by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Ben Franklin, America's Original Entrepreneur, is a Tricentennial Commemorative Edition (1706-2006). Written by Baylor University Professor, Blaine McCormick, who is widely known for his studies on Franklin and business advantages, he has put together a very interesting must-have-business-bookshelf addition of Ben Franklin's business genius. He has taken the autobiography of Ben Franklin, made it easy to understand, and adds examples of current entrepreneurs who have followed Franklin's principles.
Ben Franklin saw himself as a business person. Although he was integral in the creation of a media empire, establishing the first public library (a zealous advocate of reading), creating the first book club, founder of the University of Pennsylvania, creating fire brigade system, an inventor (the Franklin stove well known still), and a statesman. His insights to life, wisdom, and virtues of life principles remain well read today. The greatest personal virtue is humility, while having pride to do things well.
The Entrepreneur addition has three main parts and 80 chapters. Franklin wanted his autobiography to be to be a book of principles explored by the success and failures of his life that would be useful for other business people.
As a printer, publisher, newspaper enterprise, he recorded his ideas so others could acquire knowledge too. Franklin was 65 years old when he wrote his autobiography of his life lessons learned. Being the youngest of the youngest of 5 generations he was doomed to no inheritance, but learned how to become wealthy. Actually, no inheritance works in favor of the great, Franklin states. You can finish better than your beginnings.
First lesson... give credit where credit's due. You are part of an inter-connected social system. Franklin was self taught and held in high value in life... reading, leadership, and a bias for action. All life should be embedded in being moral with integrity and honesty in all endeavors.
Lengthen life by lessening meals and be a vegetarian. Eat to live, and not live to eat. Reconcile with people you have wronged. We lessen impact on our lives when we initiate to make right where we wronged.
"He who lies down with dogs gets up with fleas." Your reputation follows you.
"Promises get friends, non-performance loses them."
"Be aware of little expenses, a small leak will sink a big boat."
Negotiation power is in the power of liking. People work with people they like.
The Rise of the Entrepreneur
"How to govern my life and live it intentionally."
Stay frugal. Pay off your debts. Speak the truth in every situation. Steady, patient work acquires wealth. Don't speak poorly of anybody.
Franklin organized his own clubs for self development and gathering strategic information. The Bible forbids certain things because they are bad for us. So listen to what the Bible says and God's good will be with you. When cheated, Franklin didn't sue, he just competitively out-businessed them.
He established many entities that groomed learning. Such as the University of Pennsylvania, the Library, Poor Richard's Almanac, where he provided proverbs for virtuous living. He felt government and religion worked best when interactive. The art of virtue came out in Franklin's life abiding list to Moral Virtue.
1. Self-control: over eating, over drinking.
2. Silence: say only what benefits others.
3. Order: keep things in proper place.
4. Determination: carry out commitment.
5. Economy: waste not, and let your only expense be doing good to others.
6. Productivity: spend time on useful matters.
7. Truthfulness: avoid lies that harm others.
8. Justice: avoid injuring others by your actions.
9. Moderation: avoid extremes and don't hold grudges.
10. Cleanliness: keep body, clothes, living place clean.
11. Peace: Don't be overtaken by irritants.
12. Chastity: indulge in sex for sake of health and offspring only.
13. Humility: imitate Jesus and Socrates
"There is one God who made all things. He governs the world by His Providence. And we should worship Him in adoration, prayer, and thanksgiving."
"What is serving God? It's doing good to man."
While a printer, publisher, inventor, statesman, Franklin's goal was always reciprocal. Use your talents and industry to make life better for mankind around you. Your life will be full of wealth of fulfillment, satisfaction and true joys of living. Ben Franklin, a great achiever, humble in that not matter what he achieved, he always saw more to be done.
