Beyond the Wisdom of Walt: Life Lessons from the Most Magical Place on Earth

by Jeffrey A. Barnes

“Life is short. Don’t be lazy.” — S...

“You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic...

“The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness t...

“Luck is a word lazy people use to describe people who are hu...

“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others...

“We know we cannot hit a home run with the bases loaded every time we go to the plate. We also know the only way we can even get to first base is by constantly going ...

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lo...

“I’ve got a dream that’s worth more than my sleep...

“Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle.”...

“Look in the mirror. That’s your competitio...

“We have a business here we built from scratch and, boy, we had to scratch...

“The best work requires the willingness to go the extra mile even after you feel that you’ve just completed a marathon—to exceed what you conscious...

“Some succeed because they are destined to. But most succeed because they are determi...

“Hustle isn’t just working on the things you like. It means doing the things you don’t enjoy so you can do th...

“Constant motion delivers life-changing results. So focus on the constant motion part, not the desti...

“I’d rather hustle 24/7 than slave 9 to 5...

“Hustle in silence and let your success make the no...

“Those at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there.”...

“The doors will be opened to those bold enough to knoc...

“Hustle until you no longer need to introduce yours...

“The trouble with opportunity is that it always comes disguised as hard work....

“Who needs institutional authorities when you can hustle inste...

“Don’t be upset with the results you didn’t get from the work you di...

“You don’t get what you wish for; you get what you work...

“Do or do not; there is no t...

“Invent your own job; take such an interest in it that you eat, sleep, dream, walk, talk, and live nothing but your work...

“People often ask me if I know the secret of success…and could tell others how to make their dreams come true. My answer is you do it by working.” — Walt Disney

“I never cease to wonder how the thing [Walt Disney World] ever got built in the first place.” — Jeff Kurti

If you want to experience a true sense of success, then you must learn to overcome your obstacles. The second you start working on a dream, the second you start leading rather than managing, the second you stop standing still and start taking your life to another level, obstacles are going to appear out of nowhere and everywhere. This is a sign that you are on the right path.

Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way, the obstacle in the path is the Path. The story goes like this: There was once a king that believed his kingdom could be on the decline as a result of the attitude of his people. To prove his theory that his people had lost inspiration, a king had a giant boulder placed on the only road into this city. Then, hidden and perched on a hill, he waited to see what would happen. First, some merchants came upon the rock and said, “Well, this boulder is blocking our path. Let’s turn around and go home. No work today!” And they turned around and left. Next a group of soldiers came upon the boulder. “This rock is blocking our path,” they said. “I guess no one will need our services today”, and they turned around and went home as well. The king watched person after person continue to come upon the rock, see it as an impasse or excuse and turn and go home. That was, until an old man came upon the rock. Instead of becoming discouraged like the others, he got excited by the presence of such a challenge. He first examined the huge boulder and tried to push it with all his might. He realized this would not work and began to think of other solutions. Then the quote from ancient mathematician Archimedes popped into his head, “If you give me a large enough lever and a fulcrum on which to place it, I shall move the world.” The old man was instantly inspired, and found a long wooden pole. He placed the pole under the boulder and using leverage, moved the...

True riches are found when we learn to leverage what, at first glance, looks like an obstacle into a long-standing opportunity. Again, the obstacle in your path is the Path.

“It turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” — Steve Jobs

It’s been more than fifty years since Walt Disney’s death. What we remember most are all of Walt’s successes. These successes include the world’s most popular cartoon character, Mickey Mouse; the world’s first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; and his dream, a dream called Disneyland. What I fear, however, is that after all this time, the world has forgotten all of Walt’s failures. We forget that Walt went bankrupt at age twenty-one. We forget that he lost his first successful cartoon character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, to Charles Mintz and his distributor, Universal. We forget that most of his movies lost money during their first theatrical run. We forget that his first dream for an amusement park, Mickey Mouse Park, was planned for Burbank, but the Burbank City Council wanted nothing to do with Walt’s dream—nothing to do with an amusement park; they didn’t want a “carnival atmosphere” in their town. Like most of us, Walt Disney wasn’t born successful.

“Dealing with the temporary frustration of not making progress is an integral part of the path towards excellence…. If the pursuit of excellence was easy, everyone would do it. In fact, this impatience in dealing with frustration is the primary reason that most people fail to achieve their goals.” — Christopher Sommer

“It’s okay to get discouraged. It’s not okay to quit.” — Ryan Holiday

In creating the Seven Seas Lagoon, engineers dredged nine million cubic yards of earth and repurposed it to raise the site of Magic Kingdom by fourteen feet. In other words, the utilidors are not underground but at ground level. The Magic Kingdom, the part of the park that you and I experience and enjoy, is one level up. Just as Walt envisioned it, everything necessary for making the magic—from waste removal to cutting cast members’ hair—is done down below. How do we overcome obstacles? By recognizing that the obstacle in the path is the path. Today, whatever stands between you and your dream is there for a reason. Stop asking “why” the obstacle is there and start asking “how.” How can you use this obstacle to your benefit? How can you leverage this obstacle to take your dream and your success to the next level?

“The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem.” — Captain Jack Sparrow

People who start chasing their dreams eventually get chased by doubters. When you start flying high, you must be prepared for those who wish to bring you down. Like Tiny hitting the mattresses in Tinker Bell’s catch tower, you will get hit by haters. And if you are not careful, BAM, you and your dream will soon be grounded.

“In the end, people will judge you anyway, so don’t live your life impressing others, live your life impressing yourself.” — Eunice Camacho Infanta

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” — Albert Einstein

“The biggest mistake you can make is listening to people who’ve given up on their dreams telling you to give up on yours.” — Umair Hague

“I’m not interested in money, except for what I can do with it to advance my work.” — Walt Disney

“The fellow with money is not always the one who is happy. I know chaps almost starving in garrets who are painting what they want and getting more fun out of life than a lot of millionaires.” — Walt Disney

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes…the ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs Disney’s largest stockholder when he died in 2011

Before you write a rule book, worry first about cultivating a crazy culture. Care about your people and your customers more than you care about your policies and your procedures. Focus on whom you wish to serve and what you want to accomplish. Most everything else will take care of itself.

“If no one ever broke the rules, then we’d never advance. Leaders must know the rules so that they know when they should break them and achieve the outcome that the whole group is deeply committed to.” — Simon Sinek

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me.… Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful…that’s what matters to me.” — Steve Jobs

You may not be the leader of your organization, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a cultural impact in your current position. Start doing the right thing. Don’t wait for permission. Bee the change you are looking for and trust that over time, and with a little pollination, others will follow.

“Who you are is who you attract. If you want to attract better people, become the kind of person you desire to attract.” — John Maxwell

“We are alone, struggling to survive until we learn to communicate with one another.” — Dame Judi Dench Narrator, Spaceship Earth