New book uses Walt Disney as a model to make dreams come true
DREAMERS DO: Walt Disney’s 10 Steps to Making Your Dreams Come True is a new book from Dr. Gene Ano and Genesis Ano, a father and daughter who love all things Disney, but more importantly, discovered that Disneyland is an invaluable resource to help them cope. during moments of crisis in their lives.
Early in the book, Dr. Gene recounts how he regularly took his daughter to Disneyland when she was just a toddler to make sure she experienced happiness even when he was in a miserable state while getting divorced. That first visit to Disneyland was magical in different ways for both of them and cemented their love for all things Disney. Since then, both have been students of Walt Disney, learning lessons from him based on the difficulties he overcame in his own life. This book is designed to teach readers how they can make their own dreams come true by following the ten steps Walt Disney used to become the icon we all know today.
What sets DREAMERS DO apart from all other Disney books is summed up in the foreword to the book by Jeff Barnes, also known as “Dr. Disneyland” because he himself teaches and writes books about Disney. Says Barnes, “While other Disney books simply provide anecdotes, Dr. Ano provides antidotes: Walt Disney’s psychological ‘prescriptions’ to help him overcome adversity and live the life of his dreams.”
And talk about adversity. The book begins with the statement: “Walt Disney saved my daughter’s life.” Later, Genesis explains this statement, saying:
“In a moment of hopelessness, I put a knife to my chest and asked God to take away all the pain. But in that moment, I heard a small, still voice inside me say, ‘No. I have a purpose for you. .’ I remembered how Walt Disney went through a lot of pain, but still he accomplished great things, and he gave me a little ray of hope.”
Hope arises when we take action to make our dreams come true, despite all the odds and obstacles we face. DREAMERS DO is divided into ten chapters (steps) to show us how to make that happen. In fact, the title itself is an acronym for those ten steps. Some of the steps include Dream, Responsibility, Action, Mindset, Risk, and Overcome. Each chapter tells personal stories from the lives of Dr. Gene and Genesis, illustrating how they used the step to improve their lives. Each chapter also includes inspiring stories from Walt Disney’s life, ranging from how he created Mickey Mouse to dealing with an abusive childhood, his wife’s miscarriages, and the detractors who wrongly predicted Snow White would fail or Disneyland would fail. a disaster. Each time, Walt clung to the vision of him and overcame all obstacles. Walt’s inspirational quotes are peppered throughout the book, such as “The way to start is to stop talking and start doing.”
One of the most inspiring stories to me about Walt Disney, though often told, is how his business partner, Charles Mintz, stole Walt’s creation, Oswald the Rabbit, and then Walt’s animators. Walt overcame this setback by having a positive mindset. Dr. Gene writes, “By cultivating a positive mindset, Walt experienced healing from the past. Walt had been hurt by various people throughout his life, but he never became bitter or resentful. Instead, he let go of his pain by practicing forgiveness and compassion.” Dr. Gene goes on to describe how Walt came to forgive Mintz and even felt bad for him when he fell on hard times. As Walt said, “The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”
How do we apply Walt’s example to our own lives? By believing in ourselves. Disney sculptor Blaine Gibson is quoted as saying, “Walt had the ability to inspire us by selling ourselves…he gave us the confidence to do things we never imagined possible.” DREAMERS DO is full of examples of how people, especially Dr. Gene and Genesis, were inspired to do things that many people would think were impossible. Perhaps my favorite example was when Genesis got a part in a local musical production of Aladdin. She had seen the show at Disneyland countless times, so when a local theater company did a production, she wanted to audition for the play, but even her father was shocked when he announced that she would never get the role she wanted because she was a girl. and Aladdin was the role of a child. However, over time, Genesis realized: “If Bruce Jenner could become Caitlyn Jenner in real life, why couldn’t I become Aladdin in a play? As Walt once said, ‘Who says my dreams have to stay my dreams??'” Needless to say, Genesis landed the part.
However, this book is not just about overcoming obstacles. It’s also full of Disney magic. This father and daughter love Disney so much that they often travel to both parks in the US. In fact, one day they realized that because of their flight time back to California from Florida, they could do something amazing: visit all the Disney parks in the United States on the same day visiting the ones in Florida in the morning and then flying home, and arriving in time to visit all the ones in California before they closed. It was an ambitious and somewhat exhausting goal, but also fun and exciting.
DREAMERS DO is a book written from the heart of Walt Disney. It’s amazing to think that almost a century after Walt created Mickey Mouse, we still celebrate him and his creations; The reason is that he had an incredible vision and the courage to take the necessary steps to make that vision a reality. Whatever you face, whether it’s finishing school, finding a better job, losing a loved one, or building an amusement park, DREAMERS DO will inspire you and serve as a practical manual for achieving your own dreams. It also has to be one of the funniest and most heartfelt self-help books ever written.