Our Founding Fathers Rocked Their Personal Learning Networks

I think the success of our founding fathers was based on the personal learning network they each created. In a previous post, I talked about the volume of information leaders like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin both consumed and created. Jefferson had donated over 6,400 books to the newly formed Library of Congress. John Adams amassed a library of over 2,700 books. Franklin was so passionate about reading and learning that he had a hand in developing the public library system.

Writing and Sharing Knowledge

Thomas Jefferson

These gentlemen were prolific writers and regularly created content for the benefit of others. I can easily imagine that Franklin would have been a world-class blogger and Twitter user. Franklin wrote on virtually everything from how to create pro/con lists as a decision-making tool for chess players. These leaders were eager to learn, and more importantly, share what they learned with others. According to Jefferson Looney, Jefferson wrote approximately 19,000 letters and had over 21,000 letters written to him. For 43 years, he wrote at least one letter a day for two out of three days. Here, I am finding it challenging to find topics to blog about. Franklin wrote a newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, and contributed to many other papers. John Adams documented his learning and journeys with a diary or journal. According to the Massachusetts Historical Society, Adams wrote 51 journal volumes from 1753 to 1804.

I am not the only one who has realized that our founding fathers were personal learning network rock stars. Jean McCormick envisioned in her blog that Jefferson would have been cataloging his finds on a myriad of topics on Pinterest. She thought Franklin would be regularly Tweeting inspirational quotes and Adams would leverage LinkedIn. Jonathan Lyons wrote that Franklin believed in sharing knowledge and would probably use social media to do so. Regarding Franklin, Lyons noted…

His quest for useful knowledge and self-improvement flourished within the precincts of the study circle and subscription library, amid the mysteries of the local Masonic lodge, and inside the collegiality of the coffee klatsch, the tavern gathering, and the drinking club.

Building Your Own Learning Network

Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin were always seeking others in order to share knowledge. They did this in tavern gatherings and through the written word. Additionally, they were all intensely curious and voracious readers. We need to be a lot more like these influential leaders. Here are my suggestions for getting started:

1. Develop a regular reading habit. Continuously seek new knowledge in books, blogs, and articles. As I wrote in a previous post, CEOs are reading 4-6 books per month, and if you read at least 7 business books per year, you could earn 230% more. There are always fresh ideas found in blog posts.
2. Meet with others. Make time to meet with others at conferences, workshops, or at the local bar to discuss ideas and share knowledge.
3. Leverage technology to facilitate learning. Use RSS feeds, lists, hashtags, and searches to help filter and organize your incoming streams of information from Twitter, blogs, Pinterest, etc. Use social bookmarking tools like Diigo to collect, tag, and organize the interesting articles you find on the Internet.
4. Share what you learn. Share what you learn with others through presentations, blogs, or discussion. It will help to reinforce what you are learning.
5. Learn how to learn. Lifelong learning requires you to define your own learning goals and tasks. Often, in formal education, someone else sets them.

Getting back to these founding fathers, they were able to make a difference in the lives of others because what they learned, shared, and applied. What difference will you make based on what you learn?

Unlock Your Potential Through the Power of Reading! What if one simple habit could transform your personal and professional life? Reading opens doors to new ideas, expands your knowledge, and creates opportunities for success. In Read to Succeed, Stan Skrabut explores how books can become powerful tools for lifelong learning and /personal growth. Discover practical strategies for developing a consistent reading habit, choosing books that support your goals, and turning knowledge into meaningful action. Your next chapter of success begins with your next book! Discover Read to Succeed →

Additional Reading

• Build Your Own Library: What We Can Learn From Jefferson and Franklin
• Book Review: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin