Informative Essay on Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney was born on the 5th of December, 1901, in Hermosa, Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.
Walt Disney was an American motion picture and television producer and was famous as a pioneer of cartoon films, particularly Mickey Mouse. He is also the creator of Disneyland and Disney World.
However, Walt faced many obstacles in his life. But, he did not see these setbacks as failures, he instead saw them as things that helped him to grow into a successful businessman.
At four years old, Walter and his family moved to a farm near Marceline, Missouri, and at an early age, he found a love for drawing. His family then moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Walt’s father compelled his sons to help him deliver papers. Walt and his brother, Roy, were already businessmen at nine and had picked up some entrepreneurial skills. Walter’s father was said to have been abusive towards him, so to escape from his uncomfortable circumstances, Walt found comfort in drawing and creativity. He stayed positive doing what he loved, which got him through hard times.
Walt showed perseverance to achieve what he wanted. He dropped out of school at 16 in the hope to join the Army. He got rejected but didn’t give up. He lied about his age to join the American Ambulance Corps. He fell ill for a while and didn’t get to France until after World War 1 ended.
In France, he submitted cartoons he had drawn to humor magazines, but they all got rejected. This, however, didn’t stop Walt from pursuing what he loved. He had self-belief as he stayed hopeful and confident in what he was doing and continued to try hard as he didn’t shut himself down and stayed true to himself.
He returned to Chicago in 1919 and got a job at a commercial art studio, as an apprentice. In 1920, Walt and Roy launched their own business, Laugh-O-Gram Studios. Unfortunately, the company went bankrupt a couple of years later.
After this, Disney left for Los Angeles to try acting. He failed this too, yet had a growth mindset and kept trying. He convinced Roy to go out West to start up a shop with him. Walt soon found his first big success as he created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He went to New York in the hope to renegotiate his contract but soon found he no longer had legal rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Once again, Disney encountered an obstacle, but he used the power of mindset again to overcome this challenge as he stayed positive, and instead of plotting revenge or giving up completely, he decided to start over again.
On the train ride back to California, he created Mickey Mouse. In the late 1920s, he brought Mickey Mouse to life. But this wasn’t simple. Bankers rejected him over 300 times before one said yes.
Even after Walt’s big success with Mickey Mouse, he still faced challenges. His employer stole his best animator from him and this led to a nervous breakdown. He also had a nervous breakdown in 1931 when he faced a personal challenge. He wanted a child, but his wife had a miscarriage. This was a very unhappy time in his life.
Despite these two nervous breakdowns, Walt still persisted and overcame these by using positive self-talk. One of his famous quotes is “The difference in winning and losing is most often not quitting.” Walt never quit. He stayed optimistic in the darkest days and used goal setting.
Walt set goals for himself to achieve what he wished. He started with small goals. He first built that studio in Kansas, then a bigger one later in Hollywood, and then in 1998, a massive studio in Burbank, California. He also set many other goals along the way that contributed to his success.
Walt sadly died on the 15th of December, 1966. Throughout his career, he showed perseverance, and self-belief, and used the power of mindset and positive self-talk, and goal-setting to become successful. Walt Disney faced many setbacks but overcame them. He dared to dream the impossible.