Born a candle-makers son in Boston, Benjamin Franklin was many things in his life. Inventor of the Franklin stove, bifocals, a flexible catheter, the lightning rod, a politician (though never President), ambassador to France, polyglot, one of the biggest figures of the American Revolution, philosopher, and notorious ladies’ man. That’s right, in particular he had a thing for French Women and older women to the point that he even had a list of reasons to explain it when questioned.
Among his language lessons, proclivities for french women while and before being ambassador, one of Franklin’s longest held passions was that of chess. It was such a large part of Franklin’s life that two of his favorite women he met and spent time with because and through the ease of a game of chess.
Chess, to Franklin, was for more than any other game. Though he was it’s most famous American fan, those who he found to have a game with noted that it was his passion for the game and not his skill that pushed Franklin to play.
Admitted by many, Franklin was not a particular master of the game of chess, but his appreciation for the lessons of chess were not without merit. Franklin himself laid out many ways that being successful in Chess mirrored being able to be successful in life and business.
One of the first lessons chess teaches is prudence. As Benjamin Franklin noted in The Morals of Chess chess teaches men to think ahead of themselves.
1st: Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action, for it is continually occurring to the player, “If I move this Piece, what will be the advantage or disadvantage of my new situation? What use can my adversary make of it to annoy me? What other moves can I make to support it, and to defend myself from his attacks?”
How often in life have you said something without thinking and inadvertently cost yourself the girl, the job, or anything in between? How often have you decided to lay around watching tv or playing games on a Saturday knowing you had a huge assignment due Monday that you figured you’d get finished on Sunday only to have yourself oversleep, get called away for an emergency, or just plain didn’t have as much time as you estimated it would take?
Foresight in life can not only prevent you from talking your way out of a woman’s panties, it can keep you from losing some big money. Planning ahead into the future, where you will be, and what you will likely need to do is not just the key to interpersonal issues, it’s also the very foundation of every To Do List or “How to Succeed” seminar. Plan ahead, then follow through.
The second lesson is Circumspection. Or as I call it “Situational Awareness.”
2nd: Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action, the relation of the several Pieces, their situations, and the dangers they are repeatedly exposed to, the several possibilities of their aiding each other, the probabilities that the adversary may make this or that move, and attack this or that Piece, and what different means can be used to avoid his stroke, or turn its consequences against him.
I call this situational awareness because one of the clearest examples of circumspection is driving. How often in driving do you find yourself scanning ahead or to either side, watching for this and that. Making note of that truck merging lanes, or this pedestrian looking both ways before he’s about to sprint across before the light?
In chess, circumspection means being aware of where your pieces are in relation to where every other piece is. It’s not just about what you are or what you do, it’s about what others can or may do. We’ve all heard the story of the friend who was up for a promotion but talked to someone he considered a workfriend about it only to find himself looked over on the promotion because the workfriend used his knowledge to get the job instead? Maybe you’ve been that guy who lost the job, or maybe you were the one who used it to take the promotion from the other guy. Either way, circumspection is at the heart of it. The first guy wasn’t aware of who his opponent in the “game” for the promotion was. He didn’t know which pieces to avoid as he spilled his guts or bragged about it. He didn’t know where he stood with regards to what was going on. He wasn’t practicing circumspection of his board position and he lost because of it. Those who are interested in Machiavellian practices or study Dark Triad will note the importance of being situationally aware.
When it comes to women, work, life and business: if you don’t know where you stand, you’re losing.
The third lesson is the lesson of being deliberate.
3rd: Caution, not to make our moves too hastily. This habit is best acquired by observing strictly the laws of the game, such as, if you touch a piece you must move it somewhere, and if you set it down, you must let it stand.
The purpose of being deliberate is not to delay movement, but to act cautiously. Too often in chess, as in life, people are hasty and abrupt. They get excited, or nervous, or worrisome and make a rash decision that comes back to haunt them. One of the rules of chess is that once you touch a piece, you must move it. It is thus to prevent those who would idly play with a piece, giving the impression they are about to move, but instead delay the game. While it is never a good thing to take more time than is necessary, it is far worse to take less time than you need.
The lesson of deliberation is that you should, using the first two lessons of prudence and circumspection, form the best possible plan to achieve the result that you wish. Then follow through with it. You must use the tools available to advance yourself with purpose, while also being aware of where you stand at each interval. Though you must be flexible in life, it is better to have a plan that you have to bend occasionally than it is to wander aimlessly with no foresight and no awareness just to prevent making the wrong move.
Legends of Men 
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