"I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks and I then execute my vision to make my dreams come true." | ||
| --WALT DISNEY, FILM PRODUCER AND ANIMATOR (1901–66) | ||
Did you know that in 1928 when Walt Disney was only 26 years old, he was on the train from New York back to Kansas when he drew a cartoon of a mouse on his sketchpad? Convinced that this drawing had the potential to be a success, he decided that he wanted to use it in a new form of film that had started to emerge called animation. In 1926, silent cartoons were still the only form of cartoon being produced, but Walt had the dream of his mouse featuring in the first cartoon with sound. In order to achieve this, he needed to raise approximately $15,000 to make the film. In today's money this would be about $1 million.
Now put yourself in the shoes of a New York bank manager and imagine that you are sitting at your desk opposite a 26-year-old lad who is asking you for a $1 million loan in order to make a new type of film, which doesn't even exist yet, but it involves a mouse. He has no real track record of success and has no savings of his own that he can use to offset the risk. What would you say? Think about it.
Like you probably would, Walt's bank manager laughed him out of the bank.
Undeterred, Walt popped along to another bank to present his plan and request the money. He received a similar reaction to his first visit and so he went to another, and another, and another, and . . . Are you starting to get the idea?
Imagine yourself in the same situation as Walt Disney. How many banks do you think that you would have visited, receiving a mixture of negative, hostile and bemused reactions, before you gave up and thought of something better to do? One? Two? Ten? Twenty?
Walt Disney visited 305 banks before he found one that was prepared to take a gamble on him. He had a thirst for success and knew what he wanted to achieve; and he was prepared to pursue it relentlessly, whatever the cost.
Numerous studies have proved that successful people have a really clear and defined vision of what they want to do with their lives. They possess a crystal-clear goal that lets them chase their passion rather than chase their pension. In the last chapter I encouraged you to think about what you want out of life and what you need to achieve to fulfil your purpose.
Now let's examine what it means to be successful. Winston Churchill thought that success was about being able to go from "one disaster to another without any loss of enthusiasm" until we achieve what we want (305 banks, remember!).
Success is different for all of us, but below are some basic definitions.
When Jack Dempsey retired as undefeated world heavyweight champion, he was asked what it had felt like to achieve his ambition. Dempsey had grown up as a homeless kid and had become champion during the Great Depression of the 1920s. He viewed his purpose as being someone who gave hope to others. He said:
"Becoming heavyweight champion of the world was the culmination of a dream but I loved the whole journey I made along the way."
It should be a pleasure to pursue your purpose, not a chore or a task, and it shouldn't be just about you getting to a particular place. You should enjoy the process of getting there.
This reminds me of a great speech by Edward B Nervill, vice-president of General Motors, just before he retired:
"Let us recognize a basic truth. Success in life is not a destination. It is a journey. Fortunately, this means that no one is obliged to work towards a single, distant goal and be judged successful only if he attains that one objective. As with a traveller, the end of the journey is usually beyond the range of vision, but there is much of interest and beauty along the way to reward each day's steps. The happiest journey is not made with downcast eyes which see only tired, dusty feet. It is made with uplifted sight to appreciate its significance and to picture what may be beyond. The stars were made for those who look up and whose imagination knows no limits.
When I am feeling sorry for myself, I simply go for a walk and I keep on walking and walking, looking around me as I go – at the front doors that hide other people's fears and joys, at the marvels of nature, at the courage and invention behind every church and factory, at the sheer size and complexity of the small part of the world my legs can cover. And if that doesn't make my worries seem insignificant by comparison, I get rat-arsed!"
The more you focus and think about your purpose on the inside, the more it materializes on the outside. In other words, if it can exist in your head and heart, you should be able to hold it in your hands and know when you have attained it.
Imagine being Walt Disney on 19 November 1928 holding a copy of the New York Times, containing a review of Steamboat Willie, the first speaking cartoon, which premiered the previous evening and which the paper described as "ingenious and a good deal of fun". That idea had been in your head two years earlier on the train journey when you first drew Mortimer Mouse (who later became Mickey) and now you can hold its success in your hands. That's the realization of a dream.
What you define as success should be a goal that you are in love with and enjoy chasing. Don't ask if you are capable or worthy of it, but ask whether it is a goal that is worthy of you and your efforts.
When speaking about her work to set up a home to care for street children, Mother Teresa of Calcutta explained, "The success of love is in the loving – it is not in the result of loving."
A young Sven-Göran Eriksson regularly visited England when he started coaching in Sweden and he studied the training methods of the leading football coaches of the day, spending some time with Bob Paisley, the legendary Liverpool manager. He vividly remembers seeing Paisley dancing around on the touchline after a Liverpool goal:
"In that moment, I had a glimpse of what makes him tick. Here was a man so passionate and in love with the game and obsessed with winning."
Paisley agreed:
"I hear and read about what makes a successful manager but it is the same for anyone who is successful. The basic factor is enjoyment. It is vital to have that."
This is my favourite definition of success and is summed up by a quote from singer/songwriter Joan Baez:
"You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you are going to live. Now!"
Kenyan long-distance athlete Kip Keino once approached his American coach, Lou Tice, and they discussed their preparations for the upcoming 10,000-metre race at the World Championships.
They discussed race tactics and the coach suggested that when Keino heard the bell to signal the 25th and final lap, he should attack hard and run this lap faster than any of the previous 24. Keino didn't agree and explained that it was at this stage when his lungs burnt and his legs felt sore and his heart raced furiously. He saw this request from his coach as impossible. Tice stopped and thought. Eventually he asked Keino why he chose to run and compete. Keino explained the great pride he felt knowing that the whole continent of Africa, along with his country, his village and his family, would be watching him compete on the highest stage of all.
Tice listened intently and then said that he had thought about it and revised his tactics. He told Keino that when he heard the bell for the final lap, he should sit on the kerb; if he did this for a few seconds, his lungs, legs and heart would soon feel a lot better and then he could continue to run.
Keino blinked in disbelief at this advice and said, "But if I do that, I won't win the race!"
The coach nodded and replied, "Exactly. You can choose to run and you can choose whether you are going to give your best or not."
An American sociologist, Dr Anthony Campolo, did some research in which a group of elderly people, all aged 95 or over, were asked the following question: "If you were to live your life over again, what would you do differently next time?"
According to Campolo, the top three answers could be summarized as follows:
Have fewer regrets. This related more to what people didn't do than what they did do in their lives.
Take more time out to reflect. Some people felt that they just drifted along with the crowd and spent little, if any, time considering what they really wanted from life. Think about this. If you've read up to this point in the book and thought about the questions it asks, you aren't one of those people, are you? You've taken the time to reflect and you should congratulate yourself.
Leave a legacy. People wanted to feel that their lives had counted for something and that in some way they would be remembered after they had gone. In other words, they wanted the people at their funeral to know what their purpose was, what they stood for.
Most people will go to the time and effort of writing a will at some stage to say what they want to happen after they die. Fewer people put the same effort and attention into what they want to happen while they are alive. You have the chance to start now.
Sir John Jones, the headmaster of the UK's worst school who transformed it into the most improved school in seven years, said that 85 per cent of us will go to the grave having only used a maximum of 15 per cent of our potential.
You have a choice whether you want to remain among that 85 per cent.