The proven path for ordinary people to become experts in their field.

Read the life wisdom that perfectly embodies the "American spirit" for 200 years.

Even in America, where diversity and individuality are respected, Benjamin Franklin is revered as the person who best embodies the 'American spirit', and he is a man who started from nothing and built a family in various fields with his bare hands.
Born into a poor immigrant family, he only had two years of elementary school as his formal education, but at the age of 21, he learned the printing trade and, through sincerity and diligence, honed his ability to write concisely and clearly through self-study, and thanks to his eye for writing, he became successful as a printer.


He was neither wealthy nor powerful, but he demonstrated extraordinary learning abilities in various fields and stood on his own through diligence, frugality, and perseverance.
He was active as a writer, postmaster, inventor, civic activist, politician, and diplomat, and also left behind remarkable achievements in politics and science.
He was a practical and wise man who actively improved the inconveniences of daily life, learned new things, and used his knowledge to the fullest extent for the benefit of his neighbors.


Over the past 200 years, great thinkers and practitioners, including Max Weber, David Hume, and Karl Marx, have acknowledged the excellence of this autobiography.
In fact, the 13 virtues Franklin revealed in his autobiography, including temperance and diligence, have been established as keywords for self-improvement for over 200 years since its publication.
Many Americans have actually achieved success by following this virtue, and the path to success he presented has become a formula for life.
With this symbolism, Benjamin Franklin appears on the obverse of the US $100 bill as the model.
This means that his life best represents the 'American spirit'.


Through Franklin's life, we can discover and learn important principles and practical examples of time management, self-management, relationship management, the power of habit, character development, public awareness, practicality, pioneering spirit, the asset of trust, and the accumulation of knowledge—all of which are still considered important today.
Anyone who accepts and applies even one of the several life principles directly or indirectly revealed in this book will experience great progress in their field and achieve greatness.

I think you, like me, would like to know how I have lived.
Because you probably have no idea what kind of life I've lived.
I happened to have a week of uninterrupted leisure time in the countryside, so I sat down to tell you about it.
Of course, there are other reasons.
I was born and raised in a poor and humble family, but now I am quite wealthy and have achieved a certain level of world-class fame, and I live a very happy life.
Although I was very successful thanks to God's blessings, I wondered if my descendants would want to know what methods I used to achieve my success.
I hope that future generations will read my story and find a method that suits their own circumstances and follow it.
…

I didn't even go to grammar school for a year.
At first, he was in the middle of his class that year, but he gradually rose to the top and even skipped a grade.
Also, at the end of that year, he was scheduled to move up to the third grade to match his learning level.
But in the meantime, my father must have changed his mind and took me out of grammar school and sent me to a school that taught writing and arithmetic.
Because he had to support a large family, he couldn't afford to pay for school fees, but his father also believed that being well-educated didn't necessarily mean living comfortably.
---「Chapter 1.
From “Boston’s Ancestors and Youth”

I was completely fascinated by the Socratic method of argument and tried to make it my own.
It was a way to refute the other person's opinion, but not to develop my own argument unilaterally, but to humbly ask the other person questions and raise doubts.
At the time, I was reading Anthony Shaftesbury and Anthony Collins and had many questions about our religion, so I realized that while this method was safe for me, it could put the other person in an awkward position.
So I enjoyed this method and practiced it consistently until I became so adept that I could subdue people who were intellectually superior to me.
But because they could not foresee such a method, they were left floundering, unable to escape from the difficult situation.
So I was able to achieve a victory that was beyond my intellectual level or justification.

---「Chapter 2.
From “My days as a printing shop apprentice”

Our print shop often ran out of type.
At that time, there was no type foundry in the United States.
I had seen type casting at James's Press when I was in London, but I didn't pay much attention to it.
Still, I made a mold by recalling my memory, and I was able to somehow fill the type by pressing the type we had into the lead mold using an engraving machine.
Sometimes, he would carve the necessary models and even make ink for use.
I even had to do all sorts of odd jobs, like guarding the warehouse.
It was literally like a chore!

Although I had to work like a jack-of-all-trades, as the workers' abilities improved, my workload gradually decreased.
Finally, when Kaymer paid me my second quarterly wage, he told me that my wages were too much for him and that he wanted me to take a pay cut.
Moreover, his attitude towards me gradually became more rude, and he often tried to dominate me, finding fault and being picky.
In short, it looked like it might explode at any moment.
Still, I endured and endured, trying to understand that it was because his situation had worsened.
But over something trivial, our relationship finally went completely awry.
…

I have become convinced that 'truthfulness', 'sincerity', and 'integrity' are more important than anything else for a happy life among people.
I wrote down the beliefs and morals I had acquired in that way and resolved to stick to them for the rest of my life.
The writing related to that is still intact in my diary.
Revelation, as it is commonly known, was not important to me.
However, I strongly agreed with the opinion that just because the Bible prohibits an action does not necessarily mean it is bad, and just because the Bible recommends an action does not necessarily mean it is good.
In short, I think the reason we prohibit some behavior is because it is bad for us, and the reason we encourage some behavior is because it is beneficial to us in any given situation.

---「Chapter 7.
From "Starting a Business in Philadelphia"

After the discussion, I became so absorbed in the problem that I wrote a short essay entitled "The Nature and Necessity of Paper Money" and published it anonymously in a newspaper.
The general public generally welcomed the paper's argument, but the wealthy disliked it.
Because my thesis has given voice to the call for more currency.
But coincidentally, there was no one among the rich who could write a rebuttal to my thesis.
Therefore, their opposition gradually lost strength, and eventually the bill to issue additional banknotes was passed by a majority in the National Assembly.
My friends in Congress, who felt that I should be recognized for my contribution in passing that bill, said that I should be rewarded for printing the banknotes.
The job of printing banknotes was a great help to me, as it guaranteed considerable profits.
This was also a benefit I gained thanks to my ability to write to some extent.

---「Chapter 8.
From “Public Services for Successful Business”

I decided to practice one virtue strictly every week.
So, during the first week, I tried to avoid things that would hinder 'temperance' and didn't pay much attention to other virtues.
And every evening, I marked the mistakes of that day so as not to forget them.
So, if I didn't mark the first line corresponding to 'temperance' in the first week, I thought that the habits related to the virtue of temperance were strengthened, while the other habits were weakened.
The following week, I expanded my focus to focus on the virtue of 'silence' and tried to avoid black dots on either line.
If you progress in this way to the final virtue, it will take 13 weeks to complete one course, and you can repeat the course four times a year.
…

It is true that those who try to write perfectly by imitating the writings of famous authors will improve their writing through such efforts, even if they do not reach the same level of excellence as the author, and will end up writing clearly and easily readable.


I hope my descendants will know that it was this little habit (with God's blessings, of course) that kept me happy until I was seventy-nine.
What twists and turns lie ahead is in God's hands, but even if adversity strikes, wouldn't looking back on the happier times of the past help us endure it?
Thanks to 'moderation', I have been healthy for a long time and still maintain a healthy body.
Also, thanks to the virtues of 'diligence' and 'frugality' that he developed into habits, he was able to overcome difficult situations relatively easily and accumulate wealth from a young age.
He accumulated knowledge and became a useful citizen, and was highly regarded by intellectuals.
By acting 'honestly' and 'justly', he gained the trust of the nation and was granted an honorable position.
Although I haven't mastered these virtues to a perfect level, even in my imperfect state, their synergistic effect has given me the ability to maintain composure and converse pleasantly, and many people still want to associate with me, and young people listen to my advice.
Therefore, I hope that some of my descendants will follow this example and reap rewarding results.

---Chapter 9.
From “The Plan for a Perfect Moral Life”

In 1739, Reverend George Whitefield came to our city from Ireland.
Whitfield was a renowned itinerant preacher in Ireland.
He initially preached with the permission of some churches, but soon all the clergy became displeased with him and would not allow him to stand in the church pulpit.
So he had no choice but to preach outdoors.
Many believers, regardless of sect or denomination, flocked to hear his sermons.
I was curious about this phenomenon, so I listened to his sermons to see if his eloquent preaching had any special effect on believers.
He hurled venom at believers, calling them “half beast, half devil,” but strangely enough, people praised and respected him greatly.
Moreover, soon after, noticeable changes began to appear in the residents' behavior.
Walking through the city in the evening, I could hear hymns being sung everywhere, and it seemed as if the world, which had been indifferent and indifferent to religion, had become completely religious.

---「Chapter 11.
From “Becoming interested in public affairs”