Walt Disney's Failures Could Inspire Entrepreneurs. Emergency Disaster Planning - Planning To Survive.
You are a struggling entrepreneur and sometimes it feels like you are pushing a 3 ton boulder up a steep hill. Costs keep mounting and you are considering giving up. Well before you do, check out these 10 setbacks that Walt Disney had, some were financial nightmares that put him millions of dollars in the red:
1) Walt formed his first animation company in Kansas City in 1921. He made a deal with a distribution company in New York, in which he would ship them his cartoons and get paid six months down the road. Flushed with success, he began to experiment with new storytelling techniques, his costs went up and then the distributor went bankrupt. He was forced to dissolve his company and at one point could not pay his rent and was surviving by eating dog food.
2) Walt created a mildly successful cartoon character in 1926 called Oswald the Rabbit. When he tried to negotiate with his distributor, Universal Studios, for better rates for each cartoon, he was informed that Universal had obtained ownership of the Oswald character and they had hired Disney's artists out from under him.
3) When Walt tried to get MGM studios to distribute Mickey Mouse in 1927 he was told that the idea would never work-- a giant mouse on the screen would terrify women.
4) The Three Little Pigs was rejected by distributors in 1933 because it only had four characters, it was felt at that time that cartoons should have as many figures on the screen as possible.
It later became very successful and played at one theater so long that the poster outside featured the pigs with long white beards.
5) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was sneak previewed to College Students in 1937 who left halfway during the film causing Disney great despair. It turned out the students had to leave early because of dorm curfew.
6) Pinocchio in 1940 became extra expensive because Walt shut down the production to make the puppet more sympathetic than the lying juvenile delinquent as presented in the original Carlo Collodi story. He also resurrected a minor character, an unnamed cricket who tried to tell Pinocchio the difference between right and wrong until the puppet killed him with the mallet. Excited by the development of Jiminy Cricket plus the revamped, misguided rather than rotten Pinocchio, Walt poured extra money into the film's special effects and it ended up losing a million dollars in it's first release.
7) For the premiere of Pinocchio Walt hired 11 midgets, dressed them up like the little puppet and put them on top of Radio City Music Hall in New York with a full day's supply of food and wine. The idea was they would wave hello to the little children entering into the theater. By the middle of the hot afternoon, there were 11 drunken naked midgets running around the top of the marquee, screaming obscenities at the crowd below. The most embarrassed people were the police who had to climb up ladders and take the little fellows off in pillowcases.8) Walt never lived to see Fantasia become a success. 1940 audiences were put off by it's lack of a story. Also the final scene, The Night On Bald Mountain sequence with the devil damning the souls of the dead, was considered unfit for children.
9) In 1942, Walt was in attendance for the premiere of Bambi. In the dramatic scene where Bambi's mother died, Bambi was shown wandering through the meadow shouting," Mother! Where are you, Mother?" A teenage girl seated in the balcony shouted out, " Here I am Bambi!" The audience broke into laughter except for the red-faced Walt who concluded correctly that war-time was not the best time to release a film about the love-life of a deer.
10) The sentimental Pollyanna in 1960 made Walt cry at the studio screening but failed at the box office. Walt concluded that the title was off-putting for young boys.
Walt was human, he suffered through many fits of anger and depression through his many trials. Yet he learned from each setback, and continued to take even bigger risks which combined with the wisdom that experiencing failure can provide, led to fabulous financial rewards.
About The Author
Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says," these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining." Hear realaudio samples of these great, unique gifts at www.hollywoodstories.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
One of the biggest heartbreaks surrounding the Hurricane Katrina aftermath is the lack of preparation made for such a large-scale evacuation - and the despair of those who have become separated from their loved ones in the midst of the chaos and who have no idea if they are safe, or even alive.
Don't be caught unprepared if a disaster strikes your family.
Before you need it, you and your family should have a plan in place for reaching safety and for keeping the others apprised of your situation. Don't rely on rescue workers and relief organizations to provide for your family's safety, or to be able to tell you whether or not they are okay. These organizations, if they're even present, will almost assuredly be overwhelmed and understaffed. They will be dealing with the situation in a triage manner of prioritization and even if they are able to help locate family members, their information may be incorrect. Make sure you have alternative plans for keeping your family safe and connected.
- Have at least two out-of-state relatives or friends designated as check-in home bases, by whatever means necessary. Make sure that everyone knows to call, email or snail-mail these places as soon as possible, should they be separated in an emergency. Of course, you should offer to provide the same service in return. Note: sometimes SMS/text messaging will work even if the cell phone services are spotty and unreliable. Use this feature whenever you can't make a good connection otherwise. Send as short a message as possible to ensure delivery, even just your name and "okay" to let everyone know that you are safe.
- For localized emergencies (fire, tornado, etc) have a designated meeting spot near enough to reach, but far enough away for safety. Everyone should know to meet there for a check-in as soon as they safely can. Ideas include a local store or church, the corner mailbox, the neighbor's yard, a nearby park or school, etc. You should set up more than one, to allow for varying degrees of disruption. For example: in case of house fire, everyone meets at the lamppost on the corner. But in case of wider-spread destruction, go to the church at the top of the hill. For truly large-scale events, such as hurricanes and massive earthquakes, evacuation orders will likely supersede these options, but if possible try to regroup first then evacuate.
- Set up a "bug-out" bag (see article here) and make sure that everyone knows where it is and that it is to be a part of any evacuation except a house fire - everyone should know never go after any material items in the event of a fire. Also make sure that everyone knows where emergency gear such as fire extinguishers, first aid kits, evacuation maps, emergency numbers and so forth are kept.
- If you have a bank account set up for emergency situations, make sure that all responsible adults have access to it and know how to get to it. Also make sure that anyone who does have access is a responsible adult. You don't want to be out on the street after a disaster only to find your emergency account empty because "someone" needed shopping money (or worse) last month.
- Designate someone in your family to be the "tribal leader" in the case of an emergency. Normally, this will be a parent or guardian, but in some cases it may be an adult child or other relative. Choose someone who has shown that they can operate with a clear head in emergencies, who reliably makes smart choices out of bad options and who has demonstrated an ability to lead without abusing power. Work out an order of second and third choices, in case the originally chosen leader is incapacitated. In an emergency, it is vital that valuable time not be spent debating various alternatives. Unless someone clearly sees a better option that the leader is not aware of, everyone should know beforehand that, no matter what normal give and take the family may be used to, in an emergency situation they are to do exactly what the leader says without argument or hesitation.
Facing the prospect of partial or even complete destruction of everything you know and love is a fearful thing, and many people would rather avoid thinking about it as much as possible. But knowing that your loved ones are prepared to make it through such an event, and that they know how to take advantage of this preparedness, goes a long way toward making the crisis bearable.
About the author
Soni Pitts is a professional freelance writer who provides copywriting, editing and related services in addition to her regular freelance work. She also covers the Networking beat as an associate writer for Wordbrains. Need copy? Email Soni at writer@sonipitts.com for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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