What a refreshing and deeply honest perspective on Benjamin Franklin. We so often talk about “authenticity” as if it’s something set in stone, but you capture so well the idea that sincerity is an ongoing practice—one that calls for real courage. Seeing our flaws as information to learn from, rather than as reasons for shame, is such a liberating shift.
Turning 50 has put me in a thoughtful place. There’s this expectation to reinvent yourself at big milestones, but I find myself far more drawn to Franklin’s idea of steady, sequential progress and those ordinary, everyday virtues.
As I spend this year exploring the “rich, mingled mess of life” with Tolstoy and Proust, I’m realizing that growth doesn’t need to be dramatic or heroic—it just needs to be honest. The “boring Tuesday” test you mention truly speaks to me, in everything from my Italian lessons to my reading. Real change, I’m learning, is less about bold resolutions and more about the quiet power of small, consistent choices.
Thank you for the reminder that “enough” isn’t found in chasing some grand fantasy, but in the simple, sustainable systems we build for ourselves.
Please suggest some readings related to his 13 virtues
This is an excellent essay. Thank you for this information.
Love this!! found it at the perfect moment as I enjoyed his Ken Burns doc today and all of this strongly in my mind
What a refreshing and deeply honest perspective on Benjamin Franklin. We so often talk about “authenticity” as if it’s something set in stone, but you capture so well the idea that sincerity is an ongoing practice—one that calls for real courage. Seeing our flaws as information to learn from, rather than as reasons for shame, is such a liberating shift.
Turning 50 has put me in a thoughtful place. There’s this expectation to reinvent yourself at big milestones, but I find myself far more drawn to Franklin’s idea of steady, sequential progress and those ordinary, everyday virtues.
As I spend this year exploring the “rich, mingled mess of life” with Tolstoy and Proust, I’m realizing that growth doesn’t need to be dramatic or heroic—it just needs to be honest. The “boring Tuesday” test you mention truly speaks to me, in everything from my Italian lessons to my reading. Real change, I’m learning, is less about bold resolutions and more about the quiet power of small, consistent choices.
Thank you for the reminder that “enough” isn’t found in chasing some grand fantasy, but in the simple, sustainable systems we build for ourselves.
Thank you for putting this together.
Hi, I know you enjoyed doing it.
That makes reading it all the more enjoyable.
Getting to hear you think!