Table of Contents. Benjamin Franklin: The Most Accomplished Man in American History... 4

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2 Table of Contents Introduction Benjamin Franklin: The Most Accomplished Man in American History Ben Franklin s Code of Conduct The Four-Step Moral and Ethical Philosophy that was the Foundation of His Amazing Success An Interview with Ben Franklin Time Management Quiz Are you ready to master your own time? Find out with our free quiz

3 Introduction Welcome to your ImproveYourself.com Mini Course. In order to get the maximum benefit from this mini course, I encourage you to listen to the accompanying audio interview while you review this workbook. When the audio has ended, and you ve read through this workbook, you re one important step away from learning how to get a lot more done in a lot less time by taking our Time Management Quiz. At the end of this workbook, you ll find a link to our quiz. Test how much you ve learned while you step closer to mastering this mini course. Revisit this workbook in six months. Make note of the progress you have made, and perhaps implement some new tools in your Mastering Productivity plan. Remember that repetition is key. Each time you read through the material, you fill both your conscious and subconscious minds with life-transforming, proactive messages. Messages that will, in fact, assist you in making trends that most see as negative actually work in your favor. 3

4 Benjamin Ben Franklin: The Most Accomplished Person in American History Haven t you always wanted the privilege of learning from history s greatest masters? Imagine learning how to swing a bat from the Sultan of Swat himself, Babe Ruth. Or the advantage of Rembrandt teaching you everything he knows about painting. Imagine Sam Walton sharing all of his secrets about running a successful business. The treasured knowledge gained from these masters would have a profound impact on the direction of your life. Because of their expertise and proven experience, implementing even a fraction of their wisdom would accelerate your own remarkable results. Unfortunately, capturing the secrets of the world s masters is nearly impossible. That is, UNTIL NOW! By combining our resources with the power of your imagination, history s Father of Time Management Ben Franklin is prepared to reveal the philosophies and strategies he used throughout his own life that seem to make time stand still. Get ready to go inside the mind of a man who is perhaps the most accomplished person in American history. As he reveals his proven time management strategies, you ll gain the wisdom and insights that will make it seem as if you gained hours in your day and weeks in your year. Ben Franklin is one of the best-known people in the history of our Country. And with good reason, here are some of his many accomplishments: Signer and Writer of both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution Inventions: (Franklin s designs for these inventions are still used today) Bifocals compound lenses for eyeglasses. Lightning Rod protects buildings and ships from lightning damage. Franklin Stove a fuel-efficient furnace stove. 4

5 Electricity Discoveries made many important contributions to study of electricity and was one of the first to suggest lightning was actually electricity. Established First Public Circulation Library in America became the model for others throughout America and is still operating in Philadelphia today. Founded First Fire Insurance Company in America Established First Fire Department in Philadelphia First Postmaster-general of the United States Publisher of The Philadelphia Gazette newspaper Publisher of the famous Poor Richard s Almanac Owner of successful printing business And we could fill several more pages with all of his accomplishments! So how was one person, Ben Franklin, able to accomplish so much in his life? Well, he s about to tell you himself. 5

6 Ben Franklin s Plan of Conduct The Four-Step Moral and Ethical Philosophy that was the Foundation of His Amazing Success Following are a set of simple and very straightforward tenets Ben Franklin used to guide his actions. He called these four affirmations his Plan of Conduct. It s said he created this plan while on an ocean voyage in 1726, when he was just a young man only twenty-one years old. He followed these ideals throughout his life: 1. I pledge to be extremely frugal so I may always repay whatever debts I owe. 2. I ll always tell the truth; never make promises I can t keep and be sincere in everything I say or do. I believe this to be the most agreeable and decent way for an intelligent person to behave. 3. I m determined to diligently and energetically pursue anything I undertake. Furthermore, I won t allow myself to be distracted from my goals and responsibilities by any foolish project or get rich quick scheme; because diligence, persistence and patience are the best ways to succeed. 4. I will never speak badly of anyone, even if it s the truth, and I will always look for some way to excuse the faults of others. And whenever possible I will share all the good things I know about everybody. Keep reading, because this Plan of Conduct was just the beginning for Ben Franklin. Systems Make the Difference. Ben Franklin discovered a set of systems that enabled him to gain many of the skills that made him wildly successful. For example he used one of his personal success systems to master the one skill that contributed the most to his successes in everything. 6

