Henry Ford

This is the only reason Greenfield Village exists-to give us a sense of unity with our people through the generations, and to convey the inspiration of American genius to our young men. As a nation we have not depended so much on rare or occasional genius as on the general resourcefulness of our people. That is our true genius, and I am hoping that Greenfield Village will serve that.

A low wage business is always insecure.

We wish all users of Ford cars to know what they are entitled to.

The most closely organized groups and movements in the world are those which have been the least friendly to the people’s progress and liberty.

No one ever wins a war.

We are always seeking for those things which are in the clouds, not for those that lie at our feet.

Success cannot come from standstill men. Methods change and men must change with them.

A merchant who approaches business with the idea of serving the public well has nothing to fear from the competition.

Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs.

A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.

I must have had a dozen jobs and I got fired from all of them.

The real story of Facebook is just that we’ve worked so hard for all this time. I mean, the real story is actually probably pretty boring, right? I mean, we just sat at our computers for six years and coded.

I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It’s done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the mickey out of the consumer.

The consumer isn’t a moron. She is your wife.

If you go through some big corporate change, it’s just not going to be the same. If we sold to Yahoo, they would have done something different; if you want to continue your vision of the company, then don’t sell because there’s inevitably going to be some change.

Do not primarily train men to work. Train them to serve willingly and intelligently.

The more predictable the business, the more valuable it is.

I feel that the best companies are started not because the founder wanted a company but because the founder wanted to change the world… If you decide you want to found a company, you maybe start to develop your first idea. And hire lots of workers.

My advice to budding property developers: do it on the cheap and you’ll get a cheap price. Don’t avoid putting in skirting just because it’s hidden by a sofa.

If your dreams don’t scare you they are too small.

Without hustle, talent will only carry you so far.