Book · 2008 · Biography & Autobiography
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
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I mean even Ben Franklin had this anecdote in his autobiography he's like fill a wheelbarrow with piles of paper and walk around the neighborhood so that people think you're an industrious person like that's easier than actually being industrious.
Angela Duckworth · No Stupid Questions · Apr 2024 Listen at 10:30 The best things said about it
And you can read about this in in Franklin's autobiography which and if you think about it I mean this is extraordinary.
In his book Franklin discusses trying to appear credible as a Tradesman while paying off his debt to a printing house he writes I sometimes brought home the paper I purchased at the stores through the streets on a wheelbarrow thus being esteemed an industrious thriving young man and paying duly for what I bought.
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Why people recommend it
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin offers a foundational personal and philosophical account of one of America's most prominent founding figures. Angela Duckworth discussed the book on No Stupid Questions in April 2024, using a specific anecdote about Franklin wheeling a barrow of paper through the neighborhood to illustrate how individuals often engage in empty virtue signaling rather than genuine hard work. The show's producer subsequently fact-checked this account, reading the exact passage where Franklin described carrying his paper purchases home to cultivate a public reputation as an industrious tradesman while paying off his debts. In a separate discussion on People I Mostly Admire in January 2023, Steve Levitt referenced a different autobiographical work while exploring unexpected intellectual trajectories. Furthermore, C. Bradley Thompson mentioned Franklin's autobiography on The Rubin Report in February 2018, comparing Franklin's systematic pursuit of moral perfection with the early life ambitions of John Adams. Across these episodes, the texts served as rich historical touchstones for examining personal branding, moral development, and the human tendency toward superficial demonstrations of virtue.
Every mention
Angela Duckworth I mean even Ben Franklin had this anecdote in his autobiography he's like fill a wheelbarrow with piles of… 1
“I mean even Ben Franklin had this anecdote in his autobiography he's like fill a wheelbarrow with piles of paper and walk around the neighborhood so that people think you're an industrious person like that's easier than actually being industrious”
C. Bradley Thompson and you can read about this in in Franklin's autobiography which and if you think about it I mean this is e… 1
“and you can read about this in in Franklin's autobiography which and if you think about it I mean this is extraordinary”
Steve Levitt Because I read your first book, which is called "High Price," and you were the nerdiest lab rat that ever e… 1
“Because I read your first book, which is called "High Price," and you were the nerdiest lab rat that ever existed; I would have never imagined you emerging as an advocate.”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker1
“in his book Franklin discusses trying to appear credible as a Tradesman while paying off his debt to a printing house he writes I sometimes brought home the paper I purchased at the stores through the streets on a wheelbarrow thus being esteemed an industrious thriving young man and paying duly for what I bought”
