i have excuses. we all have excuses. but i came across something today that stopped me in my tracks and forced my hand.

sometimes we’re left without an excuse.

for what it’s worth, i believe that Maria Kalman was right about the 19th century:

and the thing is – it was exploding with inventiveness and they hadn’t even gotten to the automobile or the airplane or open heart surgery or cloned sheep or broadcast or video or the internet or twitter or video on twitter. i sincerely believe that the world is – today as in 1838 – exploding with inventiveness.

i have to think that Ben Franklin – a well documented bad-ass – occasionally found himself with to-do lists that were too long to actually do. but that didn’t stop him:

…a little thing known as the United States of America.

he believed in doing good & still found a way to invent more things than any other person in this country ever has – and he slept seven hours a night. all without computers!

wow.

hopefully, at this point, you feel like me – utterly without excuse. Ben Franklin set the bar pretty dang high. or, as one brilliant comment on the blog from which i was first learned of this NY Times piece put it – “For his time [Ben Franklin was] a renaissance man. For our time, given the tools and opportunities we all have, he’d be a certified legend.”

let me leave you with a simple benediction:

go forth. make a chart. set a goal. read Maria’s piece, “Can Do”, & be inspired to stop sitting on your A doing absolutely nothing. invent something wonderful. and tonight, ask yourself “What good have I done today?” then smile just a little when the answer is finally an admirable one.