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Foreword | |
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Introduction: The Founding Father of American Business | |
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The Making of an Entrepreneur | |
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Why Bother Writing Your Own Story? | |
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Franklin Means Freedom | |
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Credit to Whom Credit Is Due | |
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The Enduring Legacy of Moral Instruction | |
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Early Employments and My Introduction to Various Trades | |
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First Attempts at Self-Improvement | |
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Experimenting with Vegetarianism | |
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Where We Learned to "Win Friends and Influence People" | |
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The Yearning for Independence | |
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Breaking Loose to Freedom | |
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Testing My Determination | |
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My Unlikely Beginning in Philadelphia | |
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My First Job | |
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Big Promises from a Fancy Politician | |
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Returning Home to Boston | |
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More Mistakes and Bigger Promises | |
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The Art of Upward Influence | |
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My Friends and Pastimes | |
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Departing for London | |
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Making the Best of It in London | |
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Another Friendship Ends | |
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Beer and Productivity | |
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More Tales of My Frugality | |
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The End of the London Adventure | |
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The Rise of an Entrepreneur | |
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Setting a Course and Staying Flexible | |
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The Junto-A Club for Mutual Self-Improvement | |
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Breaking with Keimer and Making My Own Plans | |
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Reflecting on My Morals | |
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Getting Started | |
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A Strategic Response to a Competitive Betrayal | |
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Setting Up My Own Shop at Last | |
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The Power of a Good Reputation | |
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Getting Married | |
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Founding the First Library in Philadelphia | |
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Proverbs and Productivity | |
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Thoughts on Religion | |
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My Plan to Achieve Moral Perfection | |
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Reflections on the Pursuit of Moral Perfection | |
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Additional Thoughts on Humility | |
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Some Counsel on Grand Undertakings | |
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Poor Richard's Almanac Introduced | |
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Franchising Across the Continent | |
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Learning Languages | |
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Fighting the Good Fight | |
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Family Matters | |
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Update on the Junto | |
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Advice on Changing Someone's Opinion of You | |
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How to Displease Your Superiors | |
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Building a Better Community | |
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Founding the First Fire Department | |
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The Reverend George Whitefield | |
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Franklin the Inventor | |
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On Partnerships | |
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Proposing a College, Establishing a Militia | |
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The Politics of Fortification | |
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On Managing Dilemmas | |
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Founding the University of Pennsylvania | |
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Retiring from My Business | |
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The Legacy of an Entrepreneur | |
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The Power of Contingent Contracts | |
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Good Advice for Fundraising | |
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Negotiating Peace with the American Indians | |
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It's the Little Things | |
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The Reluctant Revolutionary | |
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How to Get Off to a Bad Start | |
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Death and Taxes | |
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How to Gain Cooperation | |
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How to Get Off to a Great Start | |
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Guarding Against Overconfidence | |
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Sizing Up the British | |
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Calling in Debts, Old and New | |
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Negotiating with Coalitions | |
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Benjamin Franklin, Soldier | |
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Managing Morale | |
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Reward or Punish? | |
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A Hero's Return | |
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Enemies Accumulate | |
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My Life as a Scientist | |
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Holding Fast to Principle | |
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The Impact of Indecisive Leadership | |
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More on Poor Leadership | |
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The Slowest Ship | |
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No Substitute for Integrity | |
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Afterword: The Rest of the Story | |
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Acknowledgments | |
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Index | |