Dust off your Perseverance?

I was thinking recently after watching a famous show

that was airing its season finale on AMC. Its main theme

is surviving through impossible odds. What it takes to

keep going no matter what. I myself am going through

a very challenging time in my life right now. Just as I 

feel that moment coming, where maybe just maybe

that this is just too much to bear, I remind myself of 

some examples of people that have carried on through

much tougher odds that I am facing. 

I wanted to share a couple of those stories with you here.

I read of Alice Herz Sommer years ago. Today she is 108

years old but also a survivor of the nazi concentration camps.

Her unique insight of the world has made an en-lasting 

impression on me. Below is a great interview from one of 

my mentors Tony Robbins with Alice.

Another story though not as tragic you may have heard of.

His birth name is Harland Sanders but known by most as

Colonel Sanders.

Harland Sanders held many jobs in his lifetime
which included being a railroad fireman, studied
law by correspondence, practiced in justice of the
peace courts, sold insurance, operated an Ohio
steamboat ferry, sold tires, and operated service 
stations.


When he was 40, he began cooking for  hungry
travelers who stopped at his service station in
Corbin, Ky. He didn't have a restaurant then, but
served folks on his own dining table in the living 
quarters of his service station.


As more people started coming just for the food
he moved across the street to a motel and restaurant
that seated 142 people. Over the next 9 years he 
perfected his recipe of 11 secret herbs and spices 
that are still used today. As his fame grew Governor
Lafoon made him a Kentucky Colonel in 1935 in 
recognition of his contributions to the states cuisine.


But in the 1950s an new interstate highway was to
bypass his town of Corbin. Seeing an end to his 
buisness he auctioned off his operations and after 
paying his bills was reduced to living off his $105
social security checks.


This was unacceptable!


He knew he had something of quality to offer people
so he traveled across the country by car to restaurant
to restaurant cooking up his quality fried chicken for 
owners and their employees. If the reaction was 
favorable he entered into a handshake agreement. A
deal that a payment to him of a nickel for each chicken
the restaurant sold. A mere 12 years later he had more
than 600 franchised outlets in the U.S and Canada. That
year he sold his interest in the company for $2 million 
dollars to a group of investors!


And it all began with a 65yr old gentleman who used his
$105 social security check to start a business!  


Do you have any stories that help you when times
are really tough? What keeps you going forward?
Share them with the rest of us in the comment section 
below. Thanks and take care!




Living out Louder
D.V