Don't ever give up
When Colonel Harland Sanders retired at
the age of 65, he had little to show for himself, except an old Caddie
roadster, a $105 monthly pension check, and a recipe for chicken.
Knowing he couldn't live on his
pension, he took his chicken recipe in hand, got behind the wheel of his van,
and set out to make his fortune. His first plan was to sell his chicken recipe
to restaurant owners, who would in turn give him a residual for every piece of
chicken they sold--5 cents per chicken. The first restaurateur he called on
turned him down.
So did the second.
Then he did the third.
In
fact, the first 1008 sales calls Colonel Sanders made ended in rejection.
Still, he continued to call on owners as he traveled across the USA, sleeping
in his car to save money. Prospect number 1009 gave him his first
"yes."
After two years of making daily sales
he had signed up a total of five restaurants. Still the Colonel pressed on,
knowing that he had a great chicken recipe and that someday the idea would
catch on.
Of course, you know how the story ends.
The idea DID catch on. By 1963 the Colonel had 600 restaurants across the
country selling his secret recipe of Kentucky Fried Chicken (with 11 herbs and
spices).
In 1964 he was bought out by future
Kentucky governor John Brown. Even though the sale made him a multimillionaire,
he continued to represent and promote KFC until his death in 1990.
Moral of Story:
Its never too late in life and one
should never give up.
Earlier in his life the Colonel was
involved in other business ventures--but they weren't successful. He had a gas
station in the 30's, a restaurant in the 40's, and he gave up on both of them.
At the age of 65, however, Harland Sanders decided his chicken idea was the
right idea, and he refused to give up, even in spite of repeated rejection
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