The Success Story of KFC

The story of Colonel Sanders, founder of the KFC restaurants. At 5 years old, he lost his father. At 16, he dropped out of school. At 17, he was fired from 4 jobs. At 18, he got married and became a railroad conductor. At 19, he became a father to a little girl. At 20, his wife left him and took their 1 year old baby daughter with her. At 22, he joined the army, applied to law school, and faced rejection after rejection from school and the jobs he was at. He then became an insurance salesman. Another failure to be added to his messy resume. He decided to be a cook and a dishwasher at a small cafe. At 65 years old, he retired. On the first day of his retirement, he received a check from the government for $105. What a slap in the face. How could he survive on a $105 monthly budget, he thought, at such an old age? Feeling like a total failure, he decided to commit suicide. He sat under a tree, writing his suicide letter and will. Then all of a sudden he thought of writing instead what he would have accomplished had he had the choice to start his life all over. He realized there was so much he hadn't done yet. One thing he realized that he could do like no one else. Actually, he could do it better than everyone else. That was cooking. Cooking the best chicken anyone had ever tasted. He borrowed $87 to buy a fryer and his recipe ingredients. He lived on his unique fried chicken recipe, trying to sell it door to door to his neighbors in Kentucky, as well as trying to license it to restaurants. He was rejected yet again. 1,009 times from the restaurants he tried to license his recipe to. The 1,010th restaurant gave him his yes moment. KFC was born. At 88, Colonel Sanders became a multi-billionaire and KFC the second biggest food empire. Now, KFC has over 20,000 locations in 123 countries. Moral of the story? You have what it takes to be successful. Don't give up. It's never too old to dream. Go after your wildest dreams now. Believe in the quality of what you do, and in yourself no matter how many times you get rejected. Make a difference and enhance people's lives. You can. You will.