Dr. Bernard Franklin addressing Boys State[/caption] By Brandon Hurn and Jordan Waymaster “This is a talk about anything and everything,” said Bernard Franklin, a successful businessman and politician, as he welcomed a group of Staters to a breakout session Sunday night. Franklin spent several hours answering questions posed to him on topics ranging from success to persistence to porn. Life advice was a major focus of Franklin’s, and he wanted to discuss the effects of pornography on the brain. “Porn is the new chemical addiction,” Franklin said, comparing it to better recognized evils such as heroin. Also addressed in his talk was advice on persistence. Franklin continually used persistence as a solution to several of the questions the Staters asked. “Quit being so timid! It’s your life, it’s your future,” Franklin told an inquisitive stater concerned about opportunity. Tony Wingfield of Powell County was particularly impacted by this advice. “The main thing I learned from this is that tenacity cannot harm you, it can only help you go forward,” Wingfield said after the session. Success was another point that Franklin addressed in many of his responses. Many Staters asked him questions concerning education, and his personal takes on success. His answers were generalized, and applicable to the majority of the audience. He spoke on the variation of success over time. “Success may be related to where you are in life,” Franklin said. In his younger years, he stated that his view of success was “somewhat financial” but has evolved into something different. He now measures success by the impact that he has had.]]>