Henry Ford

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.

All life is experience, and one level is exchanged for another only when its lesson is learned.

One needs to be successful in the conventional way to learn just how far away from success it may be.

Of all the follies the elder generation falls victim to this is the most foolish, namely, the constant criticism of the younger element who will not be and cannot be like ourselves because we and they are different tribes produced of different elements in the great spirit of Time.

One of the greatest discoveries a person makes, one of their great surprises, is to find they can do what they were afraid they couldn’t do.

It is regrettable that people think about our monetary system, and of our economic structure, only in times of depression.

I was the most productive when I was in a flex situation. Do not check for me for needless meetings.

What’s the quickest way to become a millionaire? Borrow fivers off everyone you meet.

There has never been a time when a career in the Penney Company was not a challenge that brought out the best in a man.

A low wage business is always insecure.

[On Laura Nyro] I said to Laura ‘You know Laura, I think we should sell your music publishing company. I think right now is the right time you have three songs in the top ten this may never happen again and I think we can get a lot of money for it.’ And I made a deal with Clive Davis to sell Tuna Fish Music for $4 million. And that was a hell of a lot of money in 1969. It made her famous, it made her rich. It got people to listen to her music with her singing.

Luck is always the last refuge of laziness and incompetence.

Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.

The greatest teacher I know is the job itself.

Profits are not financial-they’re social. Everybody profits from industry. Politicians don’t understand profits because they can pay bills out of taxation.

An imitation may be quite successful in its own way, but imitation can never be Success. Success is a first-hand creation.

Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.

On Beverly Hills we paid too much. One hundred per cent, we did over-pay. We didn’t do our research properly.

If you ever have the good fortune to create a great advertising campaign, you will soon see another agency steal it. This is irritating, but don’t let it worry you; nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else’s advertising.

I don’t hire a lot of number-crunchers, and I don’t trust fancy marketing surveys. I do my own surveys and draw my own conclusions.

I think everybody thought I was crazy that I quit my job and started a management company in which I was managing one client – Laura Nyro.