It’s kind of fun to do the impossible. – Walt Disney
Perseverance is one of my favorite words in the English language. I just love the spirit of this word. Whenever I hear the word perseverance, I think of three things:
- I think of a snail. “By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.” The imagery is priceless.
- I think of a spelling trick. When teaching my daughters to spell perseverance, they’d get confused as to whether the word ended in -ence or -ance. I told them to remember that perseverance always finds a way.
- Walt Disney. I don’t just love all things Walt Disney, I adore all things Walt Disney. Fairy tales, talking animals, singing mermaids…. it’s all good in the world of Disney.
So what does Walt Disney have to do with the word perseverance? He may as well have invented the word! His name didn’t become a worldwide phenomenon overnight, Mr. Disney had his fair share of stumbling blocks, discouragement, and adversity.
Walt Disney (1901-1966) started the Laugh-O-Gram Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri in 1921, with only $15,000 from investors. Two years later, in 1923, he had to file for bankruptcy when his backers pulled out. Most people didn’t have a lot of confidence in Walt’s fairy tales. What were they thinking?
Fortunately for all of us, Walt Disney believed in himself as well as his dreams.
In July of 1923, Walt Disney left for Hollywood with all of the things that he owned in the world: one pair of pants, one coat, one white shirt, two sets of underwear, two pair of socks and some drawing materials he’d managed to hang onto. Oh, and he had one more thing in the back pocket of that one pair of pants – perseverance.
As unbelievable as it seems, when Walt Disney submitted his first drawings for publication, the editor told him he had no artistic talent! The world would be a lot less colorful today if Walt Disney had allowed those words to identify him. He believed in the man he saw in the mirror and the world he saw in his sketch pad… irregardless of what others thought!
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. – Walt Disney
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Happy Veteran’s Day to all of the very special men and women who currently serve or have ever served in our Armed Forces. Your sacrifices give us the freedom we often take for granted. You deserve nothing but respect and gratitude for all you’ve given up. So what’s it like being heroic?
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