Benjamin Franklin

This article is about GritCult's view of Benjamin Franklin. For a general overview, see Benjamin Franklin on Wikipedia.

Benjamin Franklin
““Benjamin Franklin: How A Journal Can Help You Lead A Better Life” — @constantmusings” (24 January 2018)
In the archive
Portal	Builders & Operators
Posts	20
Retweets	81
Likes	666
First post	24 January 2018
Latest post	6 September 2025
Posts by year
20186
20192
20201
20214
20222
20233
20241
20251
Related
Crypto Elon Musk David Goggins Hong Kong Kali Yuga

Benjamin Franklin is GritCult's patron of self-improvement and of writing worth reading. Most of the 20 posts are quote cards, but a few are personal: a failed attempt to copy Franklin's club for self-improving tradesmen, and a wry awareness of how often Franklin gets quoted.

Views

His most shared Franklin post is the line “Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing” ^[1], which he had applied to himself in 2024 when apologising for tweeting less because he was “Too focused on building” ^[2]. The deeper attraction is Franklin's project of character. A 2019 post calls personal improvement “a lifelong pursuit with a goal we never reach”, hard because it requires looking in the mirror and being honest with yourself ^[3].

The most candid post is about trying to imitate him. Quoting Franklin's idea of a club for like-minded artisans and tradesmen improving themselves and their communities, he admitted he had tried the same with group DMs, crypto chats and a literary club, and that it “Failed, and descended into idle degeneracy” ^[4]; he reposted the confession in 2021. He is also alert to Franklin as borrowed authority: “People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that Benjamin Franklin said it first” ^[5]. Asking followers whether to optimise for time or money, he added “No Benjamin Franklin quotes pls” ^[6].

Recurring themes

• self-improvement as a lifelong project
• writing and doing as one standard
• clubs for self-improving men
• honest self-examination
• the borrowed authority of a Franklin quote

Notable post

The most retweeted GritCult post on the subject, with 17 retweets:

Selected posts

All 20 posts in the archive about Benjamin Franklin, ranked by retweets. Select a column heading to sort.

Date	Retweets	Likes	Post	Media	Source
6 September 2025	17	300	"Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing." -Ben Franklin		View
18 September 2019	13	33	Change is hard, and personal improvement and character development is even harder. As we learn from Benjamin Franklin’s example, it’s a lifelong pursuit with a goal we never reach. It’s hard because it requires us to look in that mirror and be honest with ourselves.		View
16 October 2018	10	25	Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. — Benjamin Franklin		View
6 February 2023	9	45	WELL DONE IS BETTER THAN WELL SAID. - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN		View
18 February 2023	7	36	"BEWARE OF LITTLE EXPENSES. A SMALL LEAK WILL SINK A GREAT SHIP." - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN		View
27 June 2018	5	50	"Creating a club for "like-minded aspiring artisans & tradesmen who hope to improve themselves while they improved communities"" -Benjamin Franklin Ive tried to do this with Group Dms (multiple crypto chats and a literary club) Failed, and descended into idle degeneracy.		View
9 May 2021	5	24	A BROTHER MAY NOT BE A FRIEND, BUT A FRIEND WILL ALWAYS BE A BROTHER. - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN		View
25 May 2022	3	18	HIDE NOT YOUR TALENTS, THEY FOR USE WERE MADE. WHAT'S A SUN-DIAL IN THE SHADE. - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN		View
30 October 2018	3	16	A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49%. — Thomas Jefferson Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote! — Benjamin Franklin		View
11 October 2021	2	5	"ANGER IS NEVER WITHOUT REASON, BUT SELDOM WITH A GOOD ONE." - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN"		View
16 November 2019	2	3	If you have neither of either Which one should you optimise for ? Time or money ? No Benjamin Franklin quotes pls		View
23 April 2023	1	23	"WELL DONE IS BETTER THAN WELL SAID." - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN		View
10 January 2024	1	23	Haven’t been tweeting as much as I’d like. Too focused on building. But I love to tweet and share what I am learning. But it reminds me of. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." Benjamin Franklin		View
30 April 2022	1	16	WITHOUT CONTINUAL GROWTH AND PROGRESS, SUCH WORDS AS IMPROVEMENT, ACHIEVEMENT, AND SUCCESS HAVE NO MEANING. - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN		View
30 September 2021	1	15	"CREATING A CLUB FOR "LIKE-MINDED ASPIRING ARTISANS & TRADESMEN WHO HOPE TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES WHILE THEY IMPROVED COMMUNITIES"" -BENJAMIN FRANKLIN IVE TRIED TO DO THIS WITH GROUP DMS (MULTIPLE CRYPTO CHATS AND A LITERARY CLUB) FAILED, AND DESCENDED INTO IDLE DEGENERACY.		View
22 September 2021	1	10	A BROTHER MAY NOT BE A FRIEND, BUT A FRIEND WILL ALWAYS BE A BROTHER. - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN		View
29 December 2020	0	22	People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that Benjamin Franklin said it first.		View
24 January 2018	0	1	“Benjamin Franklin: How A Journal Can Help You Lead A Better Life” — @constantmusings		View
9 June 2018	0	1	@FlokiandRagnar "Be at War with Your Vices, at Peace with Your Neighbours, and Let Every New Year find You a Better Man" -Benjamin Franklin		View
10 February 2018	0	0	ben franklin was right about taxes, im starting to understand.		View

History

GritCult first posted about Benjamin Franklin on 24 January 2018, and most recently on 6 September 2025. Across the archive the subject comes up 20 times, most often in 2018 (6 posts).

See also

Builders & Operators portal

References

1. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (6 September 2025). Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing. X.
2. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (10 January 2024). Haven’t been tweeting as much as I’d like. Too focused on building. X.
3. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (18 September 2019). it’s a lifelong pursuit with a goal we never reach. It’s hard because it requires us to look in that mirror and be honest with ourselves. X.
4. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (27 June 2018). Ive tried to do this with Group Dms (multiple crypto chats and a literary club) Failed, and descended into idle degeneracy. X.
5. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (29 December 2020). People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that Benjamin Franklin said it first. X.
6. ^GRITCULT [@GRITCULT] (16 November 2019). Which one should you optimise for ? Time or money ? No Benjamin Franklin quotes pls. X.

External links

• Posts about Benjamin Franklin by GRITCULT on X
• Benjamin Franklin on Wikipedia