I’m 65 Today and Just Warming Up!!

Today I have finally reached the milestone of 65 and I pick up my pension this year. It feels surreal that I am this age as I have so much energy and so much yet to do. I feel much younger and as many of you know I am planning to be speaking on stage still spinning my basketball at the age of 80.

During these 65 years I have made many mistakes, but I learned from them and I am now building a beautiful life with a beautiful wife, amazing friends, a wonderful business, a healthy lifestyle, a great balance of work and life and the opportunity to help people in amazing ways.

Finished at 60

Just 5 years ago aged 60 I was living with my mother and sleeping in the room I was brought up in as a child. I was single following my second divorce 14 years earlier, in huge debt with a house in negative equity. It looked like my life was over then I discovered a few simple principle and techniques which changed everything.

So, I have at least 15 years to inspire and help people and maybe a lot more. A great deal can be achieved in 15 years!

Amazing Inspiration

It reminds me of Colonel Sanders the founder of KFC who retired at 65 and was broke he then demonstrated amazing Mental Resilience to build a huge organisation selling chicken across America then the world. His is one of the most amazing stories of persistence and belief I have come across and gives me hope that at 65 I too can build something beautiful and special.

I came across this article which describes Col Sanders really well:

The Story of Colonel Sanders, a Man who Started at 65 and Failed 1009 Times Before Succeeding

Whether you like KFC or not, the story of Colonel Harland Sanders is truly amazing. This story is inspirational because it’s an example of how perseverance, dedication, and ambition along with hard work can create success; regardless of your age.

Colonel Harland Sanders has become a world-known figure by marketing his “finger lickin’ good” Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The spectacled Colonel Sanders could easily be identified by his clean, crisp white suite, black string tie, and walking cane. A statue of this man can be seen as far away as on Nathan Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong, for one place.

One of the most amazing aspects of his life is the fact that when he reached the age of sixty-five, after running a restaurant for several years, Harland Sanders found himself penniless. He retired and received his first social security check which was for $105. He couldn’t live on that and so began his international fame and financial success story…

Col. Sanders was a fellow who really loved to share his fried chicken recipe. He had a lot of positive influence from those who tasted the chicken. Now, the Colonel was retired and up in age and while most people believed in the sanctimony of retirement, the Colonel opted to sell the world on his cool new chicken recipe.

With little in terms of means at his disposal, Colonel Sanders travelled door to door to houses and restaurants all over his local area. He wanted to partner with someone to help promote his chicken recipe. Needless to say, he was met with little enthusiasm.

He started travelling by car to different restaurants and cooked his fried chicken on the spot for restaurant owners. If the owner liked the chicken, they would enter into a handshake agreement to sell the Colonel’s chicken. Legend has it that Colonel Sanders heard 1009 “no”s before he heard his first “yes”.

Ok, let me repeat that.

He was turned down one-thousand and nine times before his chicken was accepted once!
The deal was that for each piece of chicken the restaurant sold, Sanders would receive a nickel. The restaurant would receive packets of Colonel’s secret herbs and spices in order to avoid them knowing the recipe.

By 1964, Colonel Sanders had 600 franchises selling his trademark chicken. At this time, he sold his company for $2 million dollars but remained as a spokesperson. In 1976, the Colonel was ranked as the world’s second most recognizable celebrity.

It’s amazing how the man started at the age of 65, when most retire, and built a global empire out of fried chicken.

At age 90, Sanders passed away from pneumonia. At that time, there were around 6,000 KFC locations in 48 countries. By 2013, there were an estimated 18,000 KFC locations in 118 countries. WOW.

He Dreamed, he Believed, he Achieved.

So much in life depends on our belief in ourselves. We need to believe that we can achieve things – we need to see it and believe it before we achieve it.

Thoughts for the week:

1. What you say to yourself on a daily basis creates your tomorrow
2. If you have more positive thoughts and feelings than negative each day you will start to see a difference in your life
3. Whatever your current age, start believing that you will be full of energy as you age
4. It has been proven that people who have a purpose in life when they retire live longer and happier than those who don’t

I am now busy planning out my next 15 years of an exciting adventure because I believe:

‘It’s not how well you START in life which counts – but how well you FINISH!’

Well that’s if for this week have a wonderful weekend and stay positive.

Warmest regards

John

Off the Wall – How to Develop World Class Mental Resilience available HERE
http://www.jdmindcoach.co.uk/product/off-the-wall-how-to-develop-world-class-mental-resilience/ (Special offer. Put in code 10POUND when prompted to receive a signed copy for £10 including postage and packing – UK only)