we may struggle at times, as our family did when I was growing up on the farm, but we’ll never go without a meal, just as my mom and dad made sure that we never missed a meal. At times, it was a bit sparse but never missed.
20. For industry pays debts while despair increaseth them. – Regardless of the economy, our personal situations, or any external forces beyond our control, if we are willing to work hard and have been wise financially, we can persevere. When we lose hope, our debts will drown us.
21. Diligence is the mother of good luck. – There is a direct correlation.
22. Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and to keep. – Those who are willing to work, when others are not, will have enough to take care of themselves with leftovers. Proverbs 13:4 reminds, “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.”

Well that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, or on Wisdom-Trek.com. Tomorrow we will continue on the path to true wealth as told to us by Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States.

So, please check into our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

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Thank you!

The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have wisdom nuggets and free resources.

As we take this Trek together let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy the Journey, and Create a Great Day! See you tomorrow!