Winners never quit; Quitters never win
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them – Walt Disney
Whenever you think about great individuals who started from very humble beginnings and achieved extraordinary success, who comes to your mind? For me, Walt Disney springs to my mind first.
Below I am sharing Inspiring Walt Disney Success Story which I believe will also motivate you to never give up and keep pursuing your dreams.
Walt Disney was a remarkable creative entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film producer. He was the recipient of 22 Academy Awards and was nominated 59 times for producing iconic cartoons and animated films that we all love and enjoy even today, including Mickey Mouse.
A pioneer of the American animation industry, Disney founded the multi-billion-dollar Walt Disney Company that consists of various associated film production and distribution companies, cable channels, and television stations and networks. He even founded amusement parks for families to enjoy.
Let us look into his life in detail and examine the great qualities that he possessed to reach heights.
Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Hermosa, Illinois. He was one of five siblings. His family was so poor that he had to deliver 1300 newspapers a day. Then his father would take away all the money. His brothers ran away because they were fed up with the hardships at home.
At very young age, he started to draw and paint, and sell pictures to relatives and neighbours. Then he attended drawing and photography classes in McKinley School, Chicago. He also made cartoons for the school paper. He served as Red Cross volunteer in World War I.
At age of 19, in Kansas City, Walt started his lifelong dream, his own animation company in 1920. He had little money that he had to live with friends. But he failed to sell a single cartoon and his company went bankrupt.
He worked as cartoonist in a newspaper and the newspaper editor fired him claiming him lazy and person without any creativity and imagination.
To pursue his childhood dream, he left Kasana City to Hollywood. He started an animation studio in an old garage. He worked for next 5 years without any income. Mr. Walt finally tasted success with a short film “Alice in Cartooonland” and “Oswald the Rabbit” in 1928. But he lost the copyright to his own characters in 1928.
Walt’s life was miserable at that point of time. He did not have any place to live and little money for food. But all the adversities he had in his life, strengthened him even more.
Again, the cartoonist tried with a new character. But again, audience was not impressed with his film. Still, he made a second film. But couldn’t find a distributor.
Finally in third attempt, he got success. His character Micky Mouse became a hit and brought great game to him. He dreamt of it and made it reality.
Then Disney wanted to make a feature length animated film in 1934. Everyone said it was a bad idea. The movie took three years and cost equivalent to $25 million today. Because of this Walt ran out of money. He had to mortgage his house.
The movie “Snow White And Seven Dwarves” was considered a masterpiece. It made $134 equivalent of today. The movie was most successful film in 1938.
Following the success, he started working on different characters of Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Pluto Cartoon Series.
He opened Walt Disney Studios in Burbank in 1939. In 1955, he opened the Disneyland Theme Park, which is famous in all over the world.
Walt Disney was nominated for 59 times and won 22 Academy Awards in his life. Both numbers are record even today.
He received seven Emmy Awards for his great work. The credit for Golden Age of Animation goes to his hard work and creativity.
In 1966, he left this world because of lung cancer. But he gave the gift of entertainment to the children of all over the world.
He tasted failure many times but he did not quit. After falling down, he got up with lot more energy because of his patience and hard work. He believed in his dream unquestionably and worked hard for the same.
Disney’s journey to the top wasn’t as smooth sailing as many people imagine, though. Like many of us, he experienced many challenges along the way and he had to overcome big obstacles to succeed.
Here are some facts about Walt Disney that most people don’t know but should.
He wasn’t born rich at all
You might be tempted to think that Walt Disney achieved all he did because he came from a well-off family. He didn’t. As you have read earlier for most of his childhood, Disney’s parents had to move the family across different states looking for work and economic security. He had to deliver newspaper to support his family.
At the age of 19, Disney started drawing cartoons of the creatures from his childhood for sale. But, he got so little money to pay the rent, often being forced to live with friends and go without food.
That Disney rose from this humble background to become a household name is quite inspiring. It demonstrates that you don’t have to be born rich to make your own success.
He was told that he “lacked creativity”
Hard to believe, but Walt Disney – the creative genius behind the Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and many other classic cartoon characters – was written off as lacking in creativity and artistry. When Disney pitched newspaper companies to get his cartoons published, they shut him down saying he “lacked artistic integrity,” But, though rejected, he kept going. He did not stop pitching his ideas.
People will criticize and even write you off for pursuing your dreams, but keep going. No one knows you better than you know yourself. No one knows your innermost dreams better than you. Listen to your heart and pursue your dreams relentlessly like Disney. It might not be easy, but it will be worth it in the end.
He failed many times (apparently more than 300 times)
Most people won’t even put 100 attempts toward their dream let alone fail 300 times. But Walt Disney failed over 300, including the heart-breaking period when his first studio that focused on animation called Laugh-O-Gram went bankrupt and shut down. Each time he failed, he learnt his lesson and tried again. When you believe in your dream as much as Disney did, even repeat failure cannot keep you from ultimate success.
Rather than focusing on the past, focus instead on the future achievements you want.
He labored for seven years just to plan out Disneyland
Disneyland didn’t just happen overnight. Walt Disney labored long and hard for seven years just to plan out the project. Whereas most people would simply give up after a year or so of trying, Disney was determined to create what he envisioned would be the “happiest place on earth.”
