Gabrielle Miller
12 October 2017
English 111
Critical Thinking Journal
Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan, he was the surviving son of William and Mary Ford. William and Mary Ford owned a farm and it’s been said that one day the farm would be owned and ran by little Henry (History.com). When he was sixteen, he ran away to Detroit to where he was to work with a machinist. After three years of living in Detroit, he returned to help run the farm. While there he met Clara Bryant, who lived nearby (History.com). They later moved back to Detroit, so Ford could work with the Edison Illuminating Company, Ford quickly rose the ranks. Ford made and sold many types of vehicles. Ford and several other investors created the Detroit Automobile Company which would later be called the Henry Ford Company. In 1902, Ford became upset over with the partners at the Detroit Automobile Company and decided that he would create his own company called Ford Motor Company. In 1908, Ford released his second car called the Ford Model T and later in the following years he would release an assembly line which would change the face of car making forever (Henry Ford Biography).
Henry Ford once said, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, either way your right." The quote could mean a bunch of different things and it can be interpreted a thousand different ways. Ford was trying to tell others to always put their best foot forward and to always see the best in themselves. If someone never tries anything new how are they to know if they are any good at it, and by holding themselves back they will never become the person they were intended to be.
This quote can be related back to Ford's life because there were many times that he thought that he was not destined to be more than a farm owner. When he was thirteen, his grandfather gave him a pocket watch, and as soon as he got his hands on the device he took it apart and put it back together perfectly (Henry Ford Biography). From that moment on decided that he could be more than a farm owner and left home at the age of sixteen to build on his dream. Whenever he thought that he couldn't, he remember that he could. He used that same thought process when building the Ford Model-T and building his assembly line.
In my eighteen years living on earth, there have been times when I questioned whether I could do it or not. One of the times that I questioned whether I could do it or not was when I was in the class to become a lifeguard. At my job, each lifeguard must pass a series of tests and if they do not pass you cannot get the job. I was still in school at the time, and I was trying to balance school work between studying for my lifeguard exam. I was struggling and I started to question, whether it was worth it. I kept telling myself that I would make it to the other side of the tunnel. I learned to balance school with work and in the end not only did I pass my lifeguard exam I finished the school year off with straight A's.
Works Cited
“Henry Ford.” History.com, A&E Networks Television, 2009, http://www.history.com/topics/henry-ford. Accessed 13 Oct 2017
“Henry Ford Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 10 Aug 2017, https://www.biography.com/people/henry-ford-9298747. Accessed 13 Oct 2017.