I just read a story that got me thinking. Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, is one of those cases that defies all conventional success logic.

Look, this guy was born in 1890 in Indiana with everything working against him. His father died when he was just 6 years old, and young Sanders had to become a cook and caregiver for his brothers while his mom worked nonstop. Childhood just vanished, replaced by responsibilities that didn’t belong to a kid.

School was never his thing. He dropped out in seventh grade and started trying everything — farmhand, streetcar conductor, fireman, soldier, insurance salesman. In almost every job, he ended up eating rejection after rejection. Fired again and again. That’s how decades passed.

Until, at 40, he found something different. He ran a service station where he cooked for travelers. His special fried chicken became legendary. For the first time, he felt like he had something people genuinely wanted. But well, life decided to hit him with another blow. At 65, the government built a new road that diverted all the traffic. His business collapsed. All he had left was a $105 Social Security check.

This is where most people throw in the towel. But Sanders didn’t. He refused to give up. He packed his car, took his fried chicken recipe as his only asset, and started knocking on doors — restaurant after restaurant, offering his formula in exchange for a small percentage of sales.

He slept in his car. He was rejected. Once. Ten times. A hundred times. A thousand times. Yes, 1,009 rejections. More than a thousand “no” before the first “yes.” And when that “yes” finally came on attempt 1,010, Kentucky Fried Chicken was born.

At 70, KFC was already all over America. In 1964 it sold the company for $2 millones, but his face and name were forever stuck to the brand. Today, KFC operates in 145 countries with more than 25,000 locations. A global empire born out of the persistence of a man who almost had nothing.

What’s interesting is that the story of Harland Sanders Jr. and his family legacy also shows how the impact of one person can transcend generations. But what really hits me about Colonel’s story is the lesson:

It’s never too late. Failure isn’t the end — it’s information. Success comes after thousands of “no.” If a guy who started at 65 with $105 in his pocket and more rejections than days lived managed to build an empire worth billions, then there’s no valid excuse to give up early.

Every time you feel like throwing in the towel, remember Colonel Sanders. The man who turned his last chance into a global legacy. That’s what true persistence means.