Walt Disney was
born on 5th December, 1901. Although his father Elias worked diligently, he was
unable to establish his business. Hence, Walt’s childhood was passing in an
ordinary manner. Neither did he have toys to play with nor fine clothes to
wear. Then, at the age of seven, his life took a new turn. His aunt Margret gifted
him a sketchpad and a few colour pencils. Now, for someone who hasn’t even seen
a toy, this gift was like a dream come true! And it was from here on that he
developed an interest in sketching.
As he grew up he
was enrolled into a school. But the condition at home was such that, before
heading to school, Walt had to take on odd jobs like distributing newspapers
and selling eggs. This hectic schedule through the day left him exhausted. However,
he didn’t have to face this hardship for long. The economic condition of the family
soon compelled Walt to drop out of school. Thereafter, he got completely
involved in working with his father. But selling eggs and newspapers
door-to-door also gave him some bitter experiences. He often bumped into many
of his schoolmates on the streets or at the houses where he went to sell his
wares. Certainly, this was very embarrassing, but Walt would bear it all with a
smile. At times, when he saw a child playing with a toy, for a moment he would be
gripped by sadness, but then he would simply accept the reality of his life. However,
the circumstances were really quite difficult. Not having toys was one thing, but
he did not even have any friends to play with. So, to entertain himself,
whenever he got the chance, he would sketch the train that passed by his house.
And it was from here that sketching became his passion and trains, his dream.
But the hardships
of life snatched away even these two pursuits from him. He had to do numerous
chores with his father also and on growing a little older, he had to take up
multiple jobs as well. At the age of 17, he signed up with Red Cross and went
to France for a year with its team of doctors. There, he once again got the
chance to sketch. Whenever he found some spare time, he would get down to
making portraits of his colleagues. But how could Walt’s passion be satiated with this?! So upon
returning, he decided to make his passion his means to make a living. Thereafter
he worked as a cartoonist in a newspaper and even learnt animation. He also set
up several animation studios of his own, but for one reason or another, they
all shut down. Even then, Walt’s spirits weren’t dampened. He had complete
faith in both his passion and talent. And finally, by the age of 23, Walt
decided to try his hand in Hollywood. Of course, nothing was easy out there. But
Walt’s passion and talent ultimately compelled Hollywood to embrace him. And
the history that was created thereafter is there for all to see.
Well! All this is
fine, but this is where the important part of the story begins. Now that Walt
had no dearth of wealth, being ‘The King of Animation’ he was at the zenith of success
in the field which was his passion, drawing! And it was at this beautiful
juncture in life that he remembered his childhood dream...yes, The Train! That
was it! Buying a huge farm, he laid out a 1400 feet long railway track and even
ran a train that was replete with all the modern facilities. He would often
have his dinner aboard this moving train. His train became famous across all of
Hollywood. Dining in the train became a matter of pride for Hollywood. But Walt
didn’t stop even at this. He had fulfilled his dream, but what about the world
at large? He hadn’t experienced the joy of childhood and toys, but at least the
other children of the world should. And so, on a plot of 160 acres he built the
vast Disneyland.
Now after
listening to this story, you decide for yourself, why shouldn’t
I call Walt the king of passion-pursuers and dreamers? Despite facing several
adversities, he reached the zenith of both his passion and his dreams. Along
with his diligence and the strength of his intentions, Walt’s life story also
draws our attention to his single-minded focus. Truly, if an individual
nurtures only one passion or dreams of just one thing and thereafter purses it
with complete diligence, all his energies and hard work in achieving that, then
who cannot become a Walt Disney? Otherwise, the state of people like us who pursue
numerous passions and have 1000 dreams is there for all to see!
It may be so, but
today, on his birthday, I salute Walt Disney, the king of dreamers and passion-pursuers!
-Deep Trivedi
No comments:
Post a Comment