"I was over 50 years old, diabetic, in debt... and still, I decided to start the biggest business of my life."
At 52 years old, I was selling machines to make milkshakes. I had failed at almost everything I tried before: I sold paper cups, played the piano, tried real estate. And nothing worked out as I had dreamed. My health was not good, and my finances weren't either. But one day, I visited a restaurant run by two brothers in California... and I saw something different. Fast, clean, efficient. That place was called McDonald's.
I proposed something big: to expand that idea all over the United States. They weren't so convinced. But I was. I sold my house, signed agreements, slept in motels... I did everything to build the brand. At first, it was tough. Legal issues, arguments with the founders, lack of money. But I saw beyond the golden arches... I saw a revolution in the way people eat.
And so it was. Years later, McDonald's was on every corner of the country... and later, on every continent. It wasn't easy. Many did not understand my decisions. But if I hadn't bet on the impossible, today I would just be another forgotten salesman. Instead, I left an empire that transformed the world.
"You're not too old, nor is it too late... if you still have hunger, there's opportunity."
Ray Kroc
