The
evolution of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) underlines fruitlessness of getting
addicted to your pension at the detriment of your passion. Colonel Harland
Sanders was an American business magnate best known for founding Kentucky Fried
Chicken (KFC) and later acting as the company’s goodwill ambassador and symbol.
Sanders went through traumatizing experiences that eventually shaped his life.
In 1903, Sanders dropped out of school and lived on a farm after arguments with
his stepfather. He took a job painting horse carriages, worked as a farmhand
for two years, worked with his uncle in a street car company as a conductor. He
enlisted in the United States Army prematurely at the age of 16 and was
discharged after three months. He moved to Sheffield and worked as a
blacksmith’s helper and two months after as a train cleaner. Sanders had many
failures and kept moving from one job to another. He later enrolled as a
fireman, worked as a salesman thereafter and also sold life insurance.
In
1930, Sanders finally quit working as a result of the great depression and
decided to look from within what he could do to make a difference. The turning
point came one day as Colonel Sanders was sitting on his porch in Corbin,
Kentucky; one morning, the mailman came up the walk and handed him his first
social security check, then he was 65 years old, broke and defeated, he looked
at the check and said, “My government is going to give me a hundred and five
dollars a month so I can eke out an existence. Surely there is something I can
do for myself and other people.” He was internally motivated and began to
engage himself in deep thinking, and thinking always produces results.
The
thought of his mother’s special recipe for fried chicken came to his mind. It
was a particular formula which he considered somewhat special. He decided to
try to sell franchises for marketing his fried chicken. Sanders began to cook
chicken dishes and finally opened a little restaurant. It was doing well, then
the highway was rerouted and he lost everything. He was sixty-five years old at
the time. Though Harland Sanders’ chicken was a hit, there were still many
challenges to surmount. He utilized the recipes and cooking skills his mother
had taught him. His special meal was the fried chicken which he seasoned with
his original blend of eleven spices and herbs; his recipes eventually became
famous.
Sanders decided to sell Franchises for marketing his fried chicken formula but was turned down by scores of restaurants. After much rejection, he rounded up some investors and the legendary Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was born. The KFC was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada and later England, Mexico and Jamaica by the mid-60s. The company’s rapid expansion to more than 600 locations became overwhelming for the aging Sanders. His famous “finger-licking” Kentucky fried chicken made from a special recipe changed the face of “chicken” forever. Harland Sanders impact was so significant that Kentucky Governor, Ruby Laffoon, in 1935 made Harland an honorary Kentucky Colonel in recognition of his awesome impact, their advertising logo says it all-‘We do chicken right’. The greatest question of life is to ask yourself: ‘what is that one thing that I can do right? “Discover the one thing you were created to be, and be willing to pay the price to be it” – Anonymous
Sanders’
life pointed towards two facts about making a difference: one, there is no age
that is too much to make a difference; two, there is nothing too small or
insignificant to make a difference with as long as it is your passion. Colonel
Sanders at the age of 65, made a difference with his chicken recipe. It’s
amazing how a man can make a difference all over the world just with “chicken”!
The
first and most imperative clarification is to know that your job is not your means
of livelihood; your job should be a means to fuel your passion! The earlier you
realize this basic truth of life, the less jaundiced your view becomes and the
more clearly you’ll be able to position yourself in living a life of impact and
value.
Normal Cousin said, “The greatest tragedy of
life is not that we die but what dies in us while we live.” Don’t carry your passion to the grave! I have
always said it, if you don’t use your talents to realize your dream, somebody
will use you to realize his.
A
parting shot, ‘Don’t Dream It, Be It”
No comments:
Post a Comment