Page 111 - Benjamin Franklin\'s The Way to Wealth: A 52 brilliant ideas interpretation - PDFDrive.com

51 DON’T STOP BECAUSE YOU MAKE IT

The Way to Wealth isn’t just about pointing yourself in the right
direction; it’s about keeping up the momentum on the way. Or as
Franklin puts it: ‘He that hath a calling hath an office of profit and
honor; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling well
followed, or neither the estate, nor the office, will enable us to pay our
taxes.’

DEFINING IDEA…
It’s never enough until your heart stops beating. The deeper you get,
the sweeter the pain. Don’t give up the game until your heart stops
beating.
~ SHELLSHOCK, BY NEW ORDER

I once had a conversation with a venture capitalist about entrepreneurs in
the UK. He explained that essentially they had two waves of entrepreneurs
—the driving young types determined to prove themselves and make their
mark, and then the second-time-around types. The latter were older men and
women who had already ‘made it’, become millionaires and drifted into
semi-retirement, only to find that they were bored and looking for a
challenge.

Franklin’s advice was set against a backdrop of less general affluence than
today, and his point was that you must continue to work on your skills and
abilities if you want to get the most out of your work life as well as pay
your bills. What he didn’t stress for his audience in the 1750s is that this
advice holds true for those who have achieved success, as well as for those
still struggling to find it.

You might think that you work your way to wealth because you want to
achieve a certain level of comfort, kudos or satisfaction. What you will find
is that once there you will (indeed, should want to) set new goals to
continue your personal momentum. Otherwise you stagnate.