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Minds Without Borders

A thoughtful look at how culture, society, politics, media and economics affect us all.

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The Original Self-Help Bro

Did one of our Founding Fathers invent growth-hacking?

3 min readNov 8, 2023

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Nobody is more irritating than the know-it-all self-help influencers telling us how to get more out of our day. Where did they all come from?

Benjamin Franklin helped write the Declaration of Independence. He invented the Franklin stove. And the lightning rod. And bifocals! He played a leading role in shaping our country. It’s impossible to imagine what the United States would have been like without him.

It’s impossible not to admire him.

But also? He seems to have been the original growth-hacking dude. Thanks for all the ingenious ways you helped build our nation. But did you have to also stick us with a tradition of self-help bullshit?

Just listen to these quotes:

“Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.” This is the exact same advice all the efficiency bros offer.

“Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.” Yep, he was an organization life hack dude.

“Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or

Minds Without Borders
Minds Without Borders

Published in Minds Without Borders

A thoughtful look at how culture, society, politics, media and economics affect us all.

Michelle Teheux
Michelle Teheux

Written by Michelle Teheux

Lover of literature. Former newspaper editor. Fascinated by everything. Contact: [email protected]. To buy me a coffee:

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