Applause waits on success.

Hear the measured wisdom of Benjamin Franklin, father of invention and apostle of discipline: “Applause waits on success.” In these words he speaks not merely of praise, but of the fickle nature of human recognition. For men do not often cheer the laborer while he toils, nor crown the thinker while he dreams. They wait for the fruit before they bless the seed. Thus, Franklin reminds us that if we seek applause, we must first endure the long road of success, for admiration follows only after deeds are proven.

The meaning is sharp: the world does not celebrate effort, only achievement. The runner is unseen in his training until he wins the race; the inventor is mocked in his failures until his machine flies; the writer is dismissed until his words capture the soul of a people. This is no cruelty, but a law of human nature. People admire what is visible, not what is hidden. And so the wise must learn to labor without audience, trusting that the applause will come only after the triumph has been secured.

Franklin himself lived by this law. In his youth he was but a printer’s apprentice, his hands blackened with ink, his pockets nearly empty. None applauded him then. Yet he worked by candlelight, educating himself, writing, experimenting. In time, his inventions—the lightning rod, the bifocal lens, the Franklin stove—brought him fame. Then came the applause, echoing not only in his own land but across oceans. But he knew well that the cheers were not for the struggle, but for the success. It is this hard truth he passed down in his saying.

History offers us many mirrors of this lesson. Consider Christopher Columbus, who was scorned and rejected by many courts before Isabella of Spain gave him ships. For years, his vision of a western voyage was ridiculed. Only after he reached new shores did the applause thunder, kings and nobles praising what they once dismissed. Likewise, Thomas Edison endured thousands of failed experiments with the light bulb. His neighbors saw folly, but once the lamps burned steadily, the world applauded. Both men bore years of silence before hearing the roar of recognition.

Yet within Franklin’s words lies also a warning: if one lives only for applause, one may never endure long enough to reach success. For the silence of the crowd during struggle can break the spirit of the impatient. The true laborer must learn to find joy in the work itself, to be sustained not by external praise but by inner purpose. The applause may come, or it may not—but the achievement, the mastery, the growth of the soul, these are rewards that cannot be withheld.

The lesson, O seekers of wisdom, is this: toil in silence, and let your deeds speak in time. Do not be discouraged when the crowd does not notice your struggle, for their eyes turn only to the finished crown. Train your will to endure without recognition. Be like the seed that grows roots unseen before it breaks the soil in triumph. For once your success blooms, the applause will come of its own accord, unbidden and undeniable.

So, O children of tomorrow, remember Franklin’s wisdom. Do not chase the sound of clapping hands; chase instead the substance of achievement. Let your work be true, your effort unceasing, your patience long. And when your time comes, the applause will follow—not because you demanded it, but because you earned it. This is the way of all who leave a mark upon the world.