11 Walt Disney Quotes to Motivate You

Quotes from Disney movies have a way of creeping into every aspect of life. They fill up Pinterest pin boards, are painted on canvases, get scribbled in notebooks, are passed back and forth in text messages, and even get tattooed on people's skin. These simple quotes often hold so much truth to them and are words everyone seems to be able to relate to. Many people may not know that Walt Disney himself was also quite the wordsmith. In fact, many of the things he said can serve as motivation for any college student or person who needs a pick-me-up.

11. "I don't like to repeat successes. I like to go on to other things." 

Once we find one thing we're good at, it is easy to want to work that angle for the rest of our lives. Moving on to something new can be scary, but it is worth it. We grow more when we challenge ourselves and strive to succeed in new areas.

10. "It's kind of fun to do the impossible."

Have you ever wanted to do something only to be told that it was impossible? Who hasn't? I can't help but imagine Disney had a sly grin on his face when he said this. If you want to do something, don't let anyone tell you it is impossible.

9. "Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future."

If there is anything that young people in 2015 know, it is that things change quickly. We are products of the recession, and as such, it is important that we don't just live for now. We have to plan for our future to make it bright. 

8. "You may not realize it when it happens, but sometimes a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

Sometimes all we need is a setback or a reality check to give us the drive we need to get where we want to go. Getting a kick in the teeth may hurt in the moment, but sometimes it is exactly what we need to get us back in check. 

7. "A man should never neglect his family for business." 

No matter if your family is your parents, your spouse, your children, or even your friends, you should never throw the people you care about aside in pursuit of success. After all, it is lonely at the top.

6. "When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable."

There is no use in being a lukewarm person. If you believe in something, don't let your belief be shaken. If you believe in a person, stay true to them in all situations. To betray your beliefs is to betray yourself.

5. "When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do."

We should never lose our sense of curiosity- it is one of our most valuable senses. We should never put on blinders and cease broadening our horizons. If it is picking up a new hobby, going to a new place, or learning new things, we should never stop letting curiosity lead us down new paths.

4. "The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else."

It can be so easy to get caught up in comparison. We often find ourselves wishing the person we are away. Here's the beautiful thing about being who you are: there is no one else like you. If you are trying to be someone else, no one gets to be you. 

3. "The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing."

Many a life has been wasted talking about things and not doing them. If there is something you are wanting to do or need to do, just get out there and get started. If you start now, you'll thank yourself in a year. If you stay where you are you'll keep making excuses and what you want to do will never get done. 

2. "I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I'm realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter."

Life is too short to be down in the dumps all the time. You have to work in life so you might as well whistle while you do it. At the same time, everything in life isn't great. Awful things happen and only a fool smiles at all times. However, we have to believe that something good comes out of everything or else we are causing ourselves even more pain. 

1. "You can design and create, and build the most beautiful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." 

No one had ever gotten where they are in life completely by themselves. You may be a person with great ideas, but it often takes other people to help you make that idea a reality. Even if you invent something awesome completely by yourself it will never get of the ground if nobody buys it. The moral of the story is this: we can't go through life alone. So why bother trying to?

Cloud by Day and Fire by Night

Here's that crayon art. Please, no need for applause.

I'm not okay right now. Is it okay if I say that? You see, my grandfather has Leukemia and he doesn't have long. I always knew a day like this would come, but I hid it away in the back of my mind. Now, what was once nothing more to me than a preview for a scary movie I'd see on television and never watch is my reality.

I know a lot of people who have been through unimaginable tragedies lately. They've lost children, parents, siblings, and more. Sometimes everything seems dark. I haven't even lost my grandfather yet and I already know that.

When you're on a cruise,  there's something called a muster drill. This is the time when you are told what to do in case the ship starts sinking. They give you a life jacket with a whistle and a water-activated light. Sometimes life feels like you've been tossed into a roaring sea on a moonless night with no life jacket, let alone a whistle or a water-activated light: life has no muster drill.

I feel like I'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death- just not mine. It's almost worse than the fear of my own death, if I'm honest. If I were the one that was sick, I'd have the peace of knowing that I was headed to the arms of Jesus when all was said and done. The illness would last for a while, but something greater than I could ever imagine would be waiting on the other side. It isn't like that when someone you love is dying. I know that my grandfather is going to be with the Lord when he dies. I know he will be okay.

I'm not okay- not right now- at least. The thought of losing him is unbearable. People have told me he is a great man and I know he is. I know that my life would likely be drastically different if it weren't for him. I can't stand the thought that someday I'll walk into my grandparent's house and no one will be sitting in his recliner. One second I'll be perfectly fine and the very next one I'm in tears just trying to hold it together and trying to be strong. Most everyone has been through either what I'm going through or something worse. I wish that the here and now was a memory and not reality.

All isn't lost. The other night I was working on a crayon melting craft with lots of blues and white. Inexplicably, I decided to flip my canvas upside down and start melting reds and oranges in the other direction. God put Exodus 13:21 on my heart:

 "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night."

 I really needed that. I feel like God wants to lead me out of the darkness I'm living in. He wants to lead me out of sadness, hurt, and growing bitterness. I just have to let Him. You see, we can't guide ourselves through the times in life when the cities of our lives are being dissolved to rubble by an earthquake we never could have anticipated. If I try to guide myself right now I'll just walk around in circles in the dark. 

-Caitlin