I think it's time for a little positivity. Walt Disney was always looking forward, never back. He was a realist but always looked for the positive perspective to help him move forward.

What follows is based on a real incident reported in several books of Disney reminiscences. It offers a lesson in not taking your current situation so seriously that you forget what you have accomplished and stop looking for a way forward.

Walt knew it was bad news when brother Roy, on the right in the snap above, asked to meet. It was 1940 and times were tough. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had been the hit of 1937, making eight million, or 110,966,896 in 2017 dollars). Walt Disney did what he always did money: he funneled it back into the business, building a new studio complex, ramping up the size of his staff and launching bigger, bolder features to follow Snow White.

None of it worked. Pinocchio, Fantasia and Bambi all suffered cost overruns and were box office failures. Staff and facilities costs were higher than ever. And, the war that would become World War II froze Disney assets in the European markets and reduced income to a trickle.

When Walt turned the corner into Roy’s office, he saw a somber looking Roy. “Sit down, kid,” Roy said, closing the door.

“Why the long face?” Walt asked.

“This is serious. I’ve got to talk to you.”“What’s the matter?”

Roy launched into a detailed point-by-point explanation of the Studio’s precarious finances. With each point, the situation sounded more ominous, the tension building to a crescendo.

“And now, Walt,” Roy glumly concluded, “we are in debt to the bank for four and a half million dollars!”

Walt’s reaction was unexpected. His face broke into a big, ear-to-ear grin. He chuckled. Then laughed. Then howled.

“What the h**l,” an annoyed Roy exclaimed, “are you laughing at?”

Between gasps, Walt spit out, “You remember when we couldn’t borrow a thousand dollars?”

“Yeah, remember how hard it was to get that first twenty-thousand-dollar credit?” Roy began to laugh too.

“And now we owe four and a half million dollars!? I think that’s pretty damn good.”

They laughed and laughed and laughed. Then they got down to business. The long term result was a decision to issue preferred stock. It was a move that would, in 1957, result in Walt Disney Productions going public. (Source – Walt Disney: An American Original, Bob Thomas.)

“I knew if this business was ever to get anywhere, if this business was ever to grow, it could never do it by having to answer to someone unsympathetic to its possibilities, by having to answer to someone with only one thought or interest, namely profits. For my idea of how to make profits has differed greatly from those who generally control businesses such as ours. I have blind faith in the policy that quality, tempered with good judgment and showmanship, will win against all odds.” Walt Disney

Walt struggled with money problems throughout his career. Profits came in but Walt spent all of it on quality. His attitude was that "quality will win out." This strategy eventually paid off when Disneyland opened. Disneyland visitors, flush with a lifetime of high quality Disney movie memories they wanted to relive, came in droves. 50,000 on open day alone and over 600 million by 2016.

Disney is now a top 20 company with a world-renowned brand reputation; all because Walt Disney was happy being broke ... as long as he invested in quality. From this story we can, hopefully, draw perspective and strength as we cope with the crazy situation around us.