From NFL to Successful Entrepreneur
Like you, Kory is very familiar with the fear of failure – it’s his worst fear and a strong motivator.
Regardless of fear, Kory has achieved everything he has put his mind to thus far, including attending the university of his dreams, playing in the National Football League, and becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Kory was born on December 14, 1976 in Inglewood, California and grew up in a single parent household, raised by his mother, Kim. In first grade, Kory picked out his college of choice by watching them every Saturday on TV while eating his beloved Captain Crunch cereal. Watching the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame football games every week made the University of Notre Dame his destiny, even though the chances of his mother Kim being able to cover the tuition were slim to none. He was dedicated and worked hard in the classroom and on the gridiron honing his talents in high school. In his senior year, Kory was named the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year – college tuition was no longer an issue.
Kory playing for Notre Dame
Despite having plenty of options, there was no doubt Kory was headed to Notre Dame, where he started for Coach Lou Holtz as a freshman. Kory was a 4-year star defensive player and team captain. Kory is second All-Time at Notre Dame for sacks in a career with 22.5, and he is first All-Time in tackles for loss, with 43.5.
After only 3 1⁄2 years, Kory graduated with a Business degree in marketing and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1999 draft. Subsequently, he played four seasons as a linebacker and special teams standout for the Carolina Panthers. The two biggest highlights of Kory’s career were an amazing hit on Monday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers and the unfortunate path of the 2001 season when his Carolina team lost 15 games in a row.
Kory playing for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers
Kory had a strong desire to create his own destiny, if you will, leave a “Legacy” was his motto. Imagine yourself playing for an NFL team, having a glamorous lifestyle and a promising future. If you look around any NFL locker room, you will find plenty of men who are taking full advantage of what that life has to offer. Would it be easy to turn your back on that?
Kory’s time in the NFL was just a means of survival until he was ready to live his second dream of becoming an Entrepreneur. When Kory tells the story, he says, “God gave me those 4 years in the NFL because I was not sure as of yet which direction I really wanted to go.” During the off-season, Kory didn’t kick back and relax; instead, he was busy with business internships. He gave up a guaranteed comfortable lifestyle to follow his dream after realizing that football had become a job and the fun that once ruled his heart was no longer present. He took the leap.
After dabbling in the stock market and exploring other opportunities, Kory decided to buy a franchise despite never having run a business before. To make his initial business venture even more challenging, Kory found himself operating a consumer-driven franchise in the middle of the worst economic meltdown. He kept a positive attitude, won several sales competitions, raised sales to nearly 4 million and was selected to be in some of the franchisor’s national commercials. Within two years, he expanded his ownership from one restaurant to five. As time grew, Kory realized that there were a few elements in the franchise model that did not sit well with him. More importantly, he never realized the toll of overseeing 100 employees would take mentally and physically. Kory ran his organization consisting of 5 restaurants for over a 5 year period, when he realized that there had to be more to life than pizza, cheesy bread, and delivery.
Kory has been a motivational and inspirational speaker and doing friendly business consulting since he was 18 and really took a liking to it. One day at the age of 35, while sitting in a coffee shop reading Success magazine, he ran across an ad that literally changed his life. It was an ad by one of his current mentors, Brendon Burchard. In a nutshell, the key theme of the ad was “share your advice, make a difference and a fortune”. This message really hit home with Kory. He realized that he could finally give back, share the stories and strategies that allowed him to be so blessed and successful. Kory is the Founder & CEO of Kory Minor Industries (KMI) which is a training and development company for individuals and organizations specializing in helping clients to Get Off the Sideline and Get Into the Game by fostering the concept of WINNING.
A family man and a big dreamer with a “glass half-full” mentality is a fair description of Kory. On his journey to reach a higher success, he remains focused on his vision along with the understanding that he will have to overcome challenges on the journey.
For inquiries about Kory, please call 303-478-6652 or contact us today!
