Verified Quotes
Every quote on this page is verified against the named source work.
Benjamin Franklin, Self-taught printer, scientist, and diplomat who turned self-improvement into a cheerful experimental, gets quoted everywhere and sourced almost nowhere. The 16 quotes below are different: each one is checked word for word against the cited work, starting with Poor Richard's Almanack, not copied from aggregator sites that pass misattributions along. The source is named under every line, so you can trace each quote back to the page it came from.
Read Benjamin Franklin's full profile and how they reason →1 verified quote
On accepting the inevitable:
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.Benjamin Franklin, Letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789
15 verified quotes
On building daily discipline:
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
On choosing action over talk:
Well done is better than well said.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
On procrastinating a decision:
Lost time is never found again.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
On waiting for the right moment:
He that can have patience can have what he will.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
On whether success is earned or luck:
Diligence is the mother of good luck.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
On knowing when a houseguest has overstayed:
Fish and visitors stink after three days.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
On playing small versus using your gifts:
Hide not your talents, they for use were made.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
On choosing a legacy project:
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
On pushing through a slow, hard project:
Energy and persistence conquer all things.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
Weighing spending on a course or credential against other priorities:
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
Deciding whether to finally start the thing you keep postponing:
Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
Deciding which friendships are worth real investment:
A true friend is the best possession.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
Deciding how to respond to harsh but useful criticism:
Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
Weighing how closely to scrutinize a partner before committing:
Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
Checking whether self-belief has curdled into arrogance:
He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack