Walt Disney had a very clear sense of why. He was about happiness. Remember when Disney was founded, it was during war. People said that life sucked. And he said, "No." He was an eternal optimist who said: "Life is beautiful. It's about giving. It's about family." Look what happened. His cause grew and people committed themselves to helping him grow the Disney why and it was hugely successful.

I was a nobody when I met with the publisher. Nobody knew who I was. I was doing some speaking for entrepreneurs. I did little groups. I had no following.

What you do is proof of what you believe.

If you look at the average age of a company on the Dow Jones index, it's something like 35 years or younger. In other words... success is no indication of longevity.

Usually what happens is somebody grabs me and they always pull me off to the side. Nobody ever does it publically. They say, "I didn't want to be here." Or, "I don't usually like people like you." Or, "I didn't believe the things you actually talked about would work. I'm here to tell you that you converted me." That happens a lot.

Remaining calm in times of desperation makes way for opportunity.

You [should] persist even though there are some short-term stresses and even though there is some uncertainty, because it's the right thing to do.