I just re-read the story of Colonel Sanders, and it really blew me away. Do you know what the main point of it is? It’s not just a story about KFC; it’s a story about how a person refused to give up at 65, when it seemed like everything was over.

Harland Sanders was born in 1890 in Indiana. His childhood was tough—his father died when he was 6, and the young boy had to cook and look after his younger brothers and sisters. He dropped out of school in the 7th grade and started working wherever he could—on farms, as a conductor, a fireman, even as a soldier. Everywhere he faced failures and dismissals. Just an ordinary story of a loser, it seemed.

But then, at 40, Colonel Sanders finally found his thing. He managed a gas station where he cooked food for travelers. And his fried chicken—wow, people just loved it. For the first time, he felt like he had something worthwhile. It seemed like life was finally smiling on him.

No. At 65, the government built a new highway that bypassed his restaurant. His business went bankrupt. All he had left was a Social Security check for $105. Most people at that age would have just retired and faded away.

But Colonel Sanders was different. He loaded his car with his recipe and started driving from restaurant to restaurant. He offered the recipe for free in exchange for a share of the sales. He slept in his car, knocked on doors, never gave up. And he was rejected 1,009 times. A thousand times people said no. A thousand times!

But on the 1,010th attempt, one restaurant agreed. And just like that, out of nowhere, Kentucky Fried Chicken was born. By the age of 70, KFC had spread across the entire United States. In 1964, Colonel Sanders sold the company for $2 million—that’s over $20 million today. Today, KFC operates in 145 countries with 25,000 outlets.

Do you know what the essence of this story is? Colonel Sanders proved that age and the number of rejections are not a verdict. They are just feedback. He started at 65 with nothing but an idea and persistence. And he built a global empire. If a person at his age could do it, what’s stopping us? That’s the real lesson. Every time I feel like giving up, I remember Colonel Sanders and realize—this is just the beginning.