Let me be upfront about this fact, and then let me help you. Let me take a bucket of ice water and throw it in your face. You have to accept this fact of life if you want power. Everything your mom told you about how special you are and how you can be successful in anything you think is just not true. You will fail many times. Even once you've achieved minimal success, you'll still fail.
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But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Understanding and embracing this simple truth is what separates the powerful from the weak. It is true, and it will always be true. Until the last breath you take. So ignore the word no. And ignore failure. Every time you step up to the plate and come out of it, be ready to push harder and try again. This is how the world works. I didn't make the rules. I'm just here to remind you that if you choose to believe all the negative bullshit people throw in your face, you will be the architect of your own downfall. Not them. The power is yours.
Here is one of the first KISS reviews, from our very first tour:
The gentleman who wrote this review of our little group, I'm sure, had nothing personal against us. I am quite sure that he really believed the words he wrote. So what? We chose to ignore it, as we do all of our critics, and that's why the band is still around and thriving today. Your reviews don't count. You need to ignore the negative aspects of your life and keep moving forward. You have to be relentless and follow your dreams. And you have to accept that you will fail. Just like me. Everyday. But I also win. And you too.
This is where the gap exists between those who become powerful and those who don't.
Here is a famous failure story that may sound familiar to you:
When Harland David Sanders was 7 years old, his father came home one day with a fever and later died in his bed, leaving the young boy responsible for feed her siblings while their mother was at work. It was 1895 and his family had nothing. But he had to find a way to cook for his siblings. So the children all searched for food and Sanders learned to cook vegetables and then meat. What began as a dark tragedy would prove to be the catalyst for Sanders' appeal, despite his utter lack of power and resources. He eventually left home to work on a farm, then worked various jobs until he eventually ran a Shell gas station in Kentucky. By then it was the depression, and Sanders was dead. He decided to start selling chicken at his gas station in order to earn extra money.
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Sanders was pressed for time because his customers came to his station to buy gas, not to eat. Food was an afterthought, and he had to find a way to cook his food quickly. So he developed a way to prepare his secret recipe by putting the chicken in a pressure cooker instead of frying it in a pan like all of his competitors were doing. This made the chicken even crispier, as we still know and love it today. But then came the perfect storm:a highway was built that completely bypassed Sanders' gas station/restaurant. His dream was derailed and he was forced to sell his business and live off his savings, teaching his recipe to a friend and allowing him to serve it in his restaurant. The friend's restaurant flourished and Sanders knew he was definitely onto something. So he packed his bags and went from restaurant to restaurant with a pressure cooker and some seasoning, hoping to franchise his recipe. He slept in his car, grabbed free meals at the restaurants he visited whenever possible, and slowly but surely his persistence began to pay off. Eventually word spread:people loved his recipe, and potential franchisees started coming to him. He shipped his spices to franchise restaurants at four cents on every chicken sold and eventually sold his share of the business for $2 million (which would be $15 million today). Eventually, he moved to Canada to oversee the Canadian branches of his business, and until his death he continued to build his business in the monolith that is KFC.
Even if you lack everything else – resources, connections, even talent – but you can retain that stamina and perseverance, and never give up, you can take power.
Was Colonel Sanders born powerful? No. Did he receive a document? Of course not. He chased success like a dog and kept running until he caught it. Reading this right now, you might have an idea that people are telling you is crazy. I'm sure a lot of people told Colonel Sanders he was crazy. But in the end, your results will justify you, no matter how crazy your idea seems or how many people you may have to alienate to pursue it.
Can you cold call any businessmen you find interesting? Are you ready to sleep in your car, pound the pavement, and never rest? I hope the answer is yes. Because if you don't have the same dedication to your vision, I'll never hear from you and you'll never have the success and power you deserve. This is where the gap exists between those who become powerful and those who do not. Even if you lack everything else – resources, connections, even talent – but you can retain that stamina and perseverance, and never give up, you can take power. I can only guarantee that you don't have it harder than Sanders or the other figures we'll talk about later in this book. They did it. And you too.
Related: Are you ready to do whatever it takes?
From On Power:My Journey Through the Halls of Power and How to Get More Power by Gene Simmons. Copyright © 2017 by Gene Simmons. Reproduced with permission from Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copies of ON POWER are available everywhere books are sold and signed editions are available through Soup Book , Fontaine Bookstore , and Premiere Collectibles .