7 This skill alone enabled Ben Franklin to: Expand his printing business, Start several new businesses and at the same time, Become an active member of government. What was this skill? Breakthrough methods of time management. Franklin had very strong opinions about time; how to best use time, what not to do with time, and the true value of time. He even came up with a system to keep track of how he spent his time. Breakthrough Time Management Discovery But the REAL genius of Ben Franklin s time management systems was his breakthrough discovery of how to seemingly bend time to serve his needs. He figured out how to multiply the potential of his day. Rather than just a normal twentyfour hour day, his days were more like a 48-hour day or a 72-hour day or even a 96-hour day or more! This is not science fiction. It s true. And it s been proven to work time and time again. More importantly, it can work for you too. Ben Franklin Shares These Powerful Success Secrets. Learn his secrets of incredible success in the following one of a kind, tell-all interview we ve conducted with Ben Franklin. During this interview, Ben Franklin will discuss the actual strategies and methods he used to gain success. Our interviewer is Dan Strutzel, VP of Publishing for Nightingale Conant. The world s largest publisher of personal development audio programs. Ben Franklin s responses are all based on information he left for us through his many writings and other accounts of his life. 7

8 An Interview with Benjamin Franklin Interviewer: Well, Mr. Franklin, it s an honor to be with you today. You ve accomplished so much in your lifetime. You ve been a successful businessman. A public servant, scientist, writer, and even a humanitarian. You re also a great role model for others to look up to and to emulate. And today you ve agreed to share with us the powerful secrets that enabled these successes, is that right? Franklin: Well, it is my true pleasure to share everything I know that can be of help to those who really want to succeed in life and are willing to do what it takes to get that success. Because success in anything is not about talk, it s about action. With that in mind, I plan to share the exact same techniques, skills and strategies I developed and used throughout my life. They have served me well and I believe they can help others. Interviewer: Before we get started could you please tell us about your family background and your early years Mr. Franklin? Franklin: Surely. But first, please call me Ben, as many of my friends and family do. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17, 1706, and I was one of seventeen children of my father. My father was Josiah Franklin, a candle and soap maker in Boston. My mother s name was Abiah and her family name was Folger. Interviewer: What about your formal schooling? Did you receive a formal education or did you attend college? 8

9 Franklin: I went to grammar school at age 8 as my father considered that I should have a career with the Church. However I learned to read well before my eighth birthday. In fact, I don t remember any time when I could not read. My grammar school lasted for about one year and by that time I had been promoted to the top of the class. I was supposed to continue my schooling and go on to college, but sadly the expense proved too great for my father especially because we had such a large family. So instead I was enrolled in a school for writing and arithmetic. At writing I did quite well, but I failed at arithmetic. I was somewhat ashamed of this and corrected this failing through self-study later in life. In fact, this self-study proved quite successful and I gained a good grasp of figures. Indeed my old friend John Adams thought that I placed too many figures in my grasp. But that s a discussion for another day. Interviewer: When did you start working? Franklin: When I was ten years old. My father took me into his business as a candle and soap maker a trade I DISLIKED immensely but I kept at it for two years. When I was twelve, I began my search for other career possibilities. I wanted to go to sea but my father was strongly against this. So to prevent me from running off to see the world, he helped me to find another trade I might find more agreeable. Yet none of the many trades we considered appealed to me either. From childhood I had a great love for books. And any little bit of money I had was spent to buy them. Given this love of books and reading my father finally determined I should go into the printing business. Since my brother James was already a printer my father arranged for me to go to work for my brother as an apprentice. This arrangement called for me to work for James until I was twenty-one years old. 9

