Death, Taxes, and Change

If I could get in my Delorean and go back to 1789 and have a coffee with Ben Franklin, the conversation might go something like this:

Chris: Ben, thanks for grabbing a coffee with me. How are things going?

Ben: Glad to Chris. What’s up?

Chris: I wanted to talk about your quote that I have been using a lot lately.

In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes. — Ben Franklin

Ben: I hate it when somebody bastardizes my quotes! That particular quote was in a letter I wrote to a friend and was taken out of context. What I wrote was:

Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. — Ben Franklin

Chris: Thanks, Ben. I didn’t realize the context. I still love the quote. Can I ask you a question about the quote?

Ben: Sure.

Chris: It seems you left out the word “change”. Over the years, things have changed. We communicate differently, we have different tools, and stuff happens. The challenge is people don’t like change that is forced upon them. Instead, they want to accept change on their terms in a timeframe that they are comfortable with.