Walt Disney Can Teach Us About Reaching 4 The Stars & Being Happy

To all my fellow Disney fanatics and those who have a love of Disney that is very deep, I have always felt that Walt Disney was an amazing man with amazing ideas. Some people might look at him and his empire as just something that came easily to him. Something out of the reach of others because he was special in some way or he had some advantage. In looking at his history and what he lived through (which is not the scope of this article) and reading his quotes you see something quite different. Something that makes you know that the magic came from the way he thought about things and how the tough things he went through helped shape him into what we saw develop. Not from anything easier around him than anyone else.

Being a Disney fanatic and a Child and Family therapist gives me a little bit of a different perspective on the whole Disney empire that I think can help all of us. Here are some things that Walt Disney said and experienced that I think we can all learn from and should:

Don’t believe what someone else says about you. Can you believe that in 1919, Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star. According to his editor, he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas." Wow! The point is that even if you’re Walt Disney, you can fail miserably many times and then find the thing you were supposed to be doing in the first place. Sometimes if we don’t go through the failure, we don’t find the success! Can I tell you how many people I meet who are ready to give up after the first failure?

"Get a good idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it’s done, and done right." Hard work on a great idea is the only way, no shortcuts. This is ok, because if we love what we do, it does not feel like work.

"That’s the trouble with the world…too many people grow up." It’s sad when people grow up too much and lose touch with the goofball kid that is inside of them. It is imperative to get back to that kid inside as often as you can. That is what Disney does for me and can do for you too.

"If we can dream it we can do it." You need to follow your dreams-what makes you happy. That happiness will help you create for others.

"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." Sometimes what you see as bad for you or too hard to handle, is actually the doorway to something better. Walt knew that no one has a perfect life. You can even see that in all of the Disney movies and cartoons. There is always a challenge that needs to be beaten. That is real life. For better or worse. Looking at your challenges as temporary and able to be worked on and made better is something inspirational to all of us!

"Mickey Mouse popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner." Wow to this one, especially since a lot of people are now economically suffering and maybe ready to give up. Don’t ever give up because you don’t know what is right around the corner!

"I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained." This is for those parents I have met throughout the years who are so very worried that their child cannot learn and will never get past where they are right now. There are many ways of learning and having fun while doing it. In my humble opinion, fun and entertainment are the best way!

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." I’ve been a Psychologist for a lot of years and always felt that action spoke louder than words. I have always felt it is in the doing and not the talking or planning. Apparently Mr. Disney agrees with me. Helping people to take action to be closer to all things Disney and help you get there too makes me amazingly happy!

"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money." My father always told me that if you do what you love, the money will follow, but it you do something solely for the money, you will not find the same kind of success. Mr. Disney apparently got the same message too.

Learning from others is the key to happiness and success. Making sure you are paying close attention to those who have reached those heights through the magic of positive thinking and the good fortune to have those positive thoughts is even more important. I hope you use these nuggets of gold to reach your magic.

With pixie dust~

Dr. Sherri was a Child and Family Processing and Motivation expert seeing people via webcam. She is currently a writer and consultant, updating her website and will post when done for contact purposes.