Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.

The aphorism distills a pragmatic view of self-belief: expectations shape outcomes because they influence effort, persistence, risk-taking, and how setbacks are interpreted. If you assume success is possible, you are more likely to act in ways that make it so; if you assume failure is inevitable, you may withdraw, underprepare, or abandon the attempt early—thereby confirming the belief. The line is often used as a motivational maxim, but it also points to a broader psychological truth about self-fulfilling prophecies and mindset. Its appeal fits Ford’s public image as an industrial optimist, even though the attribution is frequently repeated without a reliably pinned-down original utterance.