You Haven't Hit Your Peak Yet!

16Persistence

Never too late to succeed

A poor boy named Harlan with only a sixth-grade education wouldn’t have made anyone’s list of the most likely to succeed. His first major success came at the age of 39, when he was able to come up with the financing to open a small-town gas station and restaurant.

He did pretty well, but with the onset of World War II, Harlan’s once-solid customer base left the small town to enlist in the military or take factory jobs in the city. He managed to hold on until a new interstate highway eliminated his drive-by trade. Then, after nearly 30 years in business, Harlan was forced to sell his dream to pay off his debts.

Almost broke and approaching age 70, Harlan could have walked away from his dreams. Instead, he hit the road, offering to share his pressure-cooking techniques with other restaurant owners if they’d agree to become his franchises. He sold only five in the first two years, but he stuck it out.

Four years later the self-proclaimed Colonel Sanders had sold more than 600 Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises. And by the time Harlan Sanders died at age 90 in 1980, KFC was a worldwide brand. Today, KFC is the world’s second-largest restaurant chain (measured by sales) after McDonald’s, with 18,875 outlets in 118 countries and territories.

Persistence is one of the traits I look for in hiring any new employee, especially a sales rep. There is no substitute.

I remember when I was first starting out as an envelope salesman and asking an experienced ...