Room 313

Friday November 23rd, 2007 - Ogden, UT/Salt Lake City, UT

Microwave nostalgia. I’m back at the Baymont Inn in Salt Lake City. That’s where I had my big idea for Uranus Factory Outlet back on September 1st. I’ve worked on it every day since and am gradually turning it into a reality from an idea that came to me in the shower.

It hasn’t even been 90 days yet but already it brought back memories when I checked in. I was in the handicapped room last time because they were booked solid with a custom car painter’s convention. I remember getting out of the shower and writing down my idea as it came and thinking that it was going to be the biggest thing I ever did. I still think it now.

This time I was assigned to room 313. Uranus was officially recognized as a planet back on March 13th, 1781. 3/13. Coincidence? I don’t know. Maybe it’s a secret message to me from the universe letting me know I’ve chosen the correct cosmic path. Or, it could just be the Baymont Inn telling me that’s the only room they had left. Either way I’m glad I’m not back in the handicapped room again. Taking a shower in one of those is a major hassle.

I put in some time working today and it felt good. I am looking at this project from a big picture perspective and I have a lot of work to do but if I work on something every day as I have been I’ll surprise a lot of people. I’m making progress and it’s come light years in a very short amount of time. I’m excited about it all and being back here shows me how I’ve grown already. Hopefully there will be a plaque saying ‘The King Or Uranus slept here’ in the future but for now it’s a nice clean room and a place for me to get some work done.

The world’s first Kentucky Fried Chicken is located here in Salt Lake oddly enough. It’s not far from the hotel and I’ve been there quite a few times. It’s not very different from an ordinary KFC but it’s historic because it was Colonel Sanders’ very first franchise when he was starting out. His partner was a restaurant owner from Utah named Pete Harman. They started small and worked their way up to a world wide brand that became larger than life.

I’ve always been fascinated by people like Colonel Sanders. He was a survivor and had a clear and vivid vision that he sold with persistence, hard work and showmanship. I want to be someone like that so in future generations people will look at me and examine my story to see how and what I did to make my own vision become a reality. He’s a big inspiration.

There is a book that tells the story of how KFC grew from one restaurant into what it is today and I remember it from when I was here last time. I never saw it anywhere else so I bought one today. It’s called ‘Secret Recipe - Why KFC is still cookin’ after 50 years’. I’ll add it to my constantly growing list of books to read to hopefully help me get educated as to how business works and how I can be a success like the Colonel was. I’m always trying to learn and even though the book was expensive I bought it anyway. I will learn from it.

Both shows tonight were very good audience response wise but I wasn’t happy with my performance either time. I’m in transition right now and my rhythm is off. Nobody else can tell it but I can. I need to put some time in and work on my show before tomorrow night.