How Henry Ford Dealt With Problems

Henry Ford

I read the following from a very old cutting. The writer was a Henry Thomas Hamblin:

In a recent issue of Collier's Magazine, an interview with Henry Ford appeared. He spoke of the way with which big business men deal with problems, and pointed out that they did not spend a lot of time pondering and puzzling over plans or ideas. He said, "An idea comes to us; we think for a little while and then we put it in the pot to boil. We let it simmer for a time, and then take it out."

What Henry Ford means, of course, is that an idea or problem is dismissed to the sub-conscious [now usually called the unconscious], which works it out, and presents it to the conscious mind for judgement.

As an example, an inventor or one who is constructing something mechanical, can make use of the sub-conscious mind in precisely the same way. Let him sum up the whole problem, arrange all the facts and available information, and pass them all to his sub-conscious mind, when, if a successful result is within the range of possibility, an answer or idea will be forthcoming. All this being done, mark you, without any effort whatever.

All this may seem, especially to some readers, rather wonderful and far-fetched, yet there is nothing mysterious about it. I am perfectly sure that there is no great writer, politician or business man who does not make use of his sub-conscious in this way. He probably does it unconsciously, but the procedure is the same.

I know a lot of people think that this is all mumbo-jumbo, but it does work - at least to my satisfaction. It's similar to that old expression about sleeping on it.

As a simplistic example. If we do crosswords and can't solve maybe one or two of the clues, then if we put the puzzle away and forget about it, the answers will often pop up unexpectedly.

It's all a matter of thinking about something and then forgetting it and moving on to something else - then, Bob's your uncle, the solution or answer will come. Magic!

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Henry Ford And Reincarnation
10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories

Henry Ford And Reincarnation

I didn't realise that Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 - April 7, 1947) was a believer in reincarnation, until I came across this interview he gave to the San Francisco Examiner on the 26th of August 1928. He makes some interesting points in favour of the belief:

"I adopted the theory of Reincarnation when I was twenty six.

Religion offered nothing to the point. Even work could not give me complete satisfaction. Work is futile if we cannot utilise the experience we collect in one life in the next.

When I discovered Reincarnation it was as if I had found a universal plan I realised that there was a chance to work out my ideas. Time was no longer limited. I was no longer a slave to the hands of the clock.

Genius is experience. Some seem to think that it is a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience in many lives. Some are older souls than others, and so they know more.

The discovery of Reincarnation put my mind at ease. If you preserve a record of this conversation, write it so that it puts men’s minds at ease. I would like to communicate to others the calmness that the long view of life gives to us."

- Henry Ford