10 This seemed perfect, as now I would have access to a better collection of books rare treasures which were not widely available at this time. Interviewer: That s interesting. Now how did it work out as an apprentice to your brother? Franklin: Initially things went quite well. Pretty quickly I gained proficiency and soon proved quite useful to my brother. Soon I also started to improve my skill for writing, which proved of great value throughout my entire life. My brother encouraged this as he thought it might somehow contribute to additional business for his print shop. I also developed a method to dramatically improve my writing skills in a short amount of time. This learning method allowed me to master other skills as well. But I ll explain more about that later. Ultimately I became dissatisfied with the way my brother treated me under his apprenticeship. However an opportunity eventually presented itself and that enabled me to end my contract with James well before my twenty-first birthday. Although my decision would cause hard feelings between James and myself, I decided to grasp at this independence. And because of those hard feelings, my brother made it impossible for me to find work at any other printing shop in Boston. So at the age of seventeen years, with very little money and without recommendations or business contacts, I set out to seek my fortune. Finally I ended up in Philadelphia and secured a printing job there. Interviewer: Eventually you started your own print shop business, is that right? Franklin: Yes that is correct. Though the path getting there was neither short nor direct. It took three years before I was able to open my own print shop in Philadelphia. During this time I continued to work diligently improving my skills in printing. I did this both in Philadelphia and later in London, England, where I lived for almost two years. 10

11 I returned to Philadelphia in 1726 and soon thereafter an offer was made, by way of a friend, to provide financing to start my own print shop. This arrangement made good sense and I accepted. Franklin: This seems the perfect time to share some of the crucial discoveries I made that became the cornerstone of my success philosophies and systems. May I? Interviewer: Yes, please. Franklin: On my ocean voyage from London back to Philadelphia, I set down a code of morals or ethics to follow. I concluded that Truth, Sincerity and Integrity in dealing with others to be of the utmost importance to finding happiness in business and in life. This philosophy is the essence of what I called my Plan of Conduct, a plan I developed when I was only twenty-one years of age. To achieve these objectives I decided to practice and continually develop the good habits of Industry, Frugality and Constant self-improvement. Interviewer: That s fascinating. Would you say that it was your Plan of Conduct and the work ethic that is responsible for your success? Franklin: Partly. It turns out that my moral philosophy and work ethic were meant to work side-by-side with something infinitely more powerful. Please allow me to explain. I had already established a plan both to deal with people and to approach my work. This I mentioned just a moment ago. About this same time I had a most amazing realization. Or perhaps it was heavenly intervention. Whatever caused this awakening I do not know. But I observed a universal truth. And if I had not had this profound revelation, success will have assuredly alluded me. 11

12 I became thoroughly convinced that THE most powerful instrument of success, which a person may command, is his time. And I am grateful to have discovered this great truth early in my life when I could use this fact to my fullest benefit. You may wonder why I feel this way about time. Here are my reasons: First, time is the one thing that when lost can never be recovered. Second, time is necessary to achieve all else in this world. Third, for most people, time is their most squandered and most wasted resource and whose full value of time is something they never fully understand or appreciate. Quite literally, time IS money time IS life therefore time must be considered the most precious thing that we own. Yet the wonderful thing about time is we have total and complete control over how it s used. We can decide to apply our precious time in being productive or watch it evaporate like dew from a morning flower. To master time is to take full and deliberate control over your entire life. It s our choice. And so I resolved to be the master of my time. Interviewer: After coming to this realization about the value of time and the decision to master your time what did you do? Specifically. Franklin: It became clear I must squeeze the most possible value from every minute of every day. So I committed not to waste a single minute of my time. My first step was to develop a method to properly account for my time. A method which would allow me to focus exclusively on those things of greatest importance each day. 12

