Whether
you like KFC or not, the story of Colonel Harland Sanders is truly amazing.
This story is inspirational because it’s an example of how perseverance,
dedication, and ambition along with hard work can create success; regardless of
your age.
Colonel
Harland Sanders has become a world-known figure by marketing his “finger
lickin’ good” Kentucky Fried Chicken.
The
spectacled Colonel Sanders could easily be identified by his clean, crsip white
suite, black string tie, and walking cane. A statue of this man can be seen as
far away as on Nathan Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong, for one place.
One of
the most amazing aspects of his life is the fact that when he reached the age
of sixty-five, after running a restaurant for several years, Harland Sanders
found himself penniless. He retired and received his first social security
check which was for one hundred and five dollars. And that was just the
beginning of his international fame and financial success story…
Col.
Sanders was a fellow who really loved to share his fried chicken recipe. He had
a lot of positive influence from those who tasted the chicken. Now, the Colonel
was retired and up in age and while most people believed in the sanctimony of
retirement, the Colonel opted to sell the world on his cool new chicken recipe.
With little in terms of means at his disposal, Colonel Sanders traveled door to
door to houses and restaurants all over his local area. He wanted to partner
with someone to help promote his chicken recipe. Needless to say, he was met
with little enthusiasm.
He
started travelling by car to different restaurants and cooked his fried chicken
on the spot for restaurant owners. If the owner liked the chicken, they would
enter into a handshake agreement to sell the Colonel’s chicken. Legend has it
that Colonel Sanders heard 1009 “no”s before he heard his first “yes”.
Ok,
let me repeat that.
He was
turned down one-thousand and nine times before his chicken was accepted once!
Colonel
in front of his first KFC store. The deal was that for each piece of chicken
the restaurant sold, Sanders would receive a nickel. The restaurant would receive
packets of Colonel's secret herbs and spices in order to avoid them knowing the
recipe. By 1964, Colonel Sanders had 600 franchises selling his trademark
chicken. At this time, he sold his company for $2 million dollars but remained
as a spokesperson. In 1976, the Colonel was ranked as the world's second most
recognizable celebrity.
It's
amazing how the man started at the age of 65, when most retire, and built a
global empire out of fried chicken.
"Believe.
Dream. Try. Succeed. Age, no bar!"
Now...
I'm hungry.
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