迪斯尼帝国的缔造者：沃尔特·迪斯尼

Try to imagine a world without Walt Disney. A world without his magic, optimism and childlike fantasy. Walt Disney pioneered the fields of animation[1], and transformed the entertainment world. He did more to touch the hearts, minds, and emotions of millions of Americans than any other person in the past century.

The man who had one of the most fertile imaginations in history, who managed to turn his musings[2] into a billion dollar company and whose legacy would continue to live on for decades after his death, was born Walter Elias Disney on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. The family quickly moved from the increasingly dangerous city of Chicago to Marceline, Missouri, where they purchased a farm.

It was on the farm where Disney first discovered his passion for drawing when a retired doctor who lived next door to the family paid Disney to draw pictures of his horse.

In school, Disney was an average student, with a penchant for doodling rather than listening to his teachers.[3] During high school, he also occupied his time drawing patriotic cartoons for the school newspaper. And, when he could find enough time, he would attend night classes at the Chicago Art Institute.

At 16, Disney finally dropped out of school to join the army, only to be rejected for being too young. He then decided to forge his birth certificate and join the American Red Cross Ambulance Corps, but by the time he finished his training, the First World War had ended. Disney decided to stay in France and worked as an ambulance driver, all the while continuing to spend his spare time drawing, completely covering his ambulance with his own cartoon creations. After two years, Disney grew lonely in Europe and returned to America, where he decided to finally pursue his passion seriously.

Upon returning, Disney immediately went to see his family; he wanted to share with them his newfound dreams of becoming an artist. But, his father did not support his career choice. Then, with the help of his older brother, Roy, Disney found work making print ads at the Pesemen-Rubin Art Studio and continued experimenting with animation. He soon found himself fascinated with the possibilities of animation and knew he had finally found his niche[4].

At last, he created the world’s first multimedia empire and he did it by making people smile. An entrepreneur with a natural flair[5] for animation, Disney became one of the world’s most well-known and respected entertainers. What was the secret behind the magic?

He followed his dreams: “You reach a point where you don’t work for money,” Disney said. He reached that point early on in his career; he had pursued his passion to the point where he had made it successful and his work became a pleasure. He encountered obstacles and discouragement at every step of the way, but was passionate and courageous enough to continue working towards his goals in spite of everything. “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me,” he said.

He was creative: “I first saw the site for Disneyland back in 1953,” said Disney. “In those days it was all flat land—no rivers, no mountains, no castles or rocket ships—just orange groves, and a few acres of walnut trees.” Where others saw a blank canvas, Disney saw a work of art. He noticed opportunities where others had not even been looking. It was his creativity and his fertile imagination that enabled him to sustain a decades-long successful career.

He seized control: After an early learning experience, Disney quickly came to understand the importance of having creative control and legal ownership of his work. Once he had become his own boss, Disney prided himself on his management skills, maintaining a hands-on approach while still giving his employers a degree of independence. By taking control of his own business, Disney steered[6] himself to success.

He was selective: “You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth[7] may be the best thing in the world for you,” said Disney. Despite his success, Disney was not without his failures. He, too, had to learn the difference between passion and blind faith. While passion was a crucial ingredient to his success, Disney grew to understand that passion and business did not always go hand in hand and that success required sacrifice.

Disney died on December 15, 1966 but his legacy carries on to this day. As a producer, director and animator, Disney created one of the world’s most recognized and cherished brands. To other budding entrepreneurs, he says this: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

Walt Disney Quotes

“I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing–that it was all started by a mouse.”

“Mickey Mouse is, to me, a symbol of independence. He was a means to an end.”[8]

“To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land.”

“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

“I am in no sense of the word a great artist, not even a great animator; I have always had men working for me whose skills were greater than my own. I am an idea man.”

“I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment. I am never satisfied with my work. I resent the limitations of my own imagination.”

“My business is making people, especially children, happy.”

“Fantasy and reality often overlap[9].”

“Why be a governor or senator when you can be king of Disneyland?”

“I’ve always been bored with just making money. I’ve wanted to do things; I wanted to build things, to get something going...”

