Who Was Walt Disney

“Walt always wanted to entertain people, to make them have a good time.”

Stewart draws on anecdotes from Walt’s childhood to suggest that his destiny was evident in his character from a young age. This is a common trope in biographies, in which the famous person’s childhood is often read retrospectively as foreshadowing who they will become.

“Almost as soon as he could hold a pencil, Walt spent hours and hours drawing.”

Again, childhood interests are read as evidence of the traits that would lead Walt to greatness. His first successes were in the field of animation. Although he only took formal art classes later in his life, Stewart emphasizes that he nurtured a love for drawing since his youngest years.

“He started delivering papers at nine years old. He had to get up every morning before sunrise. Sometimes he was so tired that he curled up in a doorway and fell asleep. When he awoke, he ran to finish his paper route and get to school.”

Walt’s early experiences with hard work emphasize The Importance of Resilience in Overcoming Setbacks. When he first opened Walt Disney Studios, he had to work long hours into the night to complete his projects and ensure that they were of high quality. Perhaps his childhood experience delivering newspapers at the crack of dawn prepared him for the harsh work hours of his early career.