“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” This is not just a quote by Walt Disney but something the company he established shows us through every movie, theme park, and industry-changing moves they make. The Walt Disney success story is peppered with grit, self-belief, and a limitless imagination.
A dreamer, who believed in himself, Walt Disney had to face multiple rejections before his ideas were accepted. He was dissuaded from building the Disney theme parks as investors did not think it would be a profitable venture. Today, it is one of the most visited theme parks in the world and attracts millions of visitors drawing in billions in revenue. Over the years, the company has also made a number of acquisitions, increasing its presence worldwide.
The Walt Disney Success Story: Drawing the Map of Life
Before Walt Disney earned fame as a master storyteller, he was just another struggling artist trying to hit it big. The journey of Walt Disney is an inspirational guidebook on how one can find inspiration even in the darkest of times.
While growing up, Disney was always interested in the arts. When Disney was four, in 1906, he was commissioned to draw the portrait of a neighbor’s horse. This incident ignited his interest in drawing and painting, and led him to experiment with watercolors and crayons.
From 1911 to 1917, Disney worked part time delivering newspapers while taking courses at the Kansas Art Institute and a correspondence course in cartooning. Later, he took night courses at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, further honing his skill that will eventually catapult him to fame. He returned to Kansas in 1919 and started drawing commercial illustrations for the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio.
Hardships and Trials
The journey of Walt Disney took off once he reached France, after joining the Red Cross by forging his date of birth. There, he drew cartoons whenever he could and even managed to get some published in the Army newspaper. After coming back to the US, Disney made cartoons and found success in creating modernized fairy tales.
Disney then moved to Hollywood and hoped to become a live-action film director. But when his efforts failed, he and his brother set up The Walt Disney company to produce films. He was contracted to produce a comedy series based on Alice in Wonderland by Margaret J Winkler. Her husband, Charles Mintz, later took over the distribution of the series and tried to get Disney to reduce his fee. Disney refused, and ultimately lost the rights to his first character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Faced with lean times, Disney and his friend, Ub Iwerks, came up with the Mickey Mouse series. The mouse was initially named Mortimer before Lillian, his wife, rechristened it. Iwerks made the sketches that helped animate the character while Disney voiced the mouse, making it the icon it is today.
Soon, Disney found success with Mickey Mouse and two subsequent cartoon series. Despite being warned against it, Disney then turned his attention to realistic animation and special effects, and produced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1934. The film met with stupendous success, the first hint of a Walt Disney success story in the making.
In the late 1940s, the journey of Walt Disney led him to build theme parks. Although it was difficult to find funds, he spent five years developing the idea, which was sometimes called the impossible dream.
Disney persevered, ignoring the nay-sayers and commenting, “Sometimes I wonder if ‘common sense’ isn’t another way of saying ‘fear,’” he said. “And fear too often spells failure.”
Leadership Lessons from Walt Disney
Early on Disney realized that he was interested in the arts. Even though he was not clear on a career path, he continued to work on his skills and kept learning to better his craft. He even surrounded himself with people who were better than him to produce good work.
The Walt Disney success story would not be what it is today, if he let people decide his work. When Mintz tried to reduce his fee, Disney, who was convinced of his worth and work, refused to let him direct his life. He quit the company and started out on his own
In the face of rejection while promoting his ideas for a theme park, Disney kept believing in his vision. When he could not find the necessary funds, he came up with unique solutions to create Disneyland. Although he did not get to see how Disney’s theme parks changed the world, his vision laid the groundwork for an enduring legacy that has entertained multiple generations.
Through his life, Disney’s leadership skills shine through as he encouraged people to dream big and undertake great risks. He showed us that being passionate about something will eventually lead you to solutions and empower you to make your dream a reality.
