5 Examples Why It Is Never Too Late to Succeed as a Pharmacist

A lot of times I hear people getting in their own way to success:

I can’t do that.

That’s never been done before!Who would listen to me?

Sadly, one of the most common beliefs I hear that hold people back from reaching their own potential is the feeling that “it’s already too late.”

“I’m too old to be successful.”

“I’ve been doing this too long to make a change that will work.”

“I’m already a P1/ P2/ P3/ P4/ working in retail for X years. I should have tried [my dream] earlier”

If this is you, and you have been told-or even tried to tell yourself-that it’s never too late, but that didn’t seem to click with you where it erased your worries about it being too late. Allow me to help set that truth in by providing you with 5 true story examples in the world using people you likely have heard of:

1. KFC

It seems every town in America has a KFC-but in the beginning, almost every town wanted nothing to do with the concept of the franchise. The story began with the founder of the company:

By age 65, Colonel Harland Sanders felt like a failure, but then decided to do something about his life situation. He borrowed $87, and went door-to-door selling chicken. He tried to sell his chicken recipe, but was rejected more than 1,000 times, before he was finally able to sell his recipe and franchise out his idea. KFC now reigns as the number one seller of fried chicken in the country. The company is valued at over $1 BILLION.¹

2. Alibaba

Perhaps you have heard of Alibaba, the Chinese internet behemoth. But have you heard of the founder, and where he started?

“I failed 3 times in college. I applied 30 times to get a job but I have always been rejected. When KFC came to China for the first time, we were 24 to apply and I was the only one to be dismissed. I wanted to go into the police and postulants, I was the only one not to be accepted. I applied 10 times to Harvard and I was rejected.” -Jack Ma Alibaba’s current net worth: $200 BILLION.²

3. Coca-Cola

Besides the awesome fact that one of the archetype symbols of the United States of America was invented by a pharmacist (shout out to Dr. John Stith Pemberton), here’s a fact that you may not have known:

In the first year of business, Coca-Cola only sold 25 bottles of its product. Today, the net worth of the company is worth $74 BILLIION. That’s more than Pepsi, Budweiser, Starbucks, and Redbull combined.³ Cheers, fellow pharmacists!

4. Harrison Ford

Before Star Wars, this now famous actor was making cabinets as a carpenter to supplement his income from his struggling career as an actor. In his first film debut, one studio official told him, “You’ll never make it in this business.” It wasn’t until he was 35 years old in 1977 when he took on the role of Han Solo that his career took off. His current net worth is $230 MILLION.⁴

5. Henry Ford

How did you drive to ClubPharmacy on your last shift? Was it in a Ford®? If so, you may have heard of the founder, Henry Ford. You may NOT have heard that he did not create his revolutionary machine, the Model T, until he was 45 years old. He may have “started late in life” or “got a break in his later years”, but know this: his net worth in today’s value when alive: $199 BILLION.⁵

The takeaway is that it is inever too late to go forth and conquer your dreams. The clock is in your hands.

References

1. Feloni R. “KFC Founder Colonel Sanders Didn't Achieve His Remarkable Rise to Success until His 60s.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 25 June 2015, www.businessinsider.com/how-kfc-founder-colonel-sanders-achieved-success-in-his-60s-2015-6.

2. D'Onfro Ji. “15 Quotes That Show the Strange, Relentless Genius of Billionaire Alibaba Founder Jack Ma.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 1 July 2016, www.businessinsider.com/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-quotes-2016-6.

3. Bhasin K. “15 Facts About Coca-Cola That Will Blow Your Mind.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 June 2011, www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-coca-cola-2011-6/.

4. “Harrison Ford.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/harrison-ford-9298701.

5. Feloni R. “20 People Who Became Highly Successful After Age 40.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 Sept. 2014, www.businessinsider.com/people-who-became-successful-after-age-40-2014-9/#an-lee-created-his-first-hit-comic-title-the-fantastic-four-just-shy-of-his-39th-birthday-in-the-next-few-years-he-created-the-legendary-marvel-universe-whose-characters-like-spider-man-and-the-x-men-became-american-cultural-icons-1.