Henry Ford

Ford Motor Company, assembly line

Modern influential 100 sayings

Sayings by Henry Ford

I have not been able to discover that anyone knows enough to say what is and what is not possible.

1922 — From 'My Life and Work'
Humorous Unverifiable

There is no man living who isn't capable of doing more than he thinks he can do.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

Don't find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

There is no joy in work without application.

1922 — From 'My Life and Work'
Humorous Unverifiable

If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity for not knowing what can't be done.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

To teach that a man is a machine and a machine is a man is to teach that the ideal man is a machine.

1922 — From 'My Life and Work'
Humorous Unverifiable

Chasing after money is a poor way to live.

1922 — From 'My Life and Work'
Humorous Unverifiable

Power and machinery, money and goods, are useful only as they set us free to live.

1922 — From 'My Life and Work'
Humorous Unverifiable

I do not believe in the five-day week.

1926 — Statement to the press
Humorous Unverifiable

I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

It is not necessary for a man to be a genius to be successful; he only has to be himself.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

I believe God is in me as I am in Him. The only difference is that He is the whole thing and I am a part.

1925 — Interview with the Detroit News
Humorous Unverifiable

There can be no failure unless there is a complete abandonment of effort.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

It is not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance that is the death of knowledge.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, often to Alfred North Whitehead, but sometimes to Ford in collections.
Humorous Unverifiable

The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Attributed, but exact source is debated.
Humorous Unverifiable

You can take my factories, burn my buildings, but give me my people, and I'll build the business right back again.

Uncertain, early 20th century — Widely attributed, often cited as an anecdote.
Humorous Unverifiable

The average man won't really do a day's work unless he is supervised, and the average man often makes mistakes.

1922 — From 'My Life and Work'
Humorous Unverifiable

The Jew is the race that will not let mankind forget.

1920 — From 'The International Jew', a series of antisemitic articles published in Ford's newspaper
Controversial Unverifiable