Always keep the bigger picture in mind. And be inspired by the greater good for all. As Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
He worked other jobs to fund his passion
Disney went through a series of odd jobs, including working a summer job selling snacks and newspapers to travelers at a Kansas City railroad that his uncle worked, becoming an ambulance driver in the army during World War I, and taking up a comic artist job in a local newspaper. Whatever money he made, he directed it back to his main love–animation.
Don’t be afraid of humble beginnings. You have to start from somewhere. Remember, great oaks grow from tiny seeds.
He was “scared to death” to introduce Disneyland on television
Walt Disney admitted to being “scared to death” when he had to face the camera to introduce episodes of the “Disneyland” television series. But, he went through with it anyway. He never quit in the face of fear; he pushed forward despite of it.
Achievers give it a go even when it scares them. They muster courage to introduce their work to the world and do whatever else it takes to succeed–even if it means going against conformity. Don’t let fear stop you from doing what you have to do to make your dreams come true. Just do your best work and keep improving on what your best is every day. You’ll be fine.
He almost didn’t finish the studio production of Snow White
When Walt Disney first started to work on the legendary “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” film, his wife and brother tried to convince him to give it up because of the daunting task it involved. The idea of a technicolor, fully–animated, feature–length film had never been done before. The Snow White project was even dubbed “Disney’s Folly” by industry professionals. And halfway through production Disney ran out of money to continue the work.
Most people in this situation would just quit and get whatever they can out of what’s left. Disney persevered. He travelled around and showed clips of the raw film to producers in hopes of them funding his project. He even mortgaged his own house to raise additional funds to create the film. In the end this hustle was what enabled him to finish the classic Snow White film and save his studio.
Never let challenges and naysayers stop you. Be willing to work hard; to stretch yourself; to experiment with new things and produce the very best you can. The results will be worth it in the end.
He reaped the rewards of all his hard work, perseverance and dedication
Apart from winning worldwide acclaim throughout his career, when the Snow White film finally hit the silver screen in December 21, 1937, it brought in a then unimaginable $8 million in spite of the Depression. That’s approximately $134 million today. The film was hailed as an “authentic masterpiece” by Time magazine. And By the time Walt Disney died in December 15, 1966, at the age of 65, he had epitomized the truth of his own words that, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
From this you may now know how persistent Walt Disney was. If you want to achieve something in life, you must be willing to hold on. You should never listen to naysayers and believe what your heart says. You must be tempted to quit however you must keep holding on to your dream and pursue it with confidence. Hardwork and persistence are the most important things in life that will make you achieve heights.
Is it any wonder then, that persistence is the fundamental difference between a successful outcome and a failed outcome? In that case, it behoves us to develop the vital quality of persistence. If you are persistent on what do you want, you will definitely find success coming your way. If you fail, learn from it and keep moving forward with persistence. Failure isn’t meant to be a reason to stop it’s to show you a way that didn’t work. In simple words, persistence means the attitude and personality trait of working hard and trying again and again until complete success is achieved.
Coconut Boxs for Persistence
Coconut Boxs incites persistence in you by the open-ended material it provides. When you create designs or shapes out of those materials, you may face many difficulties; you may feel distressed or broken down. However, do not quit. When you persist and progress in creating shapes, Coconut Boxes will ultimately guarantee your success.
Persistence can be measured by three things:
Ask you child to take any interesting activity from Coconut Boxs activity box,
For example, he can take any one of the following activities:
Blocks, Clay, Sticks, Drawing, Painting
Having continuity
If your kid remembers and has clear following on things/tasks in hand, then you can find out that he has higher level of persistence.
On the other hand, if he forgets the task in hand and hardly remembers the objective, he may have lower level of persistence.
Willing to work longer duration
Your child has high persistence if he works for a longer duration and willing to spend time till the problem gets solved.
High persistence can be found among children who commit themselves for longer duration in a task
Meanwhile, if your child leaves the task in between and spends no more time on the task and commits only for shorter duration, he has low persistence,
Not focusing on obstacles
Low persistence can be found in your kid if he complains about lack of resources. However, if he has high persistence level then he would not complaint.
If your kid worries a lot about obstacles and got stuck in the path of obstacles, he lacks persistence
If he doesn’t worry much about obstacles and finds a way to work through the obstacles, he has persistence to keep going and never quits.
Thus, Coconut Boxs helps children to face an obstacle towards achieving their goal, and make them think about three things: get around it, get over it or go through it.
Activities in Coconut Boxs will make your kids learn that if they want to achieve real success in their life, they must be willing to stick with something for the long-term and avoid the tendency to view things from a short-term perspective. They try to create their own unique shapes from the materials and even if they fail or get distracted in between, they will keep on trying to achieve their goal because the open-ended materials they use will mould them to use their creative skills as well.
I strongly believe that Walt Disney’s inspiring story will motivate you to never stop and work hard to achieve your dreams. He failed many times in his life but his passion motivated him to keep moving forward and never stop. Likewise, I hope with Coconut Boxs, it will be easy for the parents to get to know the persistent level of their children and children will learn the importance of persistence by playing with the open-ended materials. They may fail but they will learn from their mistakes and keep on going.
Greatness is not measured by what is accomplished. It is measured by how many times you pick yourself up and try again. So, pick yourself up; be persistent and move forward!
