Franklin Pyramid.
How to lay the foundation
The Pyramid is always a religious building. They usually bury someone there. Franklin’s pyramid is also for burying. Mostly temptations and wasting time are buried there. If you’re ready for this, prepare a spade
Who created the Franklin Pyramid? No, it was not Franklin. We’d rather say it was not that very person, who was the founding father of the United States, whose portrait we can see in a $ 100 note. The mentioned Pyramid was created by another Franklin, a soap-maker's son. He was the 15th child in the family. He left school after two years of studies and went to work at the age of 10. And he became well-known Franklin because of the pyramid.
The biggest mystery of the pyramid is its base called 'Vital values'. Everyone can tell about their tasks for the day, almost all people know their goals for a week, some — for a year, few people know their plan for 5 years. But who can list their vital values with confidence as soon as they are asked? At the end of his life Franklin attributed most of his success to developing his vital values.
How to lay the foundation of the pyramid to make this lifelong construction stable?
Here are three tips.
Here are three tips.
1. Your values are not outside but inside you
You can’t touch them by hands, count or weigh them. They are your core, your personality, intellect, creativity. They are you. It is not wrong to want to be rich. But wealth cannot be your value, just because it is easy to lose. Vital values are something that will stay with you if one day everything burns down. It is your independence from any stuff that will always give you the strength to rise again and go.
2. Define your values as if there are no other people at all
There are no high posts, no Oscars and Grammys, no gold, silver and bronze medals. You need governing values not to become the best but better. Franklin did not dream of Influence, but his values were Industry and Justice. He got influence as a bonus, because you cannot but become influential if you work hard and effectively.
3. Work at your values every day
Franklin used to keep something like a habits tracker. Every evening, he didn’t write about things he performed that day, but the ones he was not successful in. For example, on Sunday there were marks in Sil. (Silence) and Ord. (Order) boxes. Which most likely mean he chatted with a neighbor and failed to put anything in its place. And on Tuesday he marked Ind. (Industry). This might mean he was lying on the sofa for long and lost time.
You can’t touch them by hands, count or weigh them. They are your core, your personality, intellect, creativity. They are you. It is not wrong to want to be rich. But wealth cannot be your value, just because it is easy to lose. Vital values are something that will stay with you if one day everything burns down. It is your independence from any stuff that will always give you the strength to rise again and go.
2. Define your values as if there are no other people at all
There are no high posts, no Oscars and Grammys, no gold, silver and bronze medals. You need governing values not to become the best but better. Franklin did not dream of Influence, but his values were Industry and Justice. He got influence as a bonus, because you cannot but become influential if you work hard and effectively.
3. Work at your values every day
Franklin used to keep something like a habits tracker. Every evening, he didn’t write about things he performed that day, but the ones he was not successful in. For example, on Sunday there were marks in Sil. (Silence) and Ord. (Order) boxes. Which most likely mean he chatted with a neighbor and failed to put anything in its place. And on Tuesday he marked Ind. (Industry). This might mean he was lying on the sofa for long and lost time.
Here’s the list of all 13 Franklin’s Virtues (his vital values) with explanations to each of them
When it comes to values of course you should not copy anyone, especially a guy who lived 300 years ago, even Ben Franklin. Thus the whole pyramid will sink. Regard his foundation as an architectural artwork of time management.
- Temperance. Do not eat to dullness, do not drink to elevation.
- Silence. Speak not but what can benefit others or yourself.
- Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
- Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought to; perform without fail what you resolved.
- Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; waste nothing.
- Industry. Lose no time; always be employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
- Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; let your thoughts be innocent and just; and if you speak, speak accordingly.
- Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
- Moderation. Avoid the extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
- Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or in habitation.
- Tranquillity. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
- Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
- Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
Work on your values in SingularityApp
300 years ago, Franklin could work on his values only using cards. Every week, Franklin started a new card with a list of values and marked on it the ones he had failed to practice. Now we have SingularityApp and working at values has become much more convenient.
Just follow these 4 simple steps:
Bonus from SingularityApp: measuring your progress in percentages.
- Create a separate "Vital Values" task in SingularityApp.
- Make a checklist, where each item is one of the values and add it to the task.
- Set the task on repeating mode so you will not have to create it again each time.
- Every day mark the values you develop.
Bonus from SingularityApp: measuring your progress in percentages.
Download the App
Install SingularityApp on all devices, and your task list will always be at your hand
