What Would Ben Franklin Do? 5 Life Skills of This Great Thinker

Eric Weiner shares 5 key insights from Ben & Me: In Search of a Founder’s Formula for a Long and Useful Life.

What would Benjamin Franklin do? You may never have asked yourself this question when making a life decision, but doing so might be a good idea. Because Franklin was not only one of America’s founding fathers, but as a diplomat, inventor, publisher, humorist, and philosopher, he was a paragon of curiosity and purposeful living. So why not take him as a model for your own life, as Eric Weiner does in the new book Ben & Me: In Search of a Founder's Formula for a Long and Useful Life. Eric is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Geography of Bliss and The Geography of Genius. He’s a former international correspondent for NPR,and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, National Geographic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Best American Travel Writing anthology. Here he is to share 5 of his big ideas.

1. Bracket your day with two essential questions.

Ever since he was a young printer’s apprentice, Ben Franklin began and ended his day with two vital questions. In the morning, he’d ask, “What good shall I do this day?” and in the evening, “What good have I done today?” Simple questions, yet few of us bother asking them.

The truth is we’re ambivalent about leading useful lives. We claim it’s what we strive toward, yet grumble that so-and-so is “just using us.” Being the kind of person whom others regularly use is seen as a character flaw. But maybe, Franklin suggests, it is the highest compliment. Rather than avoiding being used, why not invite it? Yes, please. Use me.