What does it mean to be an educated man or woman? By definition, modern society would claim that it means that a person had undertaken extensive study at school and university. To more knowledgeable people, it is known that that is not necessarily a truth.
An Abundance Of Knowledge
An educated man is not, necessarily, one who has an abundance of general or specialized knowledge. An educated man is one who has developed the faculties of his mind in such a way that he can acquire anything he wants, or its equivalent, without violating the rights of others. Both Henry Ford and Bill Gates fall well within the meaning of this definition.
Education Exemplified
During the First World War, a Chicago newspaper published a number of editorials in which, among other statements, Henry Ford was called “an ignorant pacifist.” Mr. Ford objected to the statements, and sued the paper for libeling him. When the suit was tried in the Courts, the attorneys for the paper pleaded justification, and placed Ford himself on the witness stand, for the purpose of proving to the jury that he was ignorant. The attorneys asked 
Mr. Ford a great variety of questions, all of which were intended to prove, by his own evidence, that, while he might possess considerable specialized knowledge pertaining to the manufacture of automobiles, he was, overall, ignorant.
Mr. Ford was asked questions like:
“Who was Benedict Arnold?” and “How many soldiers did the British send over to America to put down the Rebellion of 1776?” In answer to the last question, Mr. Ford replied, “I do not know the exact number of soldiers the British sent over, but I have heard that it was a considerably larger number than ever went back.”
Finally, Ford grew tired of this line of questioning, and in reply to a particularly offensive question, he leaned over, pointed his finger at the lawyer who had asked the question, and said, “If I should really want to answer the foolish question you have just asked, or any of the other questions you have been asking me, let me remind you that I have a row of electric push-buttons on my desk, and by pushing the right button, I can summon to my aid men who can answer any question I desire to ask concerning the business to which I am devoting most of my efforts. Now, will you kindly tell me, why I should clutter up my mind with general knowledge, for the purpose of being able to answer questions, when I have men around me who can supply any knowledge I require?”
Playing The Logic Card
There certainly was good logic to that reply.
That answer floored the lawyer. Every person in the courtroom realized it was the answer, not of an ignorant man, but of a man of education. Any man is educated who knows where to get knowledge when he needs it, and how to organize that knowledge into definite plans of action. Through the assistance of his “Master Mind” group, Henry Ford had at his command all the specialized knowledge he needed to enable him to become one of the wealthiest men in America. It was not essential that he have this knowledge in his own mind. Surely no person who has sufficient inclination and intelligence to read a book of this nature can possibly miss the significance of this point.
Access To Knowledge
This is an important point. You do not need to know everything, you just need to know how to access the knowledge that you do require at various points in your life travels. It’s fairly obvious that you possess that skill, because somehow you landed here, surrounding yourself with a community of support for success and the access to knowledge for building prosperity. Not one of us here claims to “know it all” already, but we do claim the education to know how to access the resources that we need to succeed.
Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 – 2009
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Well put Sean.
In my study of the mechanical ways of the human being, I already understand that 95% of people are slaves to their own comfort zones, where as people such as Ford learned how to make his comfort zone, or as I like to call it, his organic cycle, the slave.
In order to do this, one must acquire knowledge of how the organic cycle, i.e. the comfort zone works, and thus how to become master of it instead of slave to it
Dean
This is a great post. I love it and have learnt something from it. Cool!
Binhs last blog post..Focusing Your Energy – The Power Of Focus
I read the Ford’s story (from Napoleon Hill’s book)… I found not any references to any newspaper. I tried to find the Court case in google but I have found nothing. Could you help me to find if this story have any part of true? (other than Napoleon’s imagination)
Hi Carlos
Napoleon Hill wrote this so many years ago, I’m sure it would have been properly challenged by now. Google was not around back in Ford’s days so we rely on historians and archives for references.
Regards – Sean
Your Henry Ford story is almost an exact copy of Napoleon Hill’s version in Think and grow rich, yet you make no mention of that, or attribute your source of information. This strikes me as unethical.
Hello Jim
The source of information is from the book: Mindset Mastery. This entire series is read from part one (we are on part 108). It has been credited to Napoleon Hill since part 1. “Think and grow rich” has been part of the public domain for many years. I have made numerous thank you’s and attributions to Napoleon Hill through out this blog and my websites since 2005.
Thank you for your observation.
Regards – Sean