My life and Work is the best Henry Ford biography, in my opinion. It is written by Ford himself, and contains many of the simple and sensible principles that helped him become one of America’s richest men. If you like everyday wisdom that is good for everyone, then this book is for you.
It is easy to read and covers Ford’s journey from being an ordinary mechanic to having sold over 5 million cars. The reader is lucky enough to get an insight into his life and work. In this post we will look at some of the best ideas from the Henry Ford biography.
Also on Youtube: Summary of the Best Henry Ford Biography
If you would like to watch a summary of the best Henry Ford biography in video format, have a look at this video I put out on YouTube. If not, you can keep reading below!
Implementation power
“Most of the world’s acute problems arise when people try ideas without first carefully examining whether they are good ideas. An idea is not necessarily good because it is old, or necessarily bad because it is new, but if an old idea works, then all the evidence weighs in its favor. Ideas in themselves are extremely valuable, but an idea is just an idea. Almost anyone can come up with an idea. What matters is developing it into a practical product.”
– Henry Ford
Business philosopher Jim Rohn echoes the wisdom above, saying that ideas have resonant effects. For example, you can buy a book for 100 kroner and then earn 1 million by using the ideas in it (if you use them correctly).
Ideas only have value if they are backed by the kind of execution power that can bring them to life. Otherwise, they’ll just float around up there in our little heads.
Hard work
“It is natural to work – to realize that welfare and happiness can only be obtained through honest effort. Human error occurs largely when trying to avoid this natural procedure. I have no choice but to fully accept this principle of nature. I take it for granted that we have to work. Everything we have done comes as a result of an insistence that since we have to work it is best to work intelligently and forward-leaning; that the better we do our job, the better we get. All this I just see as basic common sense.”
We will only achieve results through hard work – it is no use wanting to “get something for nothing.” Several other authors talk about the same thing.
Napoleon Hill wrote one of the best-selling self-help books of all time, Think & Grow Rich. He says: “Always focus on doing your best possible work.”
And Stephen Covey, author of the classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says that “the most important work you will ever do is always in front of you. It is never behind you.”
Same with Emerson in his Self-reliance: “A man is relieved and satisfied when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said and done contrary to it, shall give him no peace.”
Imagine how good you can become at your job if you do it just a tiny bit better every day. Improve by a couple of percent a week, and within a few years you may be at the top of your field.
Sticktoitiveness
“There are more men who succeed than fail. It is not wisdom they need, or money, brilliance, or “drive,” but only toughness and backbone. This crude, simple, primitive power which we call sticktoitiveness is the uncrowned king of achievement in the world. People go about things the wrong way. They see the successes that men have had, and in a way they seem simple. But that world is far from the truth. It is failure that is easy. Success is always difficult. A man can fail easily; he can only succeed by giving everything he is and has.”
Sticktoitiveness, an English expression for steadfastness, is what helped Henry Ford build one of the biggest companies in the world. We would be wrong if we thought it was easy. Hard work over a long period of time was what made it possible.
About the Author: Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the main developer of assembly line use in mass production. He is a household name, and one of the most famous historical figures of all time.
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