at the age of 10 Benjamin Franklin leftformal schooling to become an apprenticeto his father as a teenager he showed noparticular talent or aptitude aside fromhis love of books when he died a littleover half a century later he wasAmerica's most respected statesmen hismost famous inventor a prolific authorand a successful entrepreneur whathappened between these two points tocause such a meteoric rise underlyingthe answer to this question is a successstrategy for life that we can all useand increasingly must use throughout BenFranklin's adult life he consistentlyinvested roughly an hour a day indeliberate learning I call thisFranklin's five hour rule one hour a dayon every weekday Franklin's learningtime consisted of waking up early toread and write setting personal growthgoals ie virtues lists and tracking theresults creating a club for like-mindedaspiring artisans and tradesmenwho hoped to improve themselves whilethey improve their community telling hisideas into experiments having morningand evening reflection questions everytime. that Franklin took time out of hisbusy day to follow his five hour ruleand spent at least an hour learning heaccomplished less on that day however inthe long run it was arguably the bestinvestment of his time he could havemadeFranklin's five our rule reflects thevery simple idea that over time thesmartest the most successful people arethe ones who are constant and deliberatelearners Warren Buffett spends five tosix hours per day reading fivenewspapers and 500 pages of corporatereports