Maybe you have a new invention, maybe you have a new business, a new product, a new innovation, something that has kept you up at night. Something that you dwell on daily. You ask yourself “what if”. What if you could actually live your dream, actually prove to yourself that you can do it. Just one thing is holding you back. Just one. If only you had the money.
| ‘Biggest problem? Well, I’d say it’s been my biggest problem all my life. MONEY. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true. From the very start it was a problem. Getting the money to open Disneyland. About seventeen million it took. And we had everything mortgaged including my personal insurance.’ Walt Disney, when asked of his biggest problem faced when reflecting on his life and career. |
PART 1- Learning from the most successful dreamers
Everyone dreams. We dream we fly, we dream we succeed, and we all dream we’re naked in public. But a select few of us are visionaries. We have the ability to find a little nitch that could make our dreams true, and coincidentally make us financially successful! Walt Disney was perhaps the greatest dreamer and visionary of all time. We can learn a lot from the Walt Disney story. Most importantly, we learn about the courage to test our dream, even against all odds.
When Walt went to Los Angeles in 1923, he had little more than $40 in his pocket. Even back then, this was not enough to start a business. Yet Walt had one thing that would turn his little animation studio into the largest entertainment company in the world. He had his idea. Walt was not going to let his dream, his vision, and his life get deterred.
| ‘Somehow I can’t believe there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy and the greatest of these is Confidence. When you believe a thing, believe it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.’ Walt Disney |
Even when Walt achieved great financial stability and success with his animation studios it wasn’t enough. He had a dream to create a full-length animated movie. At the time all studios and financers told him his idea of a full length animated movie would bomb, but he kept on even after he ran out of money and Snow White was the highest grossing movie of 1938! His dreams led him to the idea of Disneyland. A dream that his brother and partners, and even his own wife tried to talk him out of. Yet Walt knew to trust his dream and be courageous. He gambled everything he could, and his dream paid off.
A lot has changed since Walt Disney brought his dreams to life. Yet these hurdles should not stop your dreams. In 1994 British author J.K. Rowling had a vision of a story. Despite her poverty, she took the painstaking time to write her story down. Every publisher rejected her manuscript, and some even encouraged her to give up writing and get a day job. Luckily Rowling was persistent and courageous. Millions of Harry Potter fans today are glad that Rowling did not give up her dream, and Forbes has netted her as a billionaire!
Walt and Jo have something in common with nearly every successful visionary, as Walt stated. The Curiosity to dream, the confidence that your dream will come true, the courage to endure the hardships of your dream, and the constancy of never giving up. Making dreams come true is not easy. There aren’t any magic wands a wizard can wave to make your dream come true. Very few are confident enough to follow their dream. Those that do will all agree that they are glad they did.
PART 2- FINANCING YOUR DREAM
While you may not have a dream as large (or as small) as Walt Disney or J.K. Rowling, if you believe in your dream you should follow it. Yet again, the dilemma of money comes around.
Depending on your dream, and the field it is in, a loan is difficult to achieve. Nearly every source will tell you that borrowing from friends and family never ends up good. This often allows them to have great interference with your dream and your direction. Most dreamers need total control over their vision, and an outside investor, especially someone close to you, does not understand this.
Other loans are much more ideal, though tougher to attain. Even after his successes, Walt Disney found no banks wanted to invest in Disneyland. Entertainment is a tough industry to gain investments in. Most start-up and innovative businesses will find similar difficulties. Unfortunately, banks and lenders are not as willing to take the risks required to succeed. These lenders offer great loans that can help jumpstart your dream.
Probably the greatest way to start your dream is to invest in yourself. One way to do this is to use your credit to invest in yourself. With credit cards you keep total control over your ambitions. No one can interfere with your decisions. The costs of starting a new business or product are tough. Luckily the world accepts plastic, and putting your start up expenses on a credit card helps you go after your dream faster.
Most importantly, never give up. Keep strong after your vision. Never quit dreaming, and be confident in yourself.
I’d rather risk starving to death than surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what is left? – Jim Carrey, Actor
Walt Disney is not the only one that worried about money. According to Suze Orman we all have this problem in that money is one of our biggest worries.
Article Posted by Rob Lake.
