I just read a story about the legendary figure Harland David Sanders—better known to everyone as Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC. This story is really worth thinking about.

How miserable was the start of his life? His father passed away when he was 6 years old. At such a young age, he had to take care of his younger siblings and also help his mother with household chores. With little room for choice, he dropped out in 7th grade. Over the next several decades, he tried all kinds of jobs—farmhand, streetcar driver, railroad fireman, soldier, and insurance salesman. But basically every job ended in failure; getting fired was the norm.

It wasn’t until he was in his 40s that he found a bit of stability at a gas station. There, he cooked for travelers passing by, and his fried chicken recipe gradually became a signature dish. Customers loved it, and he finally felt like he had some value.

But fate played another trick on him. When he was 65, the government built a new highway that went straight around his restaurant. Business collapsed overnight. He only had $105 in Social Security.

At this point, most people would have already accepted their fate. But Sanders was different. He didn’t choose to retire and hide away; instead, he made a crazy decision—driving around to find restaurants with his fried chicken recipe, offering the recipe for free, and only asking to share a portion of the profits. He slept in his car and knocked on doors house to house to pitch his idea. He was rejected 1,009 times. 1,009 times in total. But on the 1,010th try, someone finally said, “Yes.”

That “Yes” changed everything. Kentucky Fried Chicken was born that way. By the time he was in his 70s, KFC had spread all across the United States. In 1964, he sold the company for $2 million—by today’s currency value, that would be over $20 million. But his face and name forever became symbols of the brand. Today, KFC has more than 25,000 stores in 145 countries worldwide.

So what does this story tell us? In a sense, this KFC founder spent his whole life showing what it means to “never give up.” A person who struggled at the bottom for most of his life and only truly began at 65 built an empire worth billions. Failure isn’t the end—it’s just feedback. Real success is often hidden after the 1,000th rejection.

Whenever you feel like giving up, think of this old man. With $105 and a recipe, he turned his last chance into a global legacy.