evidence: FACT CHECK: Did Benjamin Franklin Say, ‘By Failing To Prepare, You Are Preparing To Fail’? An image shared on Facebook claims that founding father Benjamin Franklin said, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." [...] The website Quote Investigator found the earliest instance of a variant expression in a 1919 edition of the periodical "The Biblical World." In that publication, pastor H.K. Williams is quoted as saying, "Remember, if you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail."