One of the most important, but often overlooked, details of Benjamin Franklin’s legacy, is that he was a doer, but a self-made man. Read his Autobiography if you haven’t already—or read it again for new insights.

He seemed to establish a link between effort and reward in the American cultural experience. His “rags to riches” is recorded in his own words for all American generations to read. It is a wonderful story. Ben started with little but gained much through his persistence and hard work. He demonstrated that effort is in time rewarded in the American Experiene.

Ben emphatically believed that if he worked harder he would soon be rewarded, financially as well as with greater knowledge. He was a living example of this throughout his life.

He even thought that criminals would benefit from his example: “If rascals knew the advantage of virtue, they would become honest men out of rascality,”