Then I realized what it is I appreciate about his thoughts. They have that rare balance of emotion and structure. His imagination was wild, but the dude just breaks it down, ya know? He’s probably one of the greatest innovators in history, but when he talks about building the Disney dream, the tone I hear is sort of: It’s not that complicated…. just do what you know you were made to do.’

He often leaves me like- yea… wow… duh. And at the same time, gets my mind going and stirs my heart a bit. Inspiration without the fluff, I guess :) I appreciate the dry simplicity… and certainly the experience behind his words. The quotes themselves aren’t mind-blowing… but when you consider his story, his thoughts (that I take as advice) might not be what you’d expect from a guy who built an empire on fantasy.

A few I come back to:

- I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained. (fave of all faves to the 1000th power!)

- Mickey Mouse popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner.

- It’s no secret that we were sticking just about every nickel we had on the chance that people would really be interested in something totally new and unique in the field of entertainment.

- I am not influenced by the techniques or fashions of any other motion picture company.

- Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.

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

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

- We are not trying to entertain the critics. I’ll take my chances with the public.

- It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.

The best of friends.