An Analysis of Henry Ford (How His Father Almost Killed His Dream)

From Henry Ford’s autobiography, My Life and Work:

My father offered me forty acres of timber land, provided I gave up being a machinist.

What would have happened if Ford had followed his father’s advice? What if he gave up his love for automobiles to pursue a life as a farmer? The answer is simple…there would be no Ford Motor Company.

Your dreams can be stymied in a variety of ways; sadly, parents can be the culprit in this regard. Instead of analyzing the talents of a child and promoting them, they will often discourage the developments of their son/daughter.

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The Greatness of Henry Ford Was in His DNA

I’m reading My Life and Work by Henry Ford. It’s important to read the autobiographies of GREAT MEN: primary sources being superior to secondary ones, generally speaking.

In a revealing part of the story, he discusses the first time he ever witnessed a machine other than a horse-drawn carriage. He was sitting on a wagon with his father when he saw a primitive road engine passing by. Ford—only 12 at the time—was mesmorized. Without any coaxing, he approached the engineer and began asking questions in order to learn more:

The engine had stopped to let us pass with our horses and I was off the wagon and talking to the engineer before my father, who was driving, knew what I was up to.

Nobody pushed him to learn more…he did it himself. No social programs were created to help him “find his passion”: the passion was already inside of him. In short, nature is stronger than nurture. You have a destiny with greatness or you don’t.

Note that many children would be apathetic in the same scenario. They’d be dreaming of a toy, staring at a cloud, or thinking of a fantasy. Others would be interested, but would remain seated. But not Henry Ford. He was pro-active, jumping at the opportunity to challenge his intellect.

The greatness of Henry Ford was written in his DNA.

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Men Cannot Be of Equal Service

Henry Ford dispels some red-pill wisdom is his autobiography, My Life and Work:

Most certainly all men are not equal, and any democratic conception which strives to make men equal is only an effort to block progress. Men cannot be of equal service.

Equalism is a lie…a feel-good philosophy for the weak. It’s a method of undercutting the strong, taking their knees out from under them. The bullets of the weak are laced in guilt  trips and the perverse application of “democracy.”

The men of larger ability are less numerous than the men of smaller ability; it is possible for a mass of the smaller men to pull the larger ones down—but in so doing they pull themselves down.

The GREAT MAN is not a common man. You won’t find him swilling beer at Larry’s Liquor Lounge, bragging about his NCAA bracket picks. You won’t find him wearing a pussy hat in the Women’s March. He’s been ridiculed by the “men of smaller ability”…smeared by the poison of calumny.

It is the larger men who give the leadership to the community and enable the smaller men to live with less effort.

So true. The men of larger ability are doers…they’re builders. They are John Galt. Marty Cooper. Henry Ford. They create the foundations of mankind. They give structure to the ambiguous. They enable the smaller man to brag about his material objects.

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