There once was a filmmaker who fell on such hard times that he was kicked out of his apartment.
Having no place to go, he lived in his office and slept at night in a chair. He did this everyday and then would continue working on projects. To bathe he would travel to a pubic bath and shower facility. Faced with this kind of living situation it would have been easy to give up and become a lost story of someone who never made it.
Yet his story is so well known that it is easy to forget some of the darker moments.
Of course, since you are reading this article, you already know we are talking about none other than Walt Disney.
An often forgotten page of his life was during the days of making the Alice comedies.
In 1923 things looked extremely bleak for Walt and his young studio.
Things got so bad that his landlady did kick him out of his apartment. (He was “asked to leave.”)
The rent to live there had been $3 and Walt could no longer afford it.
He moved into the studio and slept in a sofa chair in his drawing room. He stayed there for quite some time trying to save money, squeeze out every penny he could to pour into production, and he struggled to survive.
Once a week he would take a bath at Union Station, which was located near the cities hospital district. He would walk from the studio, past the hospitals, and enter the station. It cost him a dime for soap, one towel, and a hot bath.
He lived this way, without complaint, and kept on working to make his dreams come true.
After years of struggle, hard times, and being on the brink of losing it all…the story becomes the stuff of legend.
Walt Disney not only survived but is remembered to this day.
If you glance at the paragraphs above it should be simple to see one of the main reasons he made it. It is the difference often between success and failure. It is what many people miss out on as they live life.
The reason he made it is that he just wouldn’t quit.
If there was a failure or a setback he didn’t stop working ,trying, or dreaming.
He did his best to push past the defeat, learn from the failure, and strive not to make the same mistake again. But he kept trying and kept chasing his dreams because he knew that one day, some day, what he was chasing would happen.
My fear in life for many is that we too often quit one minute before the game changes.
We quit knocking on doors one door short of an answer.
We quit trying one day before we would find the solution.
As a result many people live their lives by describing them as, “I almost….” “I could have…” or “I nearly….”
I am not sure what is going on in your world but I do know this…don’t give up.
You may be one heartbeat away from a breathtaking dream coming true.