Walt Disney

Walt Disney resembled persistency throughout his everyday life whether it was through his work ethic, staying true to himself, or through his aspiring company that is still staying persistent in flourishing today. Throughout all of Disney's life he was strongly influenced by his roots, and where he grew up: "Born in Chicago, Disney grew up on his Uncle's farm near Marceline, Missouri, one hundred miles northeast of Kansas City. In later years he recalled the pleasure of growing up on this farm and used many of the farm animals he knew well in his animated cartoons" (Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). This quote illustrates Disney never let his fame change him, he always saw himself from where he came from and who he truly was; a boy who grew up on a farm pursuing his dreams and working hard for it. Disney's childhood of growing up on a farm resulted in his ideas for many characters for his cartoons and movies in the future. If Disney weren't persistent throughout his work he would not be as successful as he is now: "Initial failure sent Disney to Hollywood in 1923, where in partnership with his loyal elder brother Roy, he managed to resume cartoon production. His first success came with the creation of Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie" (Walter Elias Disney). After this particular failure Disney did not mourn or quit, he bounced back up on his feet again and created his arguably most popular success, Mickey Mouse.

Many people don't realize Disney failed a countless number of times, and was not successful every time. Although, no matter how many times Disney failed he would never let his failures faze him, and he was always determined to work harder to produce something even better which is an amazing and rare characteristic to have. An example of his determined mind set is when he at first failed, but kept on trying and reached success in the quote, "Film distributors laughed at Disney's ideas. Finally one, Pat Powers, released Steamboat Willie, which was met by highly favorable reviews. Audiences loved what they saw and heard, and suddenly he was a hit in the animation business"(Walt Disney Company). Disney never let anything get in the way of his determined mind set, even the things he could not control, for example; the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War: "Disney's imagination and determination helped his company to grow and prosper through several initial setbacks, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War" (Walt Disney 1901-1966). Disney learned to always make the best out of the situation, and was determined to keep pushing forward through rough times in America when we was pursuing his film career.

Disney always made it a necessity in his life to put others before himself, which is why he could create such victorious cartoons, films, and amusement parks. People like the characteristic selflessness because they always feel like they're the number one priority, which is what Disney illustrated throughout every single little detail in his life. One of Disney's most famous worldwide success's is Disneyland/ Disney World, and the thought for this came from a thought of selflessness: "The idea for the park came to him years earlier."It all started," Disney remembered, "when my daughters were very young, and I took them to amusement parks on Sunday. I sat on a bench eating peanuts and looking all around me. I said to myself, `dammit, why can't there be a better place to take your children, where you can have fun together?" (Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). Disney's dream was to create a place where everyone could experience the pursuit of happiness no matter what age, and to create memories for families where everyone could have a fun time. In the same way Disney created and still creates memories for the youth of our nation through Disneyland and Disneyworld he also did it through the opening of two schools. A fact that most people don't know about Walt Disney is that he opened two schools for adolescents and young adults to pursue their dreams in animation and education: "Disney believed in education for animators, which was the impetus for the   establishment of an animation school at his Hollywood studio in 1932. The excellent training that his animators received not only improved the quality of Disney films but also upgraded industry standards. Later, in 1961, Disney led the establishment of the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia as a college-level professional school that specialized in creative and performing arts" (Lauder Tracy). Disney wanted people to have a great education in what they loved and he also believed in people pursuing their dreams, which is why he acted selflessly when he opened two schools to help people do what they love.

Walt Disney's hardships and failures has sculpted him into the amazing inspiring man that he was, because he would never dare let failure faze him, and he always kept moving forward. Walt once stated when talking about Disneyland and his company, "Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths" (Walt Disney). This quote exemplifies how inspirational he was to everyone, and even though Disney failed many times he would never let his failures get the best of him. At the opening of Disneyworld, Disney's brother Roy gave a brief yet effective speech on his brother Walt, "His brother Roy remarked in his short speech: "My brother Walt and I first went into business together almost a half-century ago. And he was really, in my opinion, truly a genius--creative, with great determination, singleness of purpose, and drive; and through his entire life he was never pushed off his course or diverted to other things"(Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). This quote illustrates the determined and driven mindset Disney had, which lead him to his, and others' happiness and success. Whenever I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders I always think of Walt Disney. He was a man of determination with a driven mindset  that no one could stop, and always stayed connected to his roots, and acted selflessly in every situation. He has allowed me to look at a different perspective in life, one with selflessness, a determined mind set, never looking back, keep pushing forward, and to have fun in life and do what you love. I believe Disney's goal in life was to leave his principle behind hoping that one day he could change the way we all think and act, and possess his three qualities of persistence, selflessness, and determination. Imagine the word if we all knew some of Walt Disney's story besides just paying attention to his title, "Man Who Created Disney World". "Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever" (Walt Disney.)

Works Cited

Walt Disney." Contemporary Heroes and Heroines. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1990.    Biography in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Walter Elias Disney." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Student  Resources in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.

Walt Disney Company." International Directory of Company Histories. Ed. Lisa Mirabile. Vol. 2. Chicago: St. James Press, 1990. 172-174. Student Resources in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

" Walt Disney (1901 - 1966)." Walt Disney. The State Historical Society of Missouri, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.

Walt Disney." Contemporary Heroes and Heroines. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1990. Biography in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

LAUDER, TRACY. "Walt Disney." Encyclopedia of Communication and Information. Ed. Jorge Reina Schement. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Walt Disney." Contemporary Heroes and Heroines. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1990. Biography in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.