impossible2Every morning I walk into my office for work. My desk is typically messy with mail, papers I have written, books I’ve recently been studying, and sticky notes to remind myself of appointments and important, time sensitive information. Besides the mess on my desk, there are two other things that sit there on purpose, two things that remind me why I do what I do. First, I have a picture of my wife and I together, it’s one of my favorite pictures of the two of us together. The second thing I have is a little sign that is held up by a kickstand, it says, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible. -Walt Disney”. In my line of work (I am a pastor), it is often good for me to remind myself that if I keep working harder, I will be able to accomplish things that no one ever thought was possible.
This quote is Walt’s life in a nutshell! Steamboat Willie was not the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, but it was the first cartoon ever with synchronized sound. People all around Walt (I’m looking specifically at you Roy!) told him that it was impossible and a waste of money to synchronize sound to a cartoon. But Walt pressed forward, and Steamboat Willie took over theaters! Several years later, Walt wanted to do a cartoon short with color. Again, everyone told him that it would be a waste of money, not worth it. But again, when Flowers and Trees, Disney’s Silly Symphony short that ended up being the first colored cartoon, arrived in theaters, it wowed audiences all over the country, it was a success! We cannot forget about Snow White! Disney was in a good place, their shorts were more popular sometimes than the features attached to them, but Walt wanted more, he wanted to make a feature animated film. This time, practically the whole world told him that it was impossible! Doctors said that the human body could not watch a cartoon for that long, churches said that they should not allow their children to watch a cartoon for that long because it would promote bad behavior and hurt their attention spans. Many in the industry thought that this would be Disney’s blunder that would shut them down for good. But we all know the story, Snow White was a smashing success, at the time of its release, it was the most successful film of all time (until Gone With the Wind) and revolutionized the movie industry. Last but not least is Disneyland. Walt wanted a place where families could have fun together, and he wanted a place where his stories would jump of the screens in the theaters and would come to life. Again, no one thought Disneyland would succeed. But history has been good to Disneyland and its sisters (Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disney, Shanghai Disney, and Hong Kong Disney, and Disneyland Paris). Each and every time, someone told Walt that what he wanted to do could not be done, and each time he proved them wrong.
Consider this, there was a point in time when everything was seen as impossible. At one point, someone looked at a horse and said, “I’m going to ride that horse.” Everyone laughed at him and said, “You can’t ride a horse, no one has ever done that before. It can’t be done.” But that man showed the world that you CAN ride a horse, and after awhile everyone was doing it. At one point someone said, “I’m going to climb that mountain!” Everyone said to him, “No way! No one has ever climbed that mountain before, it can’t be done!” But he climbed to the summit, plunged his flag into the ground, and came back a hero.
History belongs to the people that do what everyone else thinks is impossible. History makers are the ones that act when everyone else says that what they are trying to do cannot be done. I want to challenge you today to do the impossible with your life, because not only can you accomplish those “impossible” things by working hard and enduring, but it’s also kind of fun 🙂
Do you have any comments? Any thoughts? Let me know in the comments!