I recently watched the movie, “Saving Mr. Banks,” a Walt Disney film that shows the process that Walt and Mrs. P.L. Travers used in creating the movie “Mary Poppins.”

The thing that stood out to me the most is that the creative process is messy, yet, it’s full of joy and happiness.  The creative process is frustrating and rife with obstacles and barriers, yet, it’s inspiring and uplifting, as well.  There is constant starting, stopping, redoing, and editing that drives you mad, yet, it’s collaborative and spirited. 

To get the through the creative process it takes all of the above and it takes a leader who is committed to his vision; a leader who has his mind set on bringing his vision to life.  It took over 20 years for Walt Disney to convince Mrs. Travers to allow him to make a movie from her book…at one point, Mrs. Travers stopped the whole creative process and went back to England, refusing to go any further.

At this point, Walt had a choice to make, he could have thrown his hands up in frustration and shut the whole project down or he could fight for his vision by going to England and trying to convince Mrs. Travers one last time.  It probably comes as no surprise that Walt persevered; he took a trip to England to visit Mrs. Travers so he could make one last attempt at convincing her to let him turn her masterpiece into a movie that would be enjoyed by millions of men, women and children.  The rest, as they say, is history. 

The key to Walt Disney’s success was his ability to persuade and persevere through all types of barriers, obstacles, and hardships.  Yet, through it all, he remained true to his vision of turning Mrs. Travers’ book into a cinematic work of art that garnered over 20 prestigious movie awards and was rumored to be his favorite film out of all of his classic movies.