Here's a rare image of me actually doing some reading! Lately I've been fascinated by Benjamin
Franklin, the founding father of America. But my fascination wasn't because of this reason, but
because of his different talents, and his accomplishments in so many different areas of science,
art and common citizen.

So how would one describe him?

Writer, inventor, diplomat, businessman, musician, scientist, printer, philosopher, economist,
humorist, civic leader, international celebrity . . . genius.

If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead & rotten, either write things worth
reading, or do things worth the writing. ~Benjamin Franklin

He lived these words of wisdom by writing as much as he possibly could and by doing even more.

At the core of his lifestyle he believed in self-improvement...

Mind: Self-education
Having less than 2 years of formal education, he came up with ways to learn to be a better writer.
He studied the writings of authors whose style he liked and practiced writing essays in the same
style. He would also rewrite essays by famous writers, seeking to improve them. Another method he
devised was writing the paragraphs and sentences of an essay on slips of paper, shuffling the
slips, and finally attempting to reassemble them in the correct order.

Body: Physical Activity
When most people think of Ben Franklin, they don't usually think of an athlete. However, Franklin
was an early proponent of physical fitness. In an age when few people knew how to swim, Franklin
taught himself how to swim. He was an avid swimmer all his life and even contemplated becoming a
full-time swim instructor. Benjamin Franklin is the only founding father in the Swimming Hall of
Fame.

Behavior: Moral Perfection
"moral perfection." He created a list of four resolutions to follow. He resolved to become more
frugal so that he could save enough money to repay what he owed to others. He decided that he
would be very honest and sincere "in every word and action." He promised himself to be
industrious "to whatever business I take in hand." Lastly he vowed "to speak ill of no man
whatever, not even in a manner of truth" and to "speak all the good I know of every body."

But the more one knows about him, you learn of how brilliant and complex he is, but also his humor
and irony in the words that he speak. He's able to understand a lot of things because he is able
to present both sides, the good and the bad, while he ultimately knows to do good, he could also
relate to other who indulge in vanity. After all, I believe that If anyone knew how to enjoy life,
it was Ben Franklin. However, he has great self-control and is able to focus on
whatever work that needs to be done.

If he interest you, check out this link, click here, as I borrow a lot of information on the
PBS site to come up with this short description of him. If you want to learn more about him, this
auto-biography is too short, so other biography is better at describing who he is. I'm also
watching a DVD from PBS DVD Video, a special on him.