It’s true I have a secret crush on a man.
Now that I write this, I guess it is no longer a secret.
Let me rephrase my last statement.
I have a well-known crush on a man.
Benjamin Franklin’s been dead for more than 229 years, yet he created a legacy by the life he led that his name is still revered today.
My first exposure to Benjamin Franklin was in high school English, where one of our assignments was to read a portion of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.
If you haven’t read the book yet, put it on your wishlist. If you want a copy of the book, post in the comments to this blog post and I’ll send you a copy of the book.
It is simply tremendous.
As a teenager, the thing that impressed me the most about Benjamin Franklin was when I read his thirteen virtues.
I was amazed that Benjamin Franklin had developed a moral code for himself during his early twenty’s. As I read the thirteen virtues, I knew Benjamin Franklin was a man of character. I was truly impressed.
Here are the Thirteen Virtues:
1. “Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.”
2. “Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”
3. “Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.”
4. “Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”
5. “Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.”
6. “Industry. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
7. “Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.”
8. “Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”
9. “Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.”
10. “Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.”
11. “Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.”
12. “Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.”
13. “Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”
Then on Monday, I was writing my blog post One Year of Profit First Success.
I was looking for a famous quote about money and read the following words by Benjamin Franklin.
“Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.”
That was it. I’ve been blogging consistently for the last three months about money.
I was so excited to read these words.
In just twenty-two words, Benjamin Franklin summed up what I’ve been trying to express for the last three months.
This is what determines how much money one has.
We all have good habits, and we all have bad habits.
Our good habits give us results. Our bad habits give us results.
We add our good and bad habits together and then we have a total result.
“Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.”
As I thought about this concept further, I realized the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin
This quote is now my favorite quote of Benjamin Franklins.
Thinking further into Benjamin Franklin’s words, I concluded the bad habits taking away from our good habits is applicable to every other aspect of my life.
Good habits and bad habits determine the results I get in:
- My relationships with my family
- My relationships with my friends
- My hobbies
- My learning
- My personal development
- My happiness
- My health
The results of everything in my life are governed by the habits I keep.
After the first month, I was contemplating everything I had written about, and I noticed something about my writing.
I noticed that much of my writing in May was more about the decisions and choices that one makes as they relate to money.
I’m writing about business and money. I asked myself, “Why was I writing about decisions and actions?”
The answer that came to me loud and clear.
Money is a result.
I can’t change a result by focusing on the result.
The only way to change the cause of the result.
A result of our actions.
Our actions are governed by our thinking.
Our thinking is governed by our beliefs.
Our beliefs are governed by our values.
The shallow approach to changing the money situation in one’s life is to complain about money.
That is complete idiocy.
Money is the result.
To change the result, one must look at the cause of the result.
Peel back the onion and dive deep into the values that are controlling the beliefs about money.
Change the values, and the ripple effect will spread its way to the result.
I look back to the beliefs I had about money.
Those beliefs have changed over time. My belief and confidence have grown over time in myself. My change in beliefs has led to me increasing my ability to earn.
Here now, we have some amazing wisdom.
Good habits.
Bad habits.
If I want to change my current money, knowledge is not enough. I must take action.
Here are the steps to analyze my money situation:
1. Identify my money situation. What is my current money status?
2. What are my good habits regarding money?
3. What are my bad habits regarding money?
4. What are some good habits others have regarding money?
5. What are some bad habits others have regarding money?
6. Order the list of good habits by the power they have on my money?
7. Order the list of bad habits by the power they have on my money?
8. Now choose either one good habit or one bad habit to focus on for the next month.
9. If you choose a good habit, list all the ways you could get a better result by focusing on that good habit.
10. If you choose a bad habit, list all the ways you can minimize the negative impact of that habit
From the items in step 9 or step 10, choose one of those habit changer items to focus on the next month.
At the end of the month, reflect on the change that has occurred in your life by focusing on increasing the magnitude of a good habit or decreasing the impact of the bad habit.
Now it’s time to review steps 9 and 10 again. Choose on habit changer item to focus on for the following month.
Here is a process of continual improvement for your money.
I’ll end with Benjamin Franklin’s profound words.
“Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.”
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