Blog Bytes: Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack

When asked to find a bit of wisdom in the almanack that I liked, I didn't have to look far. Page 4 has a wonderful statement; "Content makes poor men rich; Discontent makes rich men poor." Click here to see the original.

This really hits home for me. Last year I went on a personal crusade to become more content with my life. I worried about everything and I mean everything. Even things that were beyond my control would frequently dwell in my mind.

Like much of Poor Richard's Almanack, the terms of rich and poor are sometimes misunderstood. Here, I believe, "rich" and 'poor" talk about much more than money or possessions. Contentment is something that money and possessions truly cannot buy. Contentment comes from being at peace with your life.

Currently, this concept is almost counter-cultural. The "American Dream" seems to be all about having more money and more stuff. I didn't start that way. The american dream started as being free and self sufficient. Not having 50 collector cars and more money than your children could ever spend but as usual, the dream has been twisted and distorted into a view of lavish lifestyle.

I think if more people had adopted this simple principal, the US wouldn't be in quite the economic hole we are. I don't believe that being content will keep the economy from having the corrections that it is supposed to but I think we would have seen far less foreclosures and bankruptcies.

Ben Franklin's advice is simple: Find what truly makes you happy and your life will feel rich but often rich men seek contentment with things which do not satisfy.

One easy way to start being content with where you are in life and what you have is to check out LastYearsModel.org. This is a movement based on contentment, or laziness depending on your view.