Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), as one of the framers of our Declaration of Independence,  and the Constitution of the United States, had a keen intellect. He distinguished himself as a scientist/inventor, printer/journalist/publisher, and diplomat/Ambassador to France.

In his POOR RICHARD’S ALMANAC, we find one of the philosophies he penned which reads like a poem:

For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse a rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost.”

–Benjamin Franklin

Maybe as you are reading this snippet today, you feel your life is insignificant in the ordinary job or jobs you do. You see others around you who seem to have jobs of greater importance than yours. Or, perhaps you do have a job which you think is making an impact.

Let’s put ourselves for a moment in Franklin’s time. How about considering the colonial eighteenth century village blacksmith as he carries out the ordinary job of shoeing a horse. Of course, he knows the horse and maybe the rider can be hurt if his job is not done right. But he does not think beyond that one consequence.

We are all in this thing called life together. And we all need to respect each other and consider no job inconsequential. Franklin challenges us to take a glimpse through a long-range lens and realize what seems like an insignificant job today may down the road have great impact. Ordinary jobs done well might just lead to extraordinary events!

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