Ben Franklin in our day would have probably been a forerunner using web technology to further his causes. Others have put his original autobiography on line.
http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/
Blaine McCormick's web identities.
http://www.baylor.edu/christianleadership/index.php?id=36965
Ben Franklin: America's Original Entrepreneur
http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Franklin-Americas-Original-Entrepreneur/dp/1932531688
One of the richest men who ever lived was very immoral.
He practiced all of Ben Franklin's principles except he had a love for women and had many wives that God forbid him to marry. Ironically, the Bible features his Proverbs for us to read today, but he admitted himself that all he attained in life was vanity. That all life was vanity. The pursuit of wealth, of women, and a lover of wine was to his own demise.
In his new book, How to Get Rich, Felix Dennis admits he lived the wild life with all the money he had. Then he cautions the reader not to pursue the life of wealth for wealth's sake, womanizing and mind altering drug partying. Although, he has given up the drug life, but now promotes wealth for good reasons, wine for health reasons, and women for meaningful relationships.
Jesus said to store up your riches in Heaven.
As the Apostle Paul said to keep your mind on Heavenly things. With this as your state of mind, "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory." (Col. 3:1-4, NLT)
He suggests we die to this life.
Jesus goes on to say to pursue the Building of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven. Is this possible? Well, only if we know what Heaven is. So it would be of value to visit it from time to time. We can do that in what we call prayer. We can learn the fine art of in-depth meditation.
Now Paul said He even visited Heaven.
"I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don't know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell." (2 Cor. 2-4, NLT)
We can refine times in Spirit to visit Heaven too.
Franklin advocated a life of morality. To give up moral sins, and not to over indulge. When we visit Heaven in our Spirit we die to the flesh, the things of this world. We can't control our fleshly nature, but we can dwell in Heaven more than earth and affect its emphasis in our life. In that our preoccupations of mind are on Heavenly things.
When the Bible talks of fasting, it is more than just food. It is what naturally drives us to get it under control, so the Spirit has full control. When we fast we may think of food degradation, but when we dwell in Heaven we create earth degradation. We lose touch of earth. It loses its hold on us, and then Heaven has its grip.
We can become moral, but not the way Solomon did as he had all the things of this earth. That's why Jesus said sell it all. We gain the riches of Heaven by giving up our emotional hold to things of this earth. Jesus wasn't being a meanie by asking us to give up everything for Him. He knew as long as we made the earth our priority, that Heaven wouldn't be our priority. And we wouldn't be able to enjoy the wonderful riches of Spirit while on earth. So He said to "take up your cross and follow Me."
We do this by crucifying the flesh as Paul said.
Sins of over indulging fight our Spirit. When we over eat, are overly busy, spend excessive time in things of earthly satisfactions, we temper the Spirit. Sex, food, drug addictions are all forms of flesh commanding its way over the Spirit. Sins of obesity, busyness take us from Spirit. "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Gal.5:19-21, NLT)
We are to kill fleshly pleasure.
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives." (Gal. 5:24-24, NLT)
What is Crucifying the flesh?
Andrew Murray goes into detail on what this means for the Believer in Christ. From Murray's, Like Christ.
http://www.victoryoversin.com/murray/like/lc06.htm
We are to set our minds on Heavenly things.
That's our life... forever. What we live in the flesh, our minds, our worldly indulgences are temporary. Indulging in the things of the flesh and making that our aim, instead of Spirit, will lead to despair. Paul in Galatians exhorts us to live by the Spirit and not the flesh.
We are to be filled with the Spirit.
"Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith." (Gal. 6:8-10, NLT)
Morality are issues Franklin said are essential to being effective in business.
Franklin advocated that our lives should be about doing good,
a business should bring good to those around us.
Jesus takes this to another level.
Build the Kingdom of God on earth as in Heaven as your chief aim.
Learn what Heaven is.
Bring it to earth through Spirit in what your purpose and mission is in life.
Build wealth in His Kingdom that lasts forever and you will enjoy forever.
Build the Kingdom of Heaven around you so all you rub shoulders with will enjoy it too.
No comments:
Post a Comment