试着想象一个没有沃尔特•迪斯尼的世界，一个没有他的魔力、乐观和童真想象力的世界。沃尔特•迪斯尼不仅是动画领域的先驱，也改变了娱乐世界。在上个世纪，没有任何一个人比他更能触动成千上万美国人的心灵、思想和情感。

迪斯尼原名沃尔特•伊莱亚斯•迪斯尼，于1901年12月5日出生于伊利诺斯州的芝加哥市，迪斯尼是历史上最富有想象力的人之一，是能够把构想变成一个价值十亿美元公司、所创造的财富在他去世数十年后仍然为大家所享用的人。迪斯尼一家很快从日益危险的芝加哥搬到了密苏里州的马瑟林镇，并在那里购买了一个农场。

正是在这个农场，迪斯尼首次发现画画是他的兴趣所在，这缘起于他家隔壁的一位退休医生出钱请他为自己的马画像。

在学校里，迪斯尼表现平平，喜欢自己乱涂乱画，不喜欢听老师讲课。在读高中时，他还忙着为校报画爱国的漫画。而且，一有时间，他就去参加芝加哥艺术学院的夜校课。

在16岁那年，迪斯尼最终辍学去参军，结果由于年龄太小而被拒绝。然后他决定伪造出生证明去参加美国红十字会救护队，但是等他训练完毕的时候，一战已经结束了。迪斯尼决定留在法国当一名救护车司机，同时在业余时间继续画画，他开的救护车上全都是他的卡通作品。又过了两年，迪斯尼在欧洲渐觉孤单，便返回美国，他最终下定决心要认真追求自己的爱好。

迪斯尼一回国，就立刻去看望他的家人;他想同他们分享他要成为一名画家的新梦想。可是，他父亲并不支持他的这个职业选择。之后，在他哥哥罗伊的帮助下，迪斯尼在裴思曼-鲁宾艺术工作室找到了一份制作印刷广告的工作，在此期间，他也继续着动画方面的尝试。不久，他便发现自己完全被动画行业的潜力所吸引，他知道他终于找到了属于自己的位置。

最终，迪斯尼通过让别人欢笑，创建了世界上第一个多媒体帝国。他是一个有动画天分的企业家，也是世界上最著名、最受尊重的娱乐业人物之一。那么在这神奇魔力背后的秘密是什么呢?

他追随自己的梦想：正如他自己所言，“要达到这样一种境界，不是为了赚钱而工作。”而在他事业初期，他就已经达到这个境界了;他跟随自己的兴趣所至，得以成功，工作对他来说是一种乐趣。在这条道路上，他所走的每一步都会遇到阻碍和挫折，但是他凭借自己的热情和勇气，克服一切困难，一直朝着目标奋进。他说：“我人生中所有的逆境，所有的困难和阻碍，都让我变得更加强大。”

他富有创造性：“我首次看到迪斯尼乐园的选址是在1953年，”他说，“那时它还全是平坦的土地——没有河流，没有山岳，没有城堡，也没有火箭船——只有橘子林和几英亩核桃树。”别人眼里看到的是一块空白的画布，而在迪斯尼眼里却是一件艺术作品。在别人压根不去注意的地方，他发现了机会。正是他的创造力和丰富的想象力使得他的事业保持几十年的成功。

他善于抓住控制权：经历了一段起步期以后，迪斯尼很快认识到拥有对他工作的灵活控制权和法定所有权的重要性。他自己一当上老板以后，迪斯尼就足以为自己的管理才能感到骄傲，他既亲力亲为，又给他的员工一定的自主性。通过掌控自己的企业，迪斯尼驶向成功的彼岸。

他懂得选择：“当它发生的时候你可能意识不到，但是始料未及的厄运可能是世上最好的事情，”迪斯尼说道。尽管他很成功，但迪斯尼也不是没遭遇过挫折。同样，他也得学着认识热情和盲目信仰之间的区别。虽然热情是他事业成功的一个关键因素，但是迪斯尼慢慢认识到热情和事业并不永远都是相辅相成的，还有，成功是要付出代价的。

迪斯尼于1966年12月15日去世，但他带来的财富让我们享用至今。作为一个制片人、导演和动画制作者，迪斯尼创造了世界上最受认可、最受喜爱的品牌之一。对于其他刚刚起步的企业家，他这样说：“停止夸夸其谈，开始埋头苦干，这就是开始的方式。