Big and Bigger

You can achieve as much as you can envision. In 1940, a father and his two sons, Richard and Maurice, opened a restaurant. This restaurant did fairly well. So well, that 10 years later the sons decided to start franchising their restaurant. Their goal: they each wanted to make a million dollars. This would be a heck of an accomplishment, especially in the 1950's.  The brothers successfully franchised about 20 restaurants and were well on their way to reaching their goal.  At this point, they met someone that would introduce them to an even bigger vision. The gentlemen that they met was Ray Kroc. He believed that they could duplicate their restaurant all over the country. The 3 men partnered up in 1954 and franchised a few hundred more restaurants. Ray believed they could do better and urged Richard and Maurice to think bigger then their original goal. In 1961, after failing to convince the brothers to think bigger, Ray Kroc bought the restaurant company from the brothers for  2.7 million. After taxes, each brother had 1 million dollars.

Here's where it gets really interesting. By 1963, there were 500 restaurants.  In 1965, the company went public and Ray Kroc made 3 million dollars.  In the next 10 years he grew his net worth to an amazing 500 million dollars.

If you don't know by now, I'm talking about McDonald's restaurant.

Richard and Maurice McDonald, are regarded as pioneers in the fast food industry.  McDonald's was the first restaurant of its kind.  They used a business process, the assembly line, that was revolutionary for the auto industry to literally change the way the world operates fast food restaurants.  They stayed true to their original goal and didn't stop until they reached it. The only flaw - they didn't reevaluate when the situation changed. They had meager beginnings and are a real American success story. However, had they thought it through, their legacy could be far greater.

In 2012, McDonald's corporation had an estimated worth of 91 billion. This was the possibility that Ray Kroc saw. He worked hard and created multi-generational wealth.  

Think big! We all should! Think as big as you possibly can; and reevaluate as you begin to reach your goals. As your eyes are opened to new realities, you may need to think even BIGGER! Ray Kroc did...so can you! 

Last thought...it's never too late. Ray Kroc was in his 50's when he began his McDonald's journey.