In Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, he mentioned that in response to a question about what he would do if he lost his entire fortune, Henry Ford replied:

“I’d have it all back in 5 years.”

That kind of response would normally have been put down to over confidence or arrogance. However those familiar with Ford’s antecedents had little doubt that he could do what he said.

Infact, it was that same mental attitude that enabled him push his team of highly trained (though self doubting) engineers to develop an engine that made car ownership affordable for the masses.

Though a Stark Illiterate, Ford Was a Man of Education

An educated person is one who knows how to apply the knowledge he has, to achieve the goal he has set for himself.

Henry Ford started out as a stark illiterate working for Thomas Edison until he became a supervisor.

Nothing that I’ve read about him suggests that Ford enrolled for studies in a formal institution. Instead, he worked in an organisation where he was exposed to creative use of the human mind for the purpose of producing useful inventions.

And he had the unique priviledge of watching a master at work: Thomas Alva Edison – one of the greatest and most prolific inventors the world has ever seen.

Based on the above, it’s no surprise that Ford eventually got to a point where he began getting his own creative ideas to develop useful solutions. Hill mentions in his book that Ford got an idea to develop a new type of engine that would be cheap to manufacture and consequently make it possible for the non-rich to afford them.

Edison saw no merit in the idea when Ford proposed it to the renowned inventor at the time. Instead he offered the latter a promotion to drop the idea and focus on “more useful” activities he (Edison) had planned.

But Ford was convinced, and quit his job to pursue the idea he had. Since he was not schooled, he hired those with relevant engineering training and told them what he wanted.

That step reflected the depth of his real world education. Rather than try to get an engineering degree to do it himself, he wisely assembled the best qualified engineers he could find and challenged them to produce the result he wanted.

Here is a useful point to note:

Mainly because Ford had no schooling, he used his experience from exposure to creative processes under Edison as a basis for developing his own ideas.

It is also worth noting here that Edison himself achieved his amazing feats of invention despite having only a few months of schooling exposure.

So both men had poor schooling in common. Yet despite having this handicap, they would shake the world with the solutions they developed!

Ford Acknowledged Few, (If At All Any) Limitations

Now, when Ford told his well schooled engineers what he wanted, they were quick to tell him it was impossible to build such a car engine. Again and again he told them to go back and keep trying, but each time they returned saying they’d tried and it was not possible.

“I want it, and I’ll have it!” he reportedly told them. So they went back, kept at it, and eventually the new car engine was born!

The above story depicts an interesting trend:

People with less schooling seem to be less conditioned to recognise obstacles or limitations of any sort, when in pursuit of a valued goal.

In contrast, well schooled persons, especially those who have studied up to tertiary level in traditional institutions frequently tend to be strongly influenced by unspoken rules, guidelines and a general need to seek consent or agreement/approval from others before they can go after what they want.

Their exposure to the regulated schooling system which subtly discourages contrarian thinking and action often conditions them to act that way.

To Succeed You Must Commit To Learning & Applying What You Learn Continually

A quote credited to Alan Toffer reads:

“The illiterate of the 21 will not be those who cannot read or write. They will be those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” – Alan Toffer

Henry Ford understood the above truth. And that was why he could confidently state that he would rebuild his financial fortune within 5 years, if he lost it.

Those of us who are better schooled than he was can learn from his example. We must actively engage in learning how to improve our knowledge, attitudes and skills towards organising resources available to us to achieve our goals.

That process will ultimately lead us to a level of mastery at which we, like Ford back in his time, will be confident that we can bounce back in 5 years or less if for any reason we lose the wealth we’ve acquired.

One great benefit of achieving the above mentioned state, is that you’ll always have peace of mind. You’ll be free from fears, worries or anxieties about losing what you have, because you know you’ve done it before and you’re sure you can do it again.

As a result, you’re unlikely to be found guilty of acting desperate in times of crisis. Persons who acquire their own wealth or fortunes through crooked or questionable means will rarely behave in the manner Ford did. And they are certainly unlikely to be willing to consider the possibility of losing their wealth, talk less of answering to the question: “What if you lose everything?”