PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OR OBSERVATIONS
The Fourth Step toward Riches
THERE are two kinds of knowledge. One is general，the other is specialized. General knowledge， no matterhow great in quantity or variety it may be， is of butlittle use in the accumulation of money. The facultiesof the great universities possess， in the aggregate，practically every form of general knowledge knownto civilization. Most of the professors have but littleor no money. They specialize on teaching knowledge，but they do not specialize on the organization， or theuse of knowledge.
KNOWLEDGE will not attract money， unless it is organized， and intelligently directed， throughpractical PLANS OF ACTION， to the DEFINITE ENDof accumulation of money. Lack of understanding ofthis fact has been the source of confusion to millionsof people who falsely believe that “knowledge ispower.” It is nothing of the sort！ Knowledge is onlypotential power. It becomes power only when， andif， it is organized into definite plans of action， anddirected to a definite end.
This “missing link” in all systems of educationknown to civilization today， may be found in thefailure of educational institutions to teach theirstudents HOW TO ORGANIZE AND USE KNOWLEDGEAFTER THEY ACQUIRE IT.
Many people make the mistake of assuming that，because Henry Ford had but little “schooling，” he is nota man of “education.” Those who make this mistakedo not know Henry Ford， nor do they understandthe real meaning of the word “educate.” That wordis derived from the Latin word “educo，” meaning toeduce， to draw out， to DEVELOP FROM WITHIN.
An educated man is not， necessarily， one who hasan abundance of general or specialized knowledge.
An educated man is one who has so developed thefaculties of his mind that he may acquire anythinghe wants， or its equivalent， without violating therights of others. Henry Ford comes well within themeaning of this definition.
During the world war， a Chicago newspaper published certain editorials in which， among otherstatements， Henry Ford was called “an ignorantpacifist.” Mr. Ford objected to the statements， andbrought suit against the paper for libeling him.
When the suit was tried in the Courts， the attorneysfor the paper pleaded justification， and placedMr. Ford， himself， on the witness stand， for thepurpose of proving to the jury that he was ignorant.
The attorneys asked Mr. Ford a great variety ofquestions， all of them intended to prove， by his ownevidence， that， while he might possess considerablespecialized knowledge pertaining to the manufactureof automobiles， he was， in the main， ignorant.
Mr. Ford was plied with such questions as thefollowing：
“Who was Benedict Arnold？” and “How many soldiers did the British send over to America to putdown the Rebellion of 1776？” In answer to the lastquestion， Mr. Ford replied， “I do not know the exactnumber of soldiers the British sent over， but I haveheard that it was a considerably larger number thanever went back.”
Finally， Mr. Ford became tired of this line ofquestioning， and in reply to a particularly offensivequestion， he leaned over， pointed his finger at thelawyer who had asked the question， and said， “If Ishould really WANT to answer the foolish question youhave just asked， or any of the other questions you havebeen asking me， let me remind you that I have a rowof electric push-buttons on my desk， and by pushingthe right button， I can summon to my aid men who cananswer ANY question I desire to ask concerning thebusiness to which I am devoting most of my efforts.
Now， will you kindly tell me， WHY I should clutterup my mind with general knowledge， for the purposeof being able to answer questions， when I have menaround me who can supply any knowledge I require？”
There certainly was good logic to that reply.
That answer floored the lawyer. Every person inthe courtroom realized it was the answer， not of anignorant man， but of a man of EDUCATION. Anyman is educated who knows where to get knowledgewhen he needs it， and how to organize thatknowledge into definite plans of action. Through theassistance of his “Master Mind” group， Henry Fordhad at his command all the specialized knowledgehe needed to enable him to become one of thewealthiest men in America. It was not essential thathe have this knowledge in his own mind. Surely noperson who has sufficient inclination and intelligenceto read a book of this nature can possibly miss thesignificance of this illustration.
Before you can be sure of your ability to transmuteDESIRE into its monetary equivalent， you willrequire SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE of the service，merchandise， or profession which you intend tooffer in return for fortune. Perhaps you may needmuch more specialized knowledge than you havethe ability or the inclination to acquire， and if thisshould be true， you may bridge your weaknessthrough the aid of your “Master Mind” group.
Andrew Carnegie stated that he， personally， knewnothing about the technical end of the steel business；moreover， he did not particularly care to knowanything about it. The specialized knowledge whichhe required for the manufacture and marketing ofsteel， he found available through the individual unitsof his MASTER MIND GROUP.
The accumulation of great fortunes calls for POWER，and power is acquired through highly organized andintelligently directed specialized knowledge， but thatknowledge does not， necessarily， have to be in thepossession of the man who accumulates the fortune.