The self-made millionaire shares his advice for the younger generation

At 82, self-made millionaire Jack Cowin has several simple truths about life and business to share.

“I didn’t come from (money) … I’m self-made. I use that terminology and I’m proud of it,” Cowin said. CNBC Do it.

He has made a fortune selling fast food. In 1969, he He bought his first KFC store In Australia, which eventually became a 55-store franchise. It then sold more than $71 million in 2013, according to a company representative.

Cowin is also the founder and chairman of Competitive Foods Australia, the company that operates Burger King as “Hungry Jack’s” in Australia. chain now more than 400 restaurants. It is also the largest shareholder Domino’s Pizza in Australia, and backs a plant-based meat substitute company called v2food.

His business is worth more than $3 billion and brings in more than $300 million a year, Cowin said. CNBC Do it.

Before starting his fast food empire, Cowin played football in college and even had a “brief flirtation” with playing professionally. “Business is a team sport,” he said.

“Don’t be a dentist … when you’re not drilling teeth, you’re not making money,” Cowin told CNBC Make It. “If you want to do something (that’s) bigger and has a bigger scope, you have to become a team player and … to be a team player, you have to interact with people,” he said.

“Remember you can’t do it on your own,” Cowin said.

Business is not just about meeting your own needs, it is also about meeting the needs of others, be it employees, customers, investors or business partners. Being a “people person” and having a natural curiosity and desire to learn has been the key to his success, he said.

When asked to give advice to young people who may feel lost in life, Cowin said, “The short answer is, if you’re lost, turn on something.”

“I see people in life who get fired or something goes wrong. They sit on the sidelines and lose confidence … you have to be in the game to be successful,” he said.

After spending some time reflecting, it’s important not to stay in a cycle of moping: “You have to get back into the mainstream of life by doing things, interacting with people,” he said. “Get out, don’t think about it.”

Today, Cowin says, it has created about 150,000 jobs worldwide between the Domino’s Pizza business—consisting of 4,000 stores in 12 countries—and the Hungry Jack’s business.

At the age of 82, he says, he has no intention of leaving the business.

“If there was a summary of my life, I’ve seen it as an adventure, rather than going out day by day,” he said. “It’s been an adventure to do new things, new businesses, new this, new that, and it’s been fun.”

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