13 To do this I created a paper form to keep track of my time and to ensure I use my time optimally. Each morning I list out and prioritize the tasks to be accomplished that day. If there are appointments scheduled I add them to the form too. Then I start my day. Working industriously to complete tasks in order of the priority I assigned them. Please take note of my use of the word industriously. I use this to demonstrate that any task that earns a place on my priority list must be pursued with enthusiasm and energy until it reaches its complete and proper conclusion. Also I am quite strict with myself. I do not consider a task complete until the final result required has been accomplished. This, I think requires more explanation. Sometimes a large task has many individual pieces smaller tasks that together form a whole job. For example when printing a book I may need to send printed pages to a bookbinder for finishing. That is the smaller task. The larger task is to print and deliver a book to my customer on a certain date. Once I ve printed the pages, a new task is created. It is a child-task of the larger project. The new task is, Have bookbinder bind pages into volumes. I cannot consider the main task completed until all the child-tasks are complete too. So in this example the child-task is not completed when I deliver the pages to the bookbinder. But completed only when I receive the finished books. This task demands I keep track of the bookbinder progress and agreed upon delivery schedule. Whenever a task is fully completed I cross it off my list of prioritized tasks. At the end of the day I assess how I fared in completing tasks. Anything I was not able to complete is added to the next day s schedule. In this way my entire day is planned out and I have accounted for all of my important tasks. And I have accounted most importantly for all of my time. 13

14 Managing my time this way has proved both simple and effective. This approach also demonstrates the difference between motion, which is work without results, and a genuine, action-oriented work ethic. Interviewer: I see how this approach relates back to your work ethic of Industry, Frugality and Constant self-improvement. But would you explain how you perceive the meaning of these words? I sense a deeper meaning than the words by themselves seem to convey. Franklin: Industry relates to making a conscious effort to perform tasks diligently and with enthusiasm and determination. The word embodies the saying that, any job worth doing is worth doing well. And to me it also means being aware of and open to new opportunities. New opportunities that may present themselves during the day. For example in anything that I observe I ask myself, is there some other way I can apply this newly observed information, this newly revealed fact to the task at hand and create something completely new and profitable? Constant self-improvement is fairly direct. I actively seek out new ideas to consider, new methods to test and new skills to learn and master. This process makes me a more valuable human being and gives me the opportunity to serve others and myself with greater confidence, broader vision and a greater depth of experience. To most people frugality simply means being careful or economical with money. To me it means much more. Being frugal is a state of mind. It requires that one be aware of achieving successful results while expending the least amount of resources. Certainly resources include money, goods and supplies. But more importantly the resource that one must be most frugal with is time. I started to share some of my time management methods a few moments ago. And shortly I ll show you how my frugality with time delivered extraordinary results. Interviewer: That would be great. I appreciate you sharing the depth of those principles. I d like to continue with time management once again, please. 14

15 Tell me, does your time management plan also allow for leisure time? And most importantly does this system completely keep your time under control? Franklin: Leisure time is most definitely included in my planning. I believe leisure to be very, very important. Though leisure should not be confused with sloth or laziness. Because laziness is something I feel is a waste of valuable time. In my leisure hours, I seek to do things that are enjoyable and also serve a higher purpose. My leisure includes useful activities to enhance the mind, body or spirit and are both productive and enjoyable. On the other side of the coin are bad habits, like sleeping late into the afternoon. I believe this to be lazy and wasteful and therefore a poor use of one s time. As for your question about whether my system was able to keep my time under control. The answer is yes, absolutely yes. However I still thought this insufficient to get the most value from my time. Interviewer: Why is that? Can you explain what you mean? Franklin: The problem is that each day places only twenty-four hours at my disposal. This limitation, I thought, might make it impossible to become a person of significant accomplishment. After all, there was so much I had in my mind that I had to do. So I became determined to explore ways to multiply the amount one could accomplish in each and every hour. I wondered; is it possible to get two days work accomplished within a single day? And if so, would it also be possible for three, four or five days work to be accomplished in a single day? In my mind, I imagined that in the way one dollar can, by leverage, command the buying power of ten dollars it might be possible for one hour to command the power of ten. 15

