Do you want to hear some of Colonel Sanders’ success advice?
Colonel Sanders was turned down 1009 times before selling his Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe. He’d failed at every job he’d tried before. (Lawyer, salesman, you name it!)
The Colonel was already married to his wife Josephine at the age of 19, had three children, then had frequent affairs, and the marriage ended in divorce.
It’s safe to say he didn’t have the best of upbringings. In fact, he didn’t even sell his business until he was 75 years old!
Lessons from KFC Founders’ Success Story: Colonel Sanders
Without a doubt, the odds were stacked against the KFC king. The Colonel’s story is both inspiring and hopeful for those who believe it is too late. Colonel Sanders teaches us the 7 most powerful success lessons we can all learn.
It makes no difference if you’re 20 or 70. This article has some very strong points to make.
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Sustain Failure to Get to Success
I mentioned in the introduction that Colonel Sanders was rejected over 1000 times before successfully selling his KFC recipe.
A thousand times!
Not only that, but I also mentioned that he’d failed at every other endeavor he’d attempted. Sanders tried and failed miserably at all of the following jobs between the ages of ten and forty:
- Farming
- Insurance Salesman
- Lawyer
- Streetcar Conductor
- Railroad Fireman
It just goes to show that no matter how many failures you have in life, there is always time to succeed. If you’re reading this and believe it’s too late to make something of your life, reconsider!
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You are Never too old to Succeed
Colonel Sanders was 75 years old when he sold Kentucky Fried Chicken for $2 million. In today’s world, that would be around $15 million. After the sale, he remained as the company’s spokesperson.
But 75 years old… The majority of people, at least 95%, give up much earlier in life. Even in their 30s, people stop believing they can be successful! Despite this, the Colonel went on to become the founder and face of a billion-dollar brand.
So, before you begin to believe that you can’t achieve your goals because you’re 30, 40, or 50 years old… STOP. It is never too late to achieve success in life.
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The Past does not Define Your Success
The lesson that your past does not define your future success is an excellent success lesson that many people need to hear. It doesn’t make any difference how many times you have failed. It makes no difference where you were raised or what happened to you earlier in life.
Your past does not dictate how successful you will be in the future.
Consider Sanders once more. He’d failed at every other job he’d tried… a lot of them! He was in an unhappy marriage and had three children when he was very young. For most people, this is the point at which they begin to give up on life and see no way out.
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Giving up Ensures Failure
You can fail at many things in life, but the KFC story demonstrates that the only sure way to fail is to give up. If you’re like the Colonel, the possibility of success is always on the table, no matter how many times you fail.
You will never be a failure unless you stop trying!
Don’t give up, then. Even though time passes and you get older, you still can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Nonetheless, it is never impossible to succeed.
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It is Never too Late to Start Again
It was clear that cooking was the Colonel’s passion, but he didn’t realize it until later in life. He went through a variety of jobs, having to start over from the beginning each time.
It can be exhausting to try to succeed at so many different things. The hardest part is always getting started, and for most people, starting over at the age of 50 or 60 is unthinkable.
However, it is never too late, as Colonel Sanders demonstrated by finally succeeding at what he loved… in his 70s!
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Take Risks and Do What You Love
Dedicatedly following your passion is the inevitable key to success and happiness. You know it, I know it, and we’ve all heard the stories.
Despite this, the majority of us do not pursue our goals in life before we reach a certain age. A lot of the time, people in their twenties don’t even pursue their passions.
Maybe it takes a while for most people to realize how important passion is, but we hope that we can help as many people as possible pursue what they want from the start.
After all, is said and done, pursuing a passion will make anyone successful?
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Don’t Be Afraid to Start Small
Sanders began selling Kentucky Fried Chicken on a small scale by the side of the road. After selling the recipe, it quickly grew in popularity, with franchises springing up all over the world.
The takeaway here is to not be afraid to start small. Progression will come as long as you start and work hard.
People frequently put off starting their own business, website, and so on because they do not believe it is large enough to launch.
I see a lot of people in the process of “launching” websites that have been stuck in this process for more than two years because they don’t believe it’s ready.
Just start! Seriously!
People like to see progress, and once you get started, you’ll be able to do so. Putting things off because you want to be perfect will not get you anywhere.
