What Did Walt Say?

How many times have you heard the phrase, “What would Walt think?” when it came to opening a new attraction or Disney theme park.

There are certain phrases we associate with Walt Disney notably, “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing…that it was all started with a mouse.”

Yup, we all know those words but if you look deeply into his life, you will also discover other words of wisdom from this visionary. I’ve selected some 31 of his quotes, one for each day of a 31-day month. Some you may be familiar with, but I hope I am introducing some that are not familiar to you.

I’m not going to comment any further on them as this blog would take about four years to read as I would go on and on and on so sit back and take a gander and here’s hoping that some of his words will impact you in a positive way.

1. If you can visualize it, if you can dream it, you can do it!

2. It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.

3. Don’t let your fears take the place of your dreams.

4. Think beyond your lifetime if you want to do something great.

5. I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether we be six or sixty.

6. I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the park. I want them to feel they’re in another world.

7. Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.

8. By nature, I’m an experimenter. To this day, I don’t believe in sequels. I can’t follow popular cycles. I have to move on to new things. So, with the success of Mickey, I was determined to diversify.

9. 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 just the best thing in the world for you.

10. The greatest moments in life are not concerned with selfish achievements but rather with the things we do for people the people we love and esteem.

11. Worry is a waste of imagination.

12. When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it’s because he’s so human, and that is the secret of his popularity.

13. There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main … and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.

14. All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

15. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

16. Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, dreams are forever.

17. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.

18. The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.

19. You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world… but it requires people to make the dream a reality.

20. First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.

21. Ideas come from curiosity.

22. I am interested in entertaining people, in bringing pleasure, particularly laughter, to others, rather than being concerned with ‘expressing’ myself with obscure creative impressions.

23. I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.

24. Until a character becomes a personality it cannot be believed. Without personality, the character may do funny or interesting things, but unless people are able to identify themselves with the character, its actions will seem unreal. And without personality, a story cannot ring true to the audience.

25. Everyone falls down. Getting back up is how you learn how to walk.

26. Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows.

27. Somehow, I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy.”

28. I resent the limitations of my own imagination.

29. One day I learned that dreams exist to come true. And since that day I do not sleep for rest. I sleep just to dream.

30. When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.

For number 31 I found part of a speech he once made and it kind of sums up his perspective on life. Here is the part that focuses on just that…

“…And just like that, after a long wait, a day like any else,

I decided to triumph, to look for the opportunities, not to wait.

I decided to see every problem as the opportunity to find a solution.

I decided to see every desert as the opportunity to find an oasis.

I decided to see every night as a mystery to solve.

I decided to see every day as a new opportunity to be happy.

That day I found that my only enemies were my own weaknesses,

That day I lost the fear of losing and I started to fear not winning,

I discovered that I was not the best and maybe never have been.

I stopped caring about who was the winner and who was the loser.

Now I care only about knowing more than yesterday.

I learned that the hard thing is to stop climbing to the top, instead of not reaching it.

I learned that the best triumph that I can have is to have the right of calling someone “my friend”.

I discovered that love is more than a feeling of being in love, “love is a philosophy of life”.

That day I stopped being a reflection of the few triumphs in my past and I started to be my own tenuous light of the present.

I learned that it does not matter if you are alight… if you are not going to illuminate another’s road.

That day I decided to change so many things…

That day I learned that dreams only exist to be made to come true

Since that day I don’t sleep to rest…

Now, I dream just for dreams.”

See you next time.