Of course, many people in America who have started over
from scratch and worked hard to reach their dreams have failed.
Nevertheless, some people succeed–and Franklin was one of them.
It was partly good luck: he quickly met people who were willing
to help him. He also had good timing, arriving in Philadelphia
at a time when the city was growing quickly. He also had talent
and rare intelligence. These things added up nicely for Franklin,
and by the time he was a young adult he was on his way to social
and financial success.
Franklin's success as a printer and businessman did not
come right away, as his experience with Governor Keith indicates.
Being stranded in London was a setback, but Franklin made the best
of it. It may even have been was a blessing in disguise, because
in London Franklin met people who were as intelligent and forward
thinking as he. Franklin's response to Wollaston's essay was radical
for its time–more or less arguing against the existence of God.
Soon, Franklin had a reputation for being a free thinker, and he
grew popular among London's more radical intellectuals. This era
saw the beginnings of the Enlightenment, a time when thinkers and
politicians questioned old beliefs and argued that all people were
created equal. They believed human nature could be improved, and
that God was rational. Some even argued that God did not exist,
but was simply the ideal form of the human mind. Though Franklin
soon returned to believing in God, he soaked up and held on to
many of these beliefs.
Franklin was a true intellectual and a
businessman. His ideas made him well known, while his cunning and
shrewdness (especially in dealing with his former boss, Samuel
Keimer) made him successful. He applied his beliefs about human
nature to his own behavior, consciously trying to appear honest
and hard working. While he clearly was (for the most part) honest
and hardworking, he knew that his success depended not only on being honest
and hard working, but on appearing that way as
well. In short, Franklin understood the value of having a good
image. Perhaps Franklin deserves a little of the credit (or blame)
for today's extremely image-conscious business world.
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