I worte this a week ago after reading the following book.

Benjamin Franklin. An American Life Written by Walter Isaac.

The book describes the life of Benjamin Franklin and through him, the virtues of America that embodied both America since than, and through the influence of this country towards the rest of the modern world.

It is hard to describe a book which is so large and encompassing as this book is. So let me start by just writing them. As they say, “the secret to writing is to write. Words that come without thinking is the best first draft there is.” Franklin is many people combined into one. Although mainly stated as a printer, he is first I believe a writer. It is that attribute of him that gives the public exposure which I doubt just being a printer would get. He is an excellent writer with two basic habits. One for organizing people around him into groups and clubs and other semi-political groups that led him to improve and expand on his own knowledge base. The second is his deep dedication towards improvement of society. Everything he did had these two aspects. He tried everything to improve his life through observation and practical thought. His discoveries and inventions that the side result of his sincere devotion to improve his and his friends life style. Most of the social projects had that factor. He wanted books so he started a library. He wanted freedom among his fellow country, so he fought for it. Social service was for him, a self-improvement project which extended into his neighborhood, and finally to the whole country. The diplomat that he was, he wanted to live and let live, however he was fearlessly independent in both thought process. He realized that if you can give something, you can be more independent that you would be without giving out anything.

What I realized more and more, by reading these biographies, is that life is more about individual journeys than one journey. It is heroic feat that comes in front every so often that you need to accept the challenge. The life of Franklin can be divided into two big sets, one as a printer and the second one as the social/statesman/politician that we all know him for. The tools you build daily, the skills you learn in your early part of your life are the oxygen supply for the journey. You need the right kind of skills and tools to succeed in your tasks. You could not send Franklin without the skills of diplomat and skilled negotiator that he had into France nor the constitutional summit. How do you learn these skills? You learn by experience. You learn by trial and error. But you also learn by theoretical deductions. There is no manual for living however you do have the experience of those who followed the similar paths before you to look upon.

Lets look at this particular individual. The ability to maintain relationships with people of so many different kinds, still maintaining his living standards is hard to do. How do you work at the face of opposition and when do you have to give up. I show so many cases where a third person could clearly see the path he was heading would not be successful but he carried on. One the other hand, if he had gave up, the achievable would have left unachieved. A serious issue, indeed. A detailed through process is needed to be developed. This will help the person get a clearer vision of the path he is trying to conquer.