Walt Disney’s Inspiring Journey: From Being Fired for Uncreativity to Phenomenal Success

Walt Disney, known as the pioneer of cartoon films, the creator of Disneyland, and one of the most creative minds of the 20th century; Until he reached this point, he was exposed to countless criticisms, like many successful people. So much so that he was fired from the newspaper he once worked for, saying he lacked creativity.

When Walt was young, his family moved constantly. He lived an intermittent childhood trying to adapt to other places. In addition, because his family was not well off, Walt and his siblings worked small jobs.

His family moved from Chicago to Missouri and eventually settled in Kansas City when Walt was nine years old. And due to financial difficulties, Walt and his brothers had to work. For these reasons, school life could not be Walt's first priority.

When Walt, a patriotic young man, was 16 years old and America was preparing for World War I, he tried to enlist in the army but was rejected due to his age. But he found a way to register.

He managed to change his date of birth in his application to join the Red Cross unit. Since then, he had a personality that was not discouraged by the obstacles that came his way and looked for other solutions. He assisted in post-war operations for the remainder of the war.

When he returned, he got a job drawing political cartoons and comic strips for a newspaper. But he was fired at work, saying he wasn't creative enough. He then embarked on a short-term entrepreneurial adventure.

His brother Roy was working at the Rubun Art Studio, which led Walt Disney to meet cartoonist Ubbe Iwerks, forming a short-lived company, “Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists.”

Walt Disney was full of excitement and pleasure for the business he founded. He was literally fascinated by this world and immersed in it. Shortly after, he borrowed a camera and created his own cartoon called “Laugh-O-Grams”.

It was a success, really appreciated from Kansas City. After that, he bought a studio and started creating his own animations. Even though he thought it was going very well, it didn't happen again and he went bankrupt.

Although it was a brave step, it went bankrupt because it was a premature attempt. Disney failed to pay its employees' salaries.

He was someone who didn't know how to give up. He sold his camera and settled in Hollywood. He started applying to studio job postings for directing roles.

As a last resort, he asked his brother Roy and his friend cartoonist Iwerks to join him, and together they founded Disney Brother Studio. Things were going well!

The series they started were successful, and one of Walt's cartoons was even distributed by Universal, a large company.

A rabbit was created by Iwerks. Although Walt did not draw the rabbit, it was Walt who gave it the ability to move, but it was decided that Walt was no longer needed.

Walt was devastated and decided that from then on he would only work on characters he had drawn himself, for which he owned the rights.

As he boarded the train from New York, Walt knew he desperately needed a brand new idea. In the back of his mind, he always had a very sympathetic mouse character that he believed had high potential.

Constantly thinking about a mouse character, Walt and he entered the cartoon world history we all know. He changed the name of the mouse he called Mortimer to Mickey Mouse at his wife's insistence.

“I hope we never lose sight of one thing, it all started with a mouse.”

Walt Disney has won many awards, including 5 Oscars and 31 Academy Awards, in his 65 years of life.

At the age of 62, at the peak of his career and one of the most recognized figures in the world, he was diagnosed with cancer. He was so passionate about the world he created that he excitedly told his brother Roy about his new projects shortly before his death at the age of 65.