Creative Advice from Walt Disney
Maybe it’s because I’m a blogger – where creative art lasts for approximately two minutes if you’re lucky – but I’m always in awe of a creative endeavor that continues to make an impression on people generations after it was created.
Take Batman for example, who recently turned 75. Or the Chronicles of Narnia, close to 65. Or Star Wars, pushing 40 in the next few years. I would imagine there is nothing more exciting and celebrated for an artist than to create something with the potential to outlast themselves.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Disney’s It’s a Small World, an attraction ridden by children around the world for five decades. Congratulations to the creative team are in order indeed.
Alice Davis, Disney legend, was the commissioned costume designer for this attraction. It is said that when she asked Walt Disney about the budget for her part of the project, he responded with this wonderful nugget of creative advice:
Walt Disney, clearly knew what he was talking about. Of the creative projects he had a hand in, there are many more, which have been loved for longer than this one attraction. He understood that the single most important component of creating a lasting impression with your art is probably the simplest:
To always do your best.
His words really hit me as a blogger – someone trying to establish a voice, hone my skills, and make something special readers would want to come back to in this tiny space I call my online home. To stop looking at everyone else’s best, and just simply show up every day and do my own.
But that truth applies everywhere doesn’t it?
Whether you’re a photographer, a teacher, a sous chef, or a stay-at-home mom, the secret to your success and your lasting influence is to keep showing up every day and giving YOUR best.
Sometimes it’s the simplest truths that are the most profound.