Entertainment
5 success Lessons From Colonel Sanders
There is no doubt that the odds were stacked against the KFC king. The Colonel’s story is so inspiring, and filled with hope for others who think it’s too late. It does not matter whether you are 20 years old or 70.
Here are 5 valuable lessons to be learned:
- Be resilient.
Failure happens to all of us. In fact, if you never fail, that’s most likely because you never tried. Failure is inevitable on the way to success. Since failure is inevitable, what matters is how you respond to it. If you respond correctly, failure can’t stop you.
For Colonel Sanders, he once had a successful restaurant. Life seemed good for him and he eventually had to sell his restaurant. He was already 66 years old at that time. Many people might lose hope in such a situation but not Col. Sanders. He didn’t lament his bad fortune. He didn’t blame someone else for the situation. Instead, he thought about what he could do to overcome the difficulties. He was resilient.
- Make the most of what you have.
While being in a bad situation, many people focus on what they don’t have. They complain about not having this or that. But that’s not the way to go. What you should do is look at what you do have which is what Col. Sanders did. After the failure of his restaurant, he didn’t have much but he did have one thing, his fried-chicken recipe. So he decided to make the most of it.
That’s what winners do, they make the most of what they have to turn a situation around.
- Make no excuses.
To sell his fried-chicken, Col. Sanders had to go door-to-door. Many times he had to sleep in his car. All of this was when he was already 66 years old. In such a situation, he could have made many excuses: “I’m too old for that,” and so on, but he didn’t make any of those excuses. Rather, he paid the price and did what it takes. A majority of people, at least 95% give up way earlier in life. People stop thinking they can be successful even in their 30’s. And yet, the old man didn’t think this way, and ended up being the founder of a billion dollar brand.
That’s what winners do: they do whatever it takes to succeed. They make no excuses.
- It’s Never too Late to Start Over
Comedian, Bovi Ugboma, while sharing his success tips at the last Success Stories Africa conference said ‘if its not your passion, don’t put in the work there, leave. Even when you think you have spent too much time, start again because you will sleep one day and wake up either brokenhearted or fulfilled’. It was clear that cooking was the Colonel’s passion, but it was not discovered by himself until later on in his life. He went through a complete range of careers, having to start over from scratch, again, and again. When you try to succeed at so many different things, it can become exhausting. The start is always the hardest part, and for most people starting all over again at the age of 50, or 60 would be unthinkable. Yet, it’s never too late, and Colonel Sanders showed this by finally being successful at doing what he loved in his 70’s.
- Be persistent.
It’s not easy to sell fried-chicken the way Col. Sanders did. He must have experienced many rejections. But that didn’t stop him. He kept moving forward. He was persistent. Thanks to his persistence, he eventually had enough restaurants that bought from him to build a successful business. His persistence paid off.
If you find yourself in a difficult situation, don’t worry: there is always a way out. It might not be an easy way out, but there is a way out if you are willing to pay the price.
If there’s any one point you could take away from this post; for me it would be the fact that you have to be persistent and keep pushing, trying and moving forward, no matter how many times you fall.
Which is the most valuable lesson for you? Share your thoughts with us!
