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Make People Happy!

By Shlomo Maital

   Walt Disney, a struggling cartoonist,  was working out of a small rodent-infested shed near a church. Seeing a small mouse inspired him to draw a new cartoon. That was the start of Mickey Mouse.  Fast forward:  Walt Disney Corp. has a market value of $190 billion and employs 230,000 people. 

    Disney had a vision to create a theme park called Disneyland.  The banks did not understand his vision and turned him down. He eventually raised $11 million, and in one year, built and opened Disneyland in LA.  It was an instant hit.

     To motivate Disneyland employees, Walt Disney needed a mantra – a three word description of what they are meant to achieve.  His mantra was:  Make People Happy.  Everyone, including those sweeping the streets, knew it and worked according to it.  If a visiting family asks the street cleaner, excuse me, where is the Dumbo the Elephant ride?  The response could be: I don’t know. It’s not my job. I just clean the streets.  Or:  Take this path, and at the end, turn left.  If your job is to ‘make people happy’, you know what to say – and to learn the layout so you can answer tens of questions daily.

      Make People Happy is not just a great mantra for Disneyland and Disney World.  It works for all of us.  Make people happy – others, primarily, and of course, ourselves.  A happy body is one in which our amazing immune system is working best. 

       Years ago, we took our children to Disney World.  “That was the best day of my life,”  one of them said, with a big smile.  Making people happy is a worthy purpose in life – for Disney, and for each of us.