Talk the Talk, Walt the Walt.

Deryne Dorminey
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read

How Walt Disney’s perseverance guided him to fulfilling his passion.

A statue of Walt Disney and his Mickey, located in front of the famous Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

Passion. What is passion? An intellectual once said, “Live every moment as not to regret what you are about to do.” This indeed epitomizes the word of “passion” — thanks, Mickey. That’s right, the one and only Mickey Mouse. Brought to life in 1928, Mickey was the creation of a man who can be deemed one of the most passionate people to ever walk the earth — Walt Disney. Walt stepped out into the world, being led by none other than what set his soul on fire — a passion for entertainment and imagination.

Disney putting his thoughts on paper in the form of drawings.

Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago in 1901, but soon moved to Missouri with his family. It was here in Missouri that he was asked to draw a picture of his neighbor’s horse, sparking his desire for drawing. Disney worked a multitude of jobs, none of which fully enthralled him. The creation of Mickey Mouse was the starting point of what was to soon be an entertainment empire — driven solely by the love and passion of Walt Disney himself.

Many only see Walt as the successful billionaire who created Mickey Mouse, Disney World, and the entity of the brand Disney itself. However, he had to overcome many trials and tribulations, just as any successful person does. Most do not know of the trenches of Disney’s life, nearly leading him to forfeit his ideas on several occasions.

As a young boy, Disney worked for the Kansas City Star, a local news company. In his six years of working with the company, he delivered newspapers and worked along side his father, Elias Disney. Seeing himself doing bigger, better things, Disney continuously applied for permanent positions with the company — being turned down each time. Ironically though, he was one day fired for “lacking creativity” and having “no good ideas.” Yet, instead of hanging his head and losing hope, Disney was determined to follow his passion. This was a genuine blessing in disguise.

Disney was soon met with another opportunity — Laugh-O-Gram. Laugh-O-Gram soon was faced with bankruptcy. Barely making ends meet, Disney was forced to shower once a week and eat dog food to live. Soon after, Walt set out to Hollywood determined to make his dreams a reality. It was time to Walt the Walt. The birth of Walt Disney Studios was imminent.

Walt’s note to Carl Laemmle — founder of Universal Studios.

However, in 1927, Disney’s biggest success thus far was taken from him — Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Charles Mintz came along with what seemed to be the most perfect character. Disney was asked to make a series on it, and accepted the request head on. Yet, the spin Disney put on Oswald was not the same spin Mintz was picturing. Vehement love for cartooning was omnipresent in the soul of Walt Disney. Walt’s characters were to be like none other at the time — or they simply would not be a Disney character. Oswald was drawn with personality and spunk — an unparalleled creation at the time. Disney's nephew, Roy E. Disney once described Walt’s creative tendencies as, “One of the things that [he] brought was to have the characters have real personalities that the audience could identify with.”

Alas, Oswald was nearly an overnight sensation. Large motion picture companies were echoing praise and foreshadowing the success of Oswald. Mintz — though doubting Walt’s ideas before publication — was taken aback. Suddenly, greed and envy became bottled up. February 2, 1928 — the day Mintz signed Oswald over to Universal Studios — a leading competitor of Disney’s. Yet, blinded by his own enthusiasm, Walt did not fight back. Rather he got back to the drawing board and began to brainstorm once again. November 18, 1928–ten months after Universal gaining Oswald — Mickey Mouse was released. A mouse so full of personality that nearly one-hundred years later is one of the most recognized characters. This was Disney’s calling.

In the midst of his battle for success, nothing was ever enough to bring a halt to Disney’s dreams. Disney made a comeback that was larger than ever before. In 1996, Disney bought ABC — the owners of Kansas City Star. 78 years after the loss of Oswald, he made his return to Disney — though he will never be a Mickey Mouse. In 2016, the company of Disney was said to have $91 billion in assets.

Though Walt Disney died in 1966, his passion will continue to live on in the lives of many forever. All-in-all, never give up on your passions and dreams when others say you cannot reach and obtain them. Walt never did.

Walt Disney’s signature.

Commit to Serve

2017 UGA Freshman College — Service Learning

Deryne Dorminey

Written by

Commit to Serve

2017 UGA Freshman College — Service Learning

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