16 Fortunately I discovered the formula to deliver this stretching of time within my existing inventory of knowledge, skills and abilities. In fact the solution is rooted quite solidly within my long-standing work ethic triad; Industry, Frugality and Constant self-improvement. Now all I need do was put this additional element along with my time management system into action on a consistent basis. As you can expect, I wasted no time in implementing this program. Interviewer: Let me see if I understand this correctly. First, you developed a very simple but effective way to get priority tasks completed and to make sure you got the greatest result from each minute of your time. Then you actually discovered a way to stretch the number of productive hours each day. Your discovery expands the twenty-four hours we re all given each day to achieve two, three or even four times the normal results? Franklin: As remarkable as this may seem, that is correct. Every person is handed twenty-four hours a day. And if you rely solely on your own physical abilities that s all you can expect to ever have. I do not propose to change nature. What I do propose, however, is to leverage my time so that many of the things I have to get done will occur without my physically having to lay a hand on them at all. Perhaps an example will make this clear. I mention earlier that I had developed excellent writing skills. Plus I had an ability to present and sell my ideas to others so that they accepted my point of view. Building these skills was part of my desire for constant self-improvement. I learned, developed and refined these skills using a method of my own invention for quickly learning new things. And this system applies to learning just about anything. But I ll share more of that method in a moment. First, let me continue with my example of leveraging time. 16

17 It occurred to me that one way I could leverage time was to combine three skills that would save me from having to make needlessly time consuming face-to-face contact with others. So, instead of setting out on my own, I would create thousands of invisible, industrious, and inexpensive helpers to spread my ideas. These helpers would allow me to preserve my own time and apply it more productively. The three skills I combined were writing, selling and convincing and printing. I would publish a flyer, letter or newspaper article which I had written expressing my point of view. The result was that my writing often built strong support for my ideas and drew my unseen readers to my point of view. This became a standard tool I used whenever I wanted to raise awareness or get people thinking a certain way. And so it was that by writing and publishing, by creating many Ben Franklins, that I had in fact expanded the number of hours I had to work on other priority tasks. This system alone brought significant new business to our print shop and provided support for many important public projects. In this way my writing was a means to an end. Interviewer: Ben, you mentioned a system you had devised that enabled you to develop and improve your writing skills and your skills of winning over others to your point of view. Can you share this system with us now? Franklin: I would be delighted to share this quick-learn method of acquiring a new skill. Though I think it s important for me to point out that any and all of the skills I accumulated were best used when they supported my fundamental goal of getting as much accomplished with my time as humanly possible. To this end, I would always seek out new skills, tools or actions that would serve this critical driver of my success. My learning system is comprised of only three steps. 17

18 But do not be fooled in thinking that something so compact cannot be effective. The process is simple and works quickly but it requires dedication and consistency of action to deliver the most acceptable results. The three steps to learning according to the Franklin Method are: Step one: Identify an expert who is already proficient in the skill you wish to acquire. This expert should be someone whose work you greatly admire and whose style or methods you aspire to match. Step two: Imitate the master you ve identified in Step one. Do this by studying his or her work, dissecting and internalizing that work in order to gain a true understanding and then, reproduce that work on your own. Step three: Practice imitating the master until you achieved your own mastery of the desired skill. This method works. For example, when I wished to write in the style of a certain daily journal, the Spectator, I applied that very same formula. I studied the writing and summarized the articles. Later I tried to rewrite the articles word-for-word from memory using my summary as a hint. Then I compared my writing to the original, discovered my mistakes and corrected them. Eventually I accomplished my goal, I had acquired the writing style of this publication that I had so admired. I used this same method again when I wished to improve my skills of convincing others around to my point of view. Only this time I modeled myself after the Greek philosopher Socrates. And once again, my use of this method proved successful. It is my firm belief that this means of acquiring new skills will work for most anything and anyone. This of course, assumes the proper attention is given to all three steps of the process especially step three. For without practice one can never truly gain mastery. 18

