Life begins where the line ends.
Risks are always going to be scary – that’s why they’re called so. The fear of lagging behind in this race we never signed up for is always going to be a big determinant in the decisions we make. It’s so much easier to cling on to what’s around. Why take the leap when you could just settle, right?
Well, wonder what would have happened if Colonel Harland Sanders thought the same way. Colonel Sanders – the man who single-handedly changed the way people eat chicken. Colonel Sanders – the man who gave us the finger-lickin’ good KFC.
The next time you feel like you’ve lost out on your ‘best years’ in life and it’s too late to make it, remind yourself of this man who started upon this incredible journey of becoming the founder of one of the biggest food chains in the world at the age of 65.
His father’s untimely death and the poor financial circumstances at home drove Sanders to learn how to cook at the age of 7 and start working as an industrial salesman. He spent his early years taking up odd jobs like selling tires, operating a ferry boat and stoking steam engines of trains to earn bread.
He was already 40 when he got a place at a service station in Corbin, Kentucky to use his love for cooking and sell Southern dishes to travelers. Over time, his food became so popular amongst people, he converted the gas station into a roadside restaurant!
It was the year 1939 when he finally figured how to fry his chicken to get that perfect consistency and taste he had been trying to achieve since years. He became so famous for his chicken, the governor of Kentucky honored him with the title of a Colonel – for his hard work, dedication and the magic recipe in 1950!
Sanders lived up to the title by dressing in a white suit and the famous Kentucky colonel tie. He then tied up with his friend Pete Harman, a restaurateur and named his fried chicken ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’. He would earn 4 percent of the price of every fried chicken piece sold. He went from door to door, restaurant to restaurant, with his secret spices and offered to cook his special chicken and earn a royalty. By 1964, over 600 restaurants across US and Canada were serving Kentucky Fried Chicken. A decade later, Colonel Sanders was the 2nd most recognizable celebrity in the world.
In 1965, he sold his company’s rights for 2 million dollars when he realized KFC had become a world-wide phenomenon, a venture that needed its own wings. Sanders became the brand ambassador, earned a lifetime salary of $75,000 and retained ownership of most KFC Canada outlets. The rest as they know, is history!
It wasn’t until 62 years of age that Sanders founded KFC. And that’s not even the most aspirational part of his life story. The man never really aimed to be rich. He just wanted to be known as the guy who made the best chicken in the world. And guess what, it came true – all of what he dreamt of and more.
"If you were a franchisee turning out perfect gravy but making very little money for the company and I was a franchisee making lots of money for the company but serving gravy that was merely excellent, the Colonel would think that you were great and I was a bum," a KFC executive once said.
Of course, there are going to be failures. It’s not going to be easy. There will never be an assurance of success. But if it’s really what your heart wants, you’ll find a way! Colonel Sanders surely did.
Risks are always going to be scary – that’s why they’re called so. The fear of lagging behind in this race we never signed up for is always going to be a big determinant in the decisions we make. It’s so much easier to cling on to what’s around. Why take the leap when you could just settle, right?
Well, wonder what would have happened if Colonel Harland Sanders thought the same way. Colonel Sanders – the man who single-handedly changed the way people eat chicken. Colonel Sanders – the man who gave us the finger-lickin’ good KFC.
The next time you feel like you’ve lost out on your ‘best years’ in life and it’s too late to make it, remind yourself of this man who started upon this incredible journey of becoming the founder of one of the biggest food chains in the world at the age of 65.
His father’s untimely death and the poor financial circumstances at home drove Sanders to learn how to cook at the age of 7 and start working as an industrial salesman. He spent his early years taking up odd jobs like selling tires, operating a ferry boat and stoking steam engines of trains to earn bread.
He was already 40 when he got a place at a service station in Corbin, Kentucky to use his love for cooking and sell Southern dishes to travelers. Over time, his food became so popular amongst people, he converted the gas station into a roadside restaurant!
It was the year 1939 when he finally figured how to fry his chicken to get that perfect consistency and taste he had been trying to achieve since years. He became so famous for his chicken, the governor of Kentucky honored him with the title of a Colonel – for his hard work, dedication and the magic recipe in 1950!
Sanders lived up to the title by dressing in a white suit and the famous Kentucky colonel tie. He then tied up with his friend Pete Harman, a restaurateur and named his fried chicken ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’. He would earn 4 percent of the price of every fried chicken piece sold. He went from door to door, restaurant to restaurant, with his secret spices and offered to cook his special chicken and earn a royalty. By 1964, over 600 restaurants across US and Canada were serving Kentucky Fried Chicken. A decade later, Colonel Sanders was the 2nd most recognizable celebrity in the world.
In 1965, he sold his company’s rights for 2 million dollars when he realized KFC had become a world-wide phenomenon, a venture that needed its own wings. Sanders became the brand ambassador, earned a lifetime salary of $75,000 and retained ownership of most KFC Canada outlets. The rest as they know, is history!
It wasn’t until 62 years of age that Sanders founded KFC. And that’s not even the most aspirational part of his life story. The man never really aimed to be rich. He just wanted to be known as the guy who made the best chicken in the world. And guess what, it came true – all of what he dreamt of and more.
"If you were a franchisee turning out perfect gravy but making very little money for the company and I was a franchisee making lots of money for the company but serving gravy that was merely excellent, the Colonel would think that you were great and I was a bum," a KFC executive once said.
Of course, there are going to be failures. It’s not going to be easy. There will never be an assurance of success. But if it’s really what your heart wants, you’ll find a way! Colonel Sanders surely did.
