Most people tell Colonel Sanders’s story the same way: “It’s never too late to chase your dream.”
Sure, he was 65 when KFC took off, which is both impressive and inspiring. But there’s an overlooked part of Sanders’s story that I like more – the spark that set him in motion.
When Interstate 75 was built, it rerouted traffic away from his little restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky. Overnight, his customer flow dried up. The Colonel had the fuel.. the recipe, the grit, the work ethic. His chicken was *checks notes* .. finger lickin’ good, after all. What was missing was the spark. That tiny moment that would ignite something bigger.
For Sanders it was a disruption out of his control, that pushed him to pivot into franchising, and the rest is fried chicken history.
But you don’t have to wait for coincidence or crisis to ignite change. A spark doesn’t always come from fluke situations like construction. More often, they come from people, and the words they offer.
Sara Blakely credits her dad with sparking her entrepreneurial mindset by reframing failure at the dinner table. Every week he’d ask: “What did you fail at this week?” Failure wasn’t shameful, it was celebrated. Years later, after dozens of manufacturers turned her down, a mill owner finally said yes.. nudged by his daughters who believed in her idea. That little spark ignited what would become Spanx, a billion-dollar brand.
That’s the power of a spark.
This shouldn’t surprise you though. Fuel on its own does nothing. But add a spark, and you get combustion. Engines fire. F1 cars can hit 220+ mph. Airplanes take flight. A little spark can create so much more, especially in people.
Sometimes the spark is an event, completely out of your control.
Sometimes it’s encouragement you receive at just the right moment.
But there’s nothing stopping you from being the catalyst for someone else.
The little input that lights a fire.
Don’t ever underestimate what your input might mean for someone else.
Be the spark.
🔗 Let’s connect: linkedin.com/in/scottschoeneberger.
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