#26 My Life and Work: The Autobiography of Henry Ford

**David Senra** (0:00)
Power and machinery, money and goods, are useful only as they set us free to live. They are but a means to an end. For instance, I do not consider the machines which bear my name simply as machines. If that was all there was to it, I would do something else. I take them as concrete evidence of the working out of a theory of business, which I hope is something more than a theory of business, a theory that looks toward making this world a better place in which to live. The fact that the commercial success of the Ford Motor Company has been most unusual is important only because it serves to demonstrate in a way, which no one can fail to understand, that the theory to date is right. Considered solely in this light, I can criticize the prevailing system of industry and the organization of money and society from the standpoint of one who has not been beaten by them. As things are now organized, I could, were I thinking only selfishly, ask for no change. If I merely want money, the present system is all right. It gives money in plenty to me. But I am thinking of service. The present system does not permit of the best service because it encourages every kind of waste. It keeps many men from getting the full return from service, and it is going nowhere. It is all a matter of better planning and adjustment. So that is from the introduction of the book that I want to talk to you about today, which is obviously The Autobiography of Henry Ford. It is called My Life and Work. And it is just an amazing little book. It is out of copyright now, so you can pick one up for like five or six bucks on Amazon if you want the paperback version. And it is a really quick read. It is about 136 pages, no fluff, no bull crap. So in that paragraph, Henry Ford is touching on two main themes, I would say, that are present throughout the book. And one is the act of service, which is extremely important to him. And the second is frugality, and frugality as an anecdote to waste. Let's go ahead and jump into this book. I've talked about it previously that I really like reading about the personalities and the misfits that are great founders and entrepreneurs all up and down history. But even more than that, I love reading autobiographies. So some of my favorite books that I've read is just, I feel when a founder is writing an autobiography as opposed to somebody writing a book on them, they don't waste any time and they get right to the point. So there's not like a cohesive story here. He's just telling his ideas on business, which is why I think it's a no-brainer if you're interested in founding a company or building anything or starting anything, that you should read it. It's very plain language, very fast, and a lot of the stuff I'm going to share to you today are just like basically, I would consider them almost aphorisms, because usually they're a paragraph or two at most.
And what I love about the book is you definitely get a good feel of not only his theory of business, which he makes explicit, but his philosophy on life. So here's some of his ideas on ideas, and well, I'll just read it. I have no quarrel with the general attitude of scoffing at new ideas. It is better to be skeptical of all new ideas and to assist upon being shown rather than to just rush around in a continuous brainstorm after every new idea. Skepticism, if by that we mean cautiousness, is the balance wheel of civilization. Most of the present acute troubles of the world arise out of taking on new ideas without first carefully investigating to discover if they are good ideas. And ideas not necessarily good because it is old, are necessarily bad because it is new. But if an old idea works, then the weight of the evidence is all in its favor.
He's kind of talking about the Lindy effect, but he's talking about it a hundred years before it's written about. Ideas of themselves, ideas are of themselves extraordinary valuable, but an idea is just an idea.
Almost anyone can think up of an idea. The thing that counts is developing it into a practical product.
On the very next page, this is, I would say, he talks about the nature of work and how he feels it's, well, the natural thing to do is work, is the direct quote. And he's not a very big fan of idleness or leisure. Now, he does believe in the freedom of your ability to choose one, but he makes the distinction throughout the book that a man of leisure should not be upset if he doesn't get the same results out of life as a man of work. So let's just read this one paragraph on the natural thing to do is work.