Benjamin Franklin Was The First Personal Development Blogger

I’ve been writing about health a lot recently so I decided to do something a little different for this Monday…

Did you know good old Ben Franklin was the first Personal Development Blogger???

Way back in 1732 he started one of the first “blogs” called Poor Richard’s Alamanack. And wrote in it using the pen name Richard Saunders.

Actually there were quite a few almanacs published around this time, but Ben Franklin’s was one of the more popular ones, and one of the few one can still find readily today.

It was published every year, and every year it contained many great proverbs.

Some of my favorite’s are…

“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”

“An old young man, will be a young old man”

“If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the Philosophers-Stone.”

“He that can have Patience, can have what he will.”

“He that lives well, is learned enough.” (The main focus here at Insight Writer. ;-))

“Where there’s Marriage without Love, there will be Love without Marriage.”

“He that cannot obey, cannot command.”

“He that is rich need not live sparingly, and he that can live sparingly need not be rich.”

“He does not possess Wealth, it possesses him.”

“He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.”

“He that can compose himself, is wiser than he that composes books.”

“To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.” (Studies have shown this to be true for years, but Ben told you so first!)

“Speak little, do much.”

“The noblest question in the world is What Good may I do in it?”

“Nothing brings more pain than too much pleasure; nothing more bondage than too much liberty, (or libertinism.)”

“Write with the learned, pronounce with the vulgar.” (I just thought this one was amusing)

“Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power.”

“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”

“The ancients tell us what is best; but we must learn of the moderns what is fittest.” (The best is out there to be learned from the classics. We just need to learn a little more from the moderns to best adapt it.)

“Reading makes a full Man, Meditation a profound Man, discourse a clear Man.”

“Each year one vicious habit rooted out,
In time might make the worst Man good throughout.”

“Observe all men; thy self most.”

“Industry, Perseverance, & Frugality, make Fortune yield.”

“You may talk too much on the best of subjects.”

“Tis easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.”

“A good Wife & Health,
is a Man’s best Wealth.”

“Dost thou love Life? then do not squander Time; for that’s the Stuff Life is made of.”

“A life of leisure, and a life of laziness, are two things.”

“He that won’t be counsell’d, can’t be help’d.”

Insight Writer is a blog dedicated to bringing you this type of proverbial wisdom in the form of essays written on a number of topics.

Currently I am working on a book to tie everything together. A guidebook to help you become as healthy, wealthy, and happy as you can be. Or it might be as healthy, wealthy, and wise as you can be… But that would require you to go to bed early and wake up early. 😉

In any case, please subscribe so you can keep getting updates, be notified of when the book comes out, and be able to participate in everything we do here at Insight Writer!