Colonel Sanders

65 years old, technically retired and cashing his $150 security check, Harland Sanders set out to bring his fried chicken recipe to the world.  

 Going from restaurant to restaurant, door to door, he’d cook his fried chicken on the spot for owners, if they liked it, they would sell it. He was hit with 1009 rejections. This means 1009 times he drove to a restaurant, 1009 times he cooked fried chicken, and 1009 times a restaurant owner said no to his face. That alone is cause enough to give up on any dream.  

 Finally, a single “yes” made Sanders eventually get his fried chicken into over 600 franchises by 1964. Kentucky Fried Chicken was born. He sold his company for $2 million but remained the spokesperson and the face of the brand. He was ranked the world’s second most identifiable figure in 1976. Sanders exemplifies what it means to persevere, and truly believe in a product. Had he given up on his venture, there would not 5,310 KFCs in the world today, and fried chicken would not be synonymous with KFC.