19 Interviewer: Aside from the skills you ve already mentioned, is there any other thing that has contributed greatly to your success. Franklin: You mean other than my skill at flying a kite? Interviewer: Yes sir, other than that. Franklin: Yes there is. Friends. One of the most valuable resources I possess is a solid group of loyal friends. Friendships are another example of how to leverage one s time, as your friends become willing emissaries on your behalf. It is my friends that routinely bring new business to my shop and recommend my services and abilities to others. They will also alert me to new and profitable opportunities and warn me when potential trouble might be headed my way. When a customer is referred to me it takes little work to close the sale. Why? Because I ve already proven myself. Proven myself to someone the potential new customer trusts and whose opinion they value greatly. My friend s recommendation saves me the effort and use of my time in having to locate and actively sell a new customer. I ve already established a good reputation through my work ethic, my ability to keep commitments and by dealing honestly and fairly with others. And because I have already established a good reputation, there is nothing else to prove. It has also been my experience that having friends attracts new friends. Soon you may find that you ve created a vast web of friends and friends-of-friends. This demonstrates the value that a good reputation brings. However I am confident that building a fine reputation would not have been possible without my ability to manage my time effectively. Interviewer: Any suggestions that you have then for building a circle of loyal friends? Franklin: From a business perspective you are known by your reputation. So it is important that you actually become the person that matches the reputation. 19

20 If you want to be known as highly competent or as an expert in your profession, then you must BE competent. You must become an expert. Then do not be afraid to show that expertise. Once you do this people will take notice and seek you out. This is how you begin to establish a circle of business friends and relationships. Building on my reputation is how I attracted lots of new business to my print shop, won numerous government contracts and was considered for important political appointments. Interviewer: Well Ben, we ve covered a lot of ground in today s discussion. You ve enlightened us by graciously sharing the details of the strategies and practices that enabled you to accomplish so much. Before we conclude our interview would you please give us a summary review of the success strategies you ve shared? Franklin: It will be my pleasure. My philosophy on success boils down to these five steps. Number one: We must recognize the most precious thing any person has is his or her time. Time is money. Time is the stuff of which life is made. And time must be cherished, used for productive purposes and always with frugality. Number two: Set down a set of rules and list of goals you wish to attain in your life. This will provide a blueprint or roadmap for you to follow so you do not lose your way. Recall my Plan of Conduct and my fundamental principles of industry, frugality and constant self-improvement. Also be open-minded in making adjustments to your plan as your circumstances change or as the world around you evolves. Number three: Work diligently with enthusiasm and commitment on any task you agree to take on. This work ethic will bring recognition and enable you to establish a good reputation in the eyes of those who know you. 20

21 When you gain people s trust and admiration they will heartily recommend you to others. This will bring many new opportunities your way. Number four: Use my time management system to focus on your priority tasks and work them to a proper conclusion. This system provides a structure to track your time and prevents you from wasting it on unimportant activities. Do not ever fool yourself into confusing motion with action. A task is only completed when the end result has been fully achieved. Therefore real action towards achieving concrete goals is the only thing of consequence. Number five: Whenever and wherever possible apply leverage techniques to expand the yield of every hour of each and every day. I accomplished this by using my writing and publishing skills to pre-sell my ideas. You can take similar actions. Continually develop new skills and methods of getting greater results from your time. Acquire new skills by using the Franklin Method; Identify an expert, Imitate the expert, and Practice until you achieve mastery. Following these five philosophies with diligence, enthusiasm and perseverance will most assuredly take you down a path of great accomplishment. 21

22 Want to MASTER this Mini Course And MASTER your life? Take the Time Management Quiz Are you ready to prove to yourself that you have what it takes to accomplish even more in your life? Take our fast, fun 25-question Time Management Quiz to find out! CLICK HERE to START the quiz! I hope you enjoyed listening to our mini course titled Learn Productivity Secrets from the Father of Time Management. More importantly, I hope you were able to take away a few ideas that will empower you to do far more in far less time both at work and at home. As much as we covered in this mini course, we ve simply skimmed the surface. If you wish to delve deeper into how effective time management can lead to your most effective life we recommend you spend more time browsing around You ll find audio and video excerpts as well as time management audio programs featuring worldrenowned authors. If you wish to improve your career and financial outlook or if you simply want to learn how to get more done every day, you ll find more mini courses at At ImproveYourself.com, you ll find many free resources you can use to improve your wealth, health, career, relationships, and much more! 22