Do YOU Write like a LEADER ?
What can you tell about Benjamin Franklin’s personality, from just looking at his signature?
People who underline their signatures are known for Self-Reliance . . . and Ben’s self-reliance is HUGE. After all, he did write “The Way to Wealth,” one of the earliest examples of the genre we would call Motivational Literature.
Not only did Ben underline his name, he did so with an elaborate double-figure-8. Figure-8’s, no matter where they appear in the handwriting, indicate great Fluidity of Thought. This trait frequently appears in the handwriting of great orators and innovative thinkers. Franklin’s inventions are of course well-known: the wood stove, bifocals, the glass ‘armonica, and, most innovative of all, a persuasive treatise on how gold-backed paper currency would free the colonies from dependency upon British gold.
His large capital letters indicate a strong Healthy Ego, and the large loops that start them show a Desire for Responsibility.
The long, open loop in the “j” shows you his Physical Vigor that lasted well into old age. The upper loops on the “k” and “l” are unusually clean and tall, indicating his great power in the realm of Abstract, Long-Range Concepts.
But one thing about Benjamin Franklin that most people do not know, is that in his constant quest to rise above his humble beginnings (he only had 2 years of formal schooling) . . . he made a practice of imitating the handwriting of people he admired.
He had a hunch that if he did this, whatever it was that made these leaders great, some of it would “rub off.”
You think he may have been onto something?
It was a good idea, and surely some of it worked. Unfortunately, with the pressures of war looming, he never had the time to dissect exactly which traits of greatness he was absorbing — nor which handwriting strokes corresponded to them.
That would have to wait until more than 200 years later, when a father and son team, Curtis and Bart Baggett, codified the science of Handwriting Analysis, and its sister discipline, Grapho-Therapy.
Bart Baggett in particular made a study of handwriting samples of the Great and Famous, to determine whether they wrote with features that correlate to great leadership ability.
One of the most common strokes found among people who go far in life, is crossing lower-case T’s at or near the top of the stem, as seen in the handwriting of 
Abraham Lincoln,
Mary Baker Eddy,
and Thomas Edison. This shows someone who sets High Goals for himself, and has the Confidence to achieve them.
Note also how long Edison’s T-bars are, indicating Enthusiasm, an essential trait for anyone who needs to be persuasive!
If, however, you see someone whose T-bar floats above the stem, not touching it,` in the case of the founder of the Marriott hotel chain —
This is the mark of the real Dreamer. Such a writer often needs a more practical person on his team, to make sure his dreams don’t lose touch with reality.
Long, hard down
strokes often appear in the writing of people who have Overcome great Physical Challenges, as in the “H” of the legendary figure skater, Scott Hamilton … who also has the Enthusiastic T-bar.
If you see someone who signs their name with big loops in the capitals, put them in charge of something! They’re hungry for Responsibility, and they might surprise you.
Learn how YOU can cultivate Leadership Qualities (or spot them in your employees)! Call (443) 537-7828 for Rosanna E. Tufts, Certified Handwriting Analyst @ RewriteYourStars.com!
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