Have you ever thought that someone could be left with only $105 at age 65, be rejected over 1,000 times, and yet go on to build a global empire? That is the story of Colonel Sanders, and his story is worth everyone hearing once.

I just read some information about this KFC founder, and I was truly shaken by his experience. Sanders' life started off very difficult—losing his father at age 6, having to take care of his siblings at a very young age. He didn't finish high school, then worked countless jobs—farmhand, streetcar driver, train conductor, soldier, insurance salesman—almost every job he was fired from.

It wasn't until he was 40 that he found a little breathing room at a gas station. There, he cooked for passing travelers, especially his fried chicken recipe, which gradually gained popularity. For the first time, he felt that what he made truly had value. But fate dealt him another blow—at age 65, the government built a new highway that bypassed his restaurant. Business completely collapsed.

Most people at this point would choose to give up and retire on social security. But this KFC founder was different. He only had one fried chicken recipe and a crazy idea. He packed his car with everything he had, and started knocking on restaurant doors, offering the recipe for free, asking only for a small sales commission. He slept in his car, rejected again and again. 1,009 times. Yes, over a thousand times someone told him "no."

But on the 1,010th time, someone said "yes." That one "yes" changed everything. Kentucky Fried Chicken was born. By his seventies, KFC was everywhere across the United States. In 1964, he sold the company for $2 million (equivalent to over $20 million today), but his face and name forever became symbols of the brand.

Now, KFC has become a global empire, with over 25,000 stores in 145 countries. The founder of KFC passed away in 1980, but he left behind not just a business empire, but a legend about never giving up.

Every time I want to give up on something, I think of Colonel Sanders. A person who started his business in the final stage of his life, trading over 1,000 rejections for worldwide recognition. If he could do it, what reason is there to say "it's too late"?