A True Success Story

Before he became the legend that he is today, this man couldn’t earn enough money even to meet his basic needs. In 1919, while was working for a newspaper, he was fired by the newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” In January 1920, he started a short-lived company with another cartoonist. However, following a rough start, he left temporarily to earn money at the Kansas City Film Ad Company. Iwerks joined him after a while because they were not able to run their business alone. Later, he started his own studio. He became successful but the profits of the studio were enough to cover up the expenses of their employees. The studio became loaded with debt and went bankrupt. After that, he decided to set up a studio in Hollywood, California. He created Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit. It was one of his first huge successes in the cartooning business. At that time, he was only receiving a 20 percent cut on his films. He was ready to negotiate for higher income because he was hardly making enough money for his living. He got another shock when his producer stole the character. He also stole his animation crew by offering them much better terms of contracts. His producer thought that he would agree to work for him with the only 20% he was paid.

While most people would pack their bags and return home crying, or work for minimum wages, this dauntless young man went on to create his most successful cartoon character EVER – Mickey Mouse. This amazing person is none other than the entrepreneur, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer Walt Disney. He was also told that Mickey Mouse would not work because a huge mouse on the screen would terrify women. Well, it seems that women were not scared at all. For this reason, that mouse has continued to share his story on screens all over the world, even today.

He did not let a string of failures overcome him. He stood up strong even through his hardest times. There must not be a single person who does not know Disney, or hasn’t heard the name “Disney”. The newspaper editor who fired him for “lack of imagination and no good ideas” must be rolling over in his grave right now!