Believe in What You can Achieve
On July 30, 1863 a pioneer in car manufacturing was born - on a farm in Dearborn, Michigan. Henry Ford became interested in how things worked while living on his parents’ farm. Eventually, he left his family’s farm for an apprenticeship in Detroit to put his talents to use as a machinist. After returning to farm work to support his own family, he was hired as an engineer in Thomas Edison’s Illuminating Company, where he eventually became chief engineer. While working hard under Edison, Ford built the Quadricycle, a horseless carriage. Years later, he established the Ford Motor Company, and in 1908 he built the first Model T car. Not only did Ford introduce the popular horseless carriage, but he also made efficient use of the assembly line. This allowed his company to build cars every few seconds, instead of only a few cars a day. It was so successful that he was able to increase the wages for his workers. He passed away on April 7, 1947 after having made one of the biggest impacts on industry and travel in America (“Henry Ford Biography”; “Henry Ford”).
Ford once wrote, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, either way you’re right.” This means that attitudes influence the ability to do something. If someone thinks they can do something, like the Little Engine that Could trying to climb the hill, they will be able to do it because they believe in themselves. If someone thinks that they are not able to do something, in their mind it would not even be worth the effort to try, and they will not accomplish anything. Ford showed this belief in his own life by leaving the farm life to pursue his own interests in engineering. He eventually had worked hard and long enough to build his own designs for a horseless carriage which became popularized. If he had not decided to even build the Quadricycle while working on call twenty-four hours a day for Thomas Edison, he would not have reached the pivotal moment where he would create something that would change society forever. Had he not believed in himself, he could have lived the rest of his life as a farmer.
His quote can be applied to many of the students attending school right now. I have noticed that most people in college are very positive about their education because they have chosen to be there and pay for classes and books. Where people in high school were not as enthusiastic to learn and did not believe in themselves and so did poorly, people in college tend to succeed more because they believe in themselves and their efforts towards getting more of an education; otherwise, they would not be there. Success can only be achieved when someone believes in themselves because they would simply not put forth their best effort if they did not believe they could achieve it.
Works Cited
Biography.com Editors. “Henry Ford Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 22 Jan. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/henry-ford-9298747>.
"Henry Ford." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 22 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.history.com/topics/henry-ford>.