Benjamin Franklin

The Way to Wealth Benjamin Franklin

In this Book you will find a forward by author J. J. Calvert, summary of the published work, enhanced division of the published work into themes, and an appendix with over 85 aphorisms for your reading pleasure! The Way to Wealth was an essay written by Benjamin Franklin in 1758. He was on a journey to England and resented the time wasted waiting for the ship to sail (it was anchored in New York for 2 weeks) that he began collecting adages and advice from 25 years worth of publication of Poor Richard's Alamanac (Spelled Alamanack at the time). Because the poor man couldn't afford books, he would spend his earnings on yearly almanacs filled with astrology, jokes, stories, and other works of amusement. In Poor Richard's Alamanac, Franklin copied some of the more popular pieces of advice, slightly modified, and also included original works of his own. The most memorable of these found their way in his Way to Wealth essay presented by a fictional Father Abraham. The lessons of hard work and frugality have shaped the core values of Americans for the next two centuries. 'There are no gains, without pains' is the predecessor of the modern motto of 'no pain, no gain'. The work is a treasured piece of history that every one should read-young and old. The resonating notion is this idea that wealth is not strictly speaking material wealth as we know it today, but wealth means breaking from the cycle of dependability. It means having material (financial) security, and independence from the proverbial rat race. The WAY to Wealth has shaped the American can-do attitude and made the 'American dream' known throughout the world. We don't hear a similar dream in other countries and this is partly due to this one Man who believed that changing one's behavior will change one's life forever even if they were broke and uneducated as he was when he was a young man.