Said Who?

A recorded run from 14 October 2026, with 3 sites that already answer it kept out of the search.

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.”

Usually credited to Henry Ford

  1. Plan

  2. Search

    5 done

  3. Read and check

    14 of 14 pages, 10 confirmed

  4. Follow citations

    1 cited work, 0 pages found

  5. Judge

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$0.0065 on Nebius (same calls at Ultra prices: $0.0344) · 6 Tavily credits · 52s

correctly attributed· high confidencejudged on Nemotron 3 Super

Henry Ford said it

Earliest trace: 1947, The Reader's Digest, via revenueflow.com n11

All available pages attribute the quote to Henry Ford, with the earliest verifiable source being a 1947 Reader's Digest citation. No credible source shows the quote or a meaningful variant attributed to anyone else; the sole alternative attribution to D. R. Berlin lacks sourcing and thus does not constitute an independent origin. Therefore the usual credit to Henry Ford is supported by contemporaneous records and is not contradicted.

The known answerCorrectly credited to Henry FordSame verdict as this run

Earliest known: The Reader's Digest, by Henry Ford (as credited by The Reader's Digest), 1947-09.

The idea circulated in looser forms for decades, including a 1940 locker-room sign. Quote Investigator found no competing credit for this compact version and accepts the 1947 Ford credit, though Reader's Digest gave no source.

From quoteinvestigator.com.

What the agents did

Who does what
Run
The run itself: when it started, which sites it left out, and when it stopped.
Planner
Writes the search: other wordings of the quote, who might have said it, and the queries.
Search
Web search through Tavily, which brings back the pages to read.
Reader
Reads one page and copies the quote word for word, with who the page credits, its date and any older work it names.
Checker
Plain code, no model. Checks every copied line against the page text, allowing small differences in wording, and crosses out what it can't find there. It also corrects a verdict's earliest date or page when the pages don't back it.
Genealogist
Picks older works the confirmed pages name and looks for them in digital libraries, for up to two rounds.
Judge
Weighs only the confirmed pages and gives the verdict, which code checks before it stands.
  1. Run

    Started. Sites that already wrote up answers are left out: quoteinvestigator.com, wikiquote.org, wikipedia.org

  2. Planner

    Planned 5 searches and 5 other wordings

    Nemotron 3 Ultra$0.0020

  3. Search

    5 results for "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right."

  4. Search

    5 results for "can or you think you can't you're right" earliest appearance

  5. Search

    5 results for "Whether you think you can or think you can't" origin Henry Ford

  6. Search

    5 results for "If you think you can or think you can't" first printed

  7. Search

    5 results for Henry Ford "you're right" quote 1947 Reader's Digest

  8. Search

    11 pages to read

  9. Reader

    Found the quote on open.spotify.com

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  10. Checker

    Confirmed n2 on open.spotify.com

  11. Reader

    Found the quote on cpapracticeadvisor.com

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  12. Checker

    Confirmed n1 on cpapracticeadvisor.com

  13. Reader

    Found the quote on medium.com

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  14. Checker

    Confirmed n3 on medium.com

  15. Reader

    Found the quote on steppingstonecoaching.ca

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  16. Checker

    Confirmed n5 on steppingstonecoaching.ca

  17. Reader

    Found the quote on online.visual-paradigm.com

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  18. Checker

    Confirmed n6 on online.visual-paradigm.com

  19. Reader

    Found the quote on herbertlui.net

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  20. Checker

    Confirmed n4 on herbertlui.net

  21. Reader

    Found the quote on goodreads.com

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  22. Reader

    Trying again on Nemotron 3 Super (goodreads.com): the snippet is not on the page

  23. Reader

    Found the quote on instagram.com

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  24. Checker

    Confirmed n7 on instagram.com

  25. Reader

    Found the quote on bookviewreview.com

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  26. Checker

    Confirmed n9 on bookviewreview.com

  27. Reader

    Found the quote on livemint.com

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  28. Checker

    Confirmed n10 on livemint.com

  29. Reader

    No quote on goodreads.com

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  30. Checker

    Crossed out n8: the reader's sentence is not on goodreads.com

  31. Reader

    Found the quote on revenueflow.com

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  32. Checker

    Confirmed n11 on revenueflow.com

  33. Genealogist

    Following The Works of John Dryden, Volume V: Translations from Virgil (cited by n4)

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  34. Search

    5 results for John Dryden For they can conquer who believe they can

  35. Genealogist

    3 new pages to read

  36. Reader

    No quote on en.wikisource.org (looking for The Works of John Dryden, Volume V: Translations from Virgil)

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  37. Reader

    No quote on en.wikisource.org (looking for The Works of John Dryden, Volume V: Translations from Virgil)

    Nemotron 3.5 Lightning$0.0001

  38. Reader

    No quote on en.wikisource.org (looking for The Works of John Dryden, Volume V: Translations from Virgil)

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  39. Genealogist

    Told the Judge: The pages this run read for The Works of John Dryden, Volume V: Translations from Virgil on en.wikisource.org don't have the saying; they may be another edition or only part of the work.

  40. Judge

    Verdict: correctly attributed, high confidence

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  41. Run

    Done in 52s

Where the quote turns up, oldest first

  1. 1947
  2. 2014
  3. 2021
  4. 2026
  5. No date