Some thoughts I wanted to pass on

[KentB3]

Here are some thoughts about Walt Disney and his theory to success, which came from the book Hours of Power: My Daily Book of Motivation and Inspiration by Dr. Robert H. Schuller, founding pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California; which is not far from Disneyland no less! Weekly services from the Crystal Cathedral can be seen on the TV series Hour of Power, which airs on local TV stations in most markets; as well as on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Sat. at 9pm ET), Discovery (Sun. at 7am), and Lifetime (Sun. at 8am).

Since this devotion focuses on Walt Disney himself, I thought I'd share this with the group here:


How Do You Know If You Don't Try?

By Dr. Robert Schuller


"One mile from my office in the Crystal Cathedral in California is Disneyland-a fabulous success story. Few people ever demonstrated more self-reliance than its founder, Walt Disney. How did he get it?

'When I was nearly twenty-one years old I went broke for the first time,' Disney recalled before his death. 'I slept on cushions from an old sofa and ate cold beans out of a can. Then I set out for Hollywood.' Reflecting on his subsequent success, the Grand Man of Movieland uttered this priceless statement, 'I didn't know what I couldn't do so I was willing to take a chance and try anything.'

Walt Disney liked to tell the story of the boy who wanted so much to march in the circus parade. When the show came to town the bandmaster needed a trombonist, so the boy signed up. He hadn't marched a block when his horrible sounds created pandemonium. 'Why didn't you tell me you couldn't play a trombone?' the bandmaster demanded. The boy answered simply, 'How did I know? I never tried before!' "

Just thought you'd like to know! ;)

[Ray Pointer]

In my own experiences, the fact that I was focused on achieving did not allow me the time to worry about failure. It never occurred to me that I couldn't do something while some were saying I couldn't. I was in the process of accomplishment and getting results. No matter how great the results may have been, a satisfactory outcome from that effort was the proof of success. So if the deed is accomplished, the result is success.

I have read practically everything written about Walt Disney over the past 40 years. And while this is an inspiring success story, we should keep in mind that his was one of his place in time. Given the stituation today, it is highly unlikely that Disney's success story would work for a number of reasons. First, the field he is best know for is so overcrowded and complicated that someone with his background and qualifications would not be taken seriously--no matter how talented or visionary he was. Ironically, Walt Disney would not been seen as qualified to work for his own studio by current standards. He had but a 10th grade education, and though having had some limited training, he was not an accomplished artist. Anyone today looking at the level of his work would not hired him simply because the standards are far greater today than they were 80 years ago.

It cannot be overstressed that Disney's mere stroke of luck came as a result of a business fluke on the part of Margaret Winkler, who was largely responsible for discovering the unknown "Walt Disney" in 1923. As the story goes, before he went bankrupt in Kansas City, Disney had made a pilot film, ALICE'S WONDERLAND, which Peggy Winkler saw. She was already distributing OUT OF THE INKWELL and FELIX THE CAT, and was having problems with Pat Sullivan over FELIX. Looking for a backup series, she took a chance and ordered a series of six ALICE COMEDIES without ever having seen Disney's facilities, which at the time were a one-car garage behind his uncle's house in Los Angeles.

According to the content of letters and telegrams to Disney, Peggy was not satisfied with the content--especially the he quality of the animation, and requested several revisions, stressing the need for improvements in the comedy and photography, as well as a tightening of the plots. Shortly afterward, Disney acquired office space six blocks east of his uncle's home, and he lured his Kansas City staff to Los Angeles, which included Rudy Ising, Hugh Harmon, Firz Freleng, Ham Hamilton, and of course, Ub Iwerks. From that point, the animation improved, and the entertainment enterprise that exists today was formed, not on a mouse, but on a live action girl and her animated companion, Julius, the Cat, who owed a lot to the influence of Felix.:mickey: :felix: