How Walt Disney Inspires Me To Keep Moving Forward

June 4, 2011 Travis Hellstrom

"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things because we're curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Walt Disney ( Meet the Robinsons)

When I was very young my great-grandmother told my mother that I would grow up to be an inventor - that I was going to create something new and amazing. I've been thinking about that on and off for about twenty years. I've always loved creating things, organizing things in new ways and stepping back to look at the big picture (including how you and I fit into the solar system for instance). I easily lose hours reading, thinking, talking and writing about big ideas - things like what Disney really wanted EPCOT to be.

Disney has always inspired me tremendously. His imagination was extraordinary and his willingness to put everything out there, even when those closest to him said to back down, kept taking him higher and higher. As Chris wrote recently on the Art of Nonconformity, " Remember: The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it." Disney did amazing things, created visions of the future that people are still catching up to, and called on all of us to create a better tomorrow.

Throughout this week I will post up quotes from Disney that I wrote down when my family and I took Tunga to Disney World for the first time this past Thanksgiving. I hope Advance Humanity, and all of the work that we are able to do together, will always keeping moving us forward. I think we all have a very bright future ahead of us if we are willing to create it together. I, for one, look forward to it. As Disney said, “ It's kind of fun to do the impossible.”

Please join us on Facebook to see more inspiring quotes this week.