Attitude - One of the Few Things Left that We CAN Control

I've been thinking a lot today about a story I read of a man who had a dream. He believed in his dream and in himself so much that he went out to visit some banks asking for a loan to bring his dream to fruition.  He went to more than one.  He had to - the first one turned him down.  Actually, the first three hundred or so turned him down.  But he kept asking because he kept believing.

Finally, the man convinced some bank to finance his dream.  It was pretty fortunate for us that this bank did, because that man took that loan and went out and built Disneyland and you know the rest of the story.  I am trying to get inside Walt's head and think about how he dealt with rejection after rejection.  I remember reading that he was actually in bankruptcy proceedings around the time when he was asking for this money.  They must have thought he was crazy.  But what did he think?

Well, he obviously thought he had a good idea.  He obviously thought his dream could become the dreams of many and he obviously thought he could make people happy.  And that is the Disney Corporation’s mission statement:  To Make People Happy.  And they succeed in the parks, in the movies, on TV and radio. They succeed everywhere.  But their success is based on a man who started out small and knocked on doors and filled out applications.  But most of all, that man kept on trying.  He never gave up.  He didn't have any more hindsight than any of us do today. What he had was a vision and what he had was perseverance. What he had was total, unshakable faith in himself and he was not going to take no for an answer.

How many of us share that ability today?  How many of us stop immediately when someone tells us no?  How many of us are ready to give up when the job search produces no call backs, no interviews and certainly no jobs?  Who among us is ready to throw in the towel when we look at our 401Ks or read about the ongoing wars or receive our tax bills?  Not many of us are going to get raises this year and for those who manage to stay employed in this recession, pay cuts or the loss of precious benefits may soon be a reality.  It's very difficult to stay focused and positive when important things are crumbling around us. 

But if we give up hope in ourselves and in our abilities, what do we become?  We become just another person willing to get by with little.  We become just another person willing to accept a 'no' from the bank who stands between us and our dreams. 

Life isn't about surviving; it's about living and living to the fullest.  It's about believing in yourself enough to keep knocking on doors and knocking down doors until your dream is a reality.  And believing in yourself is not a quality that is limited to superstars like Walt Disney.  Because when that whole venture started, it was just him and a mouse.  And a dream.