They said Walt Disney had no imagination
Walt Disney and Mickey
Bankrupt
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because the editor felt “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Several times, he went through bankruptcy before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was initially rejected by the city of Anaheim because they felt that it would only attract people of low social status.
They told Sidney Poitier to wash dishes
The first African American Academy Award Winner for Best Actor, Sidney Poitier was told after his first audition by the casting director, “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?” It was at that moment, recalls Poitier, that he decided to devote his life to acting.
A world of difference
There is all the difference in the world between the expectations of the person who has committed him or herself to their life’s purpose without reservation and no matter the sacrifice and has vowed to see his or her aspiration to the end, and the person that goes about his or her objective halfheartedly. Apathy is the enemy of achievement and the antagonist of pursuit.
The challenge of failure
Failure usually affects people in one of two ways: It serves as a challenge to greater effort, or it subdues and discourages a person from trying again. How a person reacts to circumstances reveals both the brilliance and intensity of their drive or the lack thereof. Obstacles and challenges are not what relegates a person to poverty; their mindset is what places them in the prison of hopelessness. Many people accept their lot as inescapable and go through life wearing dispossession as a shackle.
Rising above the hardships
I realize that in times past, African Americans, American Indians and Hispanics have been systematically excluded and/or allowed limited participation in the American Dream. Yet there are many who have risen to a wealth and educational status despite the efforts of some Americans to prevent these accomplishments from happening. Obstacles and opposition are a part of life; and millions of Americans had better get used to it. I am convinced that the chains of mental slavery and the segregation from the success of living ones dreams is arguably the most horrendous transgression any person can confer on oneself. Fortunately, since this mental incarceration is self-induced, the solution to these barriers lies within our power to free ourselves.
Conclusion
God gave you the power to create the framework of your life by the way you think and believe; but He also gave you the power to change it.
Recommended Reading:
I frequently say, “Readers are leaders and leaders are readers.” I strongly believe this statement; therefore, I have taken the time to recommend reading material that I believe will greatly benefit your life and business endeavors. Click the images to see more information or to order the books from Amazon.com.
The materials are provided for your convenience and Dr. Brown will earn a small commission from Amazon when you purchase through the links provided above.
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Very inspiring and true. I am blessed every time I read your blog. My father is a black Puerto Rican man who at the time of racial bias in the EU also had to sit on the back of the bus. He is a very big man and very imposing as he was a weight lifter, he taught me not to be intimidated by no one. When I would go to him crying he would tell me “compose your self” I then had to look up to him and say what was on my mind without any crying. That engraved an attitude in my mind. Don’t be afraid of no one or anything. You are equal to anyone else. Praise God for his courage…he taught me a lesson that is still with me today.
Just what I needed to hear. In the face of failure or at least a severe lack of progress I had become a bit discouraged. After reading this blog I still feel frustrated but my response will be to believe in the dream and push forward all the more fervently.
This year would have ended like every other year, with no appreciable change in my life. But then I read this blog. This post has changed my 2010!
Thank you for the truth. This post has encouraged me to keep pushing even when its hard. I realize that when I work for someone, I push to get even the difficult things done to fulfill their goal because I am held accountable; therefore, I plan my way to the finish line. I understand now that I must push even when I don’t feel like it or when the circumstances look rough if I want to be successful.