I’m back from my annual Disneyworld pilgrimage and since January is a month of new beginnings, I thought this often quoted statement from Walt himself was particularly fitting:

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

Today, of course, The Walt Disney Company is a 35+ billion dollar operation but it started with a huge failure: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.  The cartoon itself was entertaining, but in 1927 Walt got completely screwed over by Universal on the distribution of it and company lore tells us that on the train ride back to Hollywood after unsuccessful negotiations, Mickey Mouse was born as a replacement.

That begat the first talking cartoon (“Steamboat Willie” although that has been disputed), the first feature length cartoon (”Snow White”), the first theme parky (Disneyland), and a host of other innovations.  Oswald returned to the Disney fold in 2006 when he was traded for Al Michaels, and you know you have a Disney geek like myself on your hands when that’s trivia they know off the top of their heads.

A bad time and a starting over, something a lot of folks can relate to after recent world economic events, sparked a media empire.  Walt never forgot that and didn’t let his people forget either, as this quote reminds us.

Technorati Tags: starting over, Walt Disney

A big part of the job description for a dad is to dish out advice.  Throughout my life, I’ve tended to put a lot of pressure on myself.  It’s just the way I am.

To combat this, my favorie piece of advice my Dad has ever given me is:

“Whether you succeed or fail, there are a billion people in China who don’t care either way.”

While the origins of this statement predate globalization (Dad had no way of knowing when I was 10 years old that maybe some day a few folks in China might actually care since they were working on the same project as me), the fundamentals of the quote ring true.  The sun will rise again tomorrow no matter what happens, so it doesn’t hurt to not take things so seriously all the time.

Technorati Tags: father advice, global economy, pressure

Given the big day tomorrow, I thought it fitting to start off November with my favorite Obama quote, which comes from the introduction section in The Audacity of Hope:

“No one is immune to the call to find common ground.”

I like this quote because epitomizes the idea that you should appreciate the perspectives of others, something I’ve written about before.  That concept surfaces all over the place, whether it’s a political discussion, technical design session, or marketing meeting.  You are going to find people whose opinions differ from yours and you owe it to the greater good to figure out why they have the reasons they do so you can find common ground.

Technorati Tags: negotiating, obama, perspectives

Given the financial crisis in the US, things are bad fight now for a lot of people, which reminded me of a Bill Simmons quote where he described a point in his life prior to his blogger-before-we-called-them-that rise to sports writing stardom:

“You know things are bad when you’re setting your alarm clock for noon every day, only you still have to hit the snooze button a few times before rolling out of bed.”

—Bill Simmons, January 2008

Everybody has ups and downs and I’ve found that nothing resets my expectations or priorities in life quite like a down.  If you happen to be in one now, rest assured that it won’t last forever.  It worked out for the “setting your alarm clock for noon every day, only you still have to hit the snooze button a few times before rolling out of bed” guy it can work out for you too.

Technorati Tags: recovery, simmons