Disney Magical Mindset Podcast

Alice in Wonderland Turns 75: 3 Life Lessons from Wonderland

• Ruben R. Rios • Episode 77

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0:00 | 16:25

As Disney's beloved animated classic celebrates its 75th anniversary, let's explores three timeless life lessons hidden inside Wonderland:

✨ How worrying about tomorrow steals the joy of today.
🐇 Why following the White Rabbit reminds us to take the next step, even when we don't have all the answers.
🦋 And how the Caterpillar's famous question, "Who are you?" challenges us to stop living by everyone else's expectations and embrace who we were destined to be.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by worry, stuck waiting for the "perfect time," or unsure of who you are, this episode is your invitation to leave Worryland behind and rediscover the wonder that's waiting today.

Because sometimes the most magical journey isn't down the rabbit hole, it's choosing wonder over worry.

Helping you reimagine what's possible and step into it! 

Welcome To Disney Magical Mindset

Ruben

Hey pals, welcome back to the Disney Magical Mindset Podcast. My name is Ruben, and I am so delighted that you are here today, where we discover life lessons through the magic of Disney so that we can create our very own happiest place on Earth. Today, I want to take you back 75 years ago when Disney introduced us to one of its most imaginative animated films of all time. Alice in Wonderland. Now, Alice has always been one of Disney's most unusual movies, right? It's it's whimsical, it's confusing. Sometimes it feels like absolutely nothing makes sense. But isn't that the point in Wonderland? Because life often feels a little like Wonderland, right? It's unexpected, unpredictable, a little chaotic, and yet hidden beneath the nonsense are some surprisingly powerful lessons about how we live our own lives. And so today I want to share three magical life lessons that I think Alice has taught us the movie over the years. They're lessons about worry, about courage, and about discovering who you really are. So go ahead and grab your tea. Let's go on the teacups, dump bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. And we're gonna follow the white rabbit down, down, down the rabbit hole, and let's see where we go together. Are you ready? Cause here we go.

Worryland Vs Wonderland Today

Ruben

The first lesson as we celebrate 75 years of Alice in Wonderland is going from Worryland to Wonderland. That's lesson number one. One of my favorite songs from the film is In a World of My Own. It's such a beautiful song. You know, before Alice ever follows the white rabbit, before she ever falls down the rabbit hole, she dreams, she imagines, she wonders. She sings about a place where cats and rabbits would reside in fancy little houses and be dressed in shoes and hats and trousers in a world of my own. Okay, that's enough. There I go, man. I just can't help it. But think about that. If Alice had spent all her time worrying about tomorrow, she never would have chased a white rabbit today, right? This very day. She would have stayed exactly where she was. And how often do we do the same thing? And I get it, because we all we all do it. I've I do it myself. You know, things get busy. Um, and we start thinking about next week or next month or the next doctor's appointment, the next bill, the next conversation. And we completely miss the incredible moments that are happening right now. We start worrying about what's next and if I'm gonna get that um job or I'm gonna get that opportunity, and we start thinking well ahead. And and I'm only speaking from experience because it's easy to do. It's easy to start thinking about tomorrow or next year or next month or in three months. And when we do that, that's isn't that when worry starts to creep in? And now we've missed our opportunity to experience Wonderland. We we we miss the moments that are going on today in in this beautiful Wonderland that we get to experience, right? With the chaos and everything that that that is mixed up in all of that. And before we know it, what ends up happening is we've traded Wonderland for worry land. Isn't that interesting? And and Walt Disney, he understood this. In fact, he said, why worry if you've done the very best you can? Um, worrying won't make it any better. I love that. I love that so much. Um, because worry has has never solved tomorrow's problems. Isn't that amazing? We we we worry about tomorrow and it doesn't solve tomorrow's problem. You know what it does? It actually steals today's peace. So that's the power of worry that works against you and me is it causes us to miss out on the peace today. And I want to say something that that has been so helpful for me. How can you worry about something that hasn't even happened yet? According to research, up to 90% of the things people worry about never happen. I want to say that again because I need I need you to hear this. Up to 90% of the things people worry about actually never happen. A study by Cornell University found that 85% of the things people worry about never come to pass. And of the remaining 15% that do happen, 79% of people find that the challenge is easier to handle than expected, or that they learn something valuable from it. So this means, listen, my dear friends, this means that 97% of the things people worry about are not worth worrying about. And so that's why I want to encourage you, don't allow the worry to steal your wonderland. That's where we got to go to. And the thing that's been so helpful for me as well is to remember like tomorrow, it's not even promised for me or you. I don't even know if I'm gonna get to tomorrow. So it makes no sense for me to worry about something that I may not even get to anyway. Like, all I have is today, is today, is right now, this moment that you and me are living on this, this, this beautiful life that we've been given, this one gift of life. I'm like, let me live this today to the fullest, to to everything that I've got. In just a moment, I'm about to go to the to a baseball game with my son. And I'm like, I don't have time to think about next year or or tomorrow or next month. I want to be in this moment with him right now because that's all I have. You and me don't have tomorrow. We're not promised that. All we have is right now, and so I would much rather live in that wonderland than that worry land because I don't want tomorrow's worry to steal today's peace. Okay? So here's that magical mindset shift that you and me are gonna make. When you worry about tomorrow, you miss out on winning today. So today, let's be present. Today, let's notice what's happening around us. Dream again, laugh again, wonder again. Because Wonderland is experienced by people who are fully aware of the wonder that's happening today. Not the worry, the wonder. Not the worry tomorrow, the wonder today.

Chase The Rabbit Before You’re Ready

Ruben

And after you do that, you're ready for lesson two, where we get to follow the white rabbit down, down, down the rabbit hole. That's lesson number two. You know, one of the funniest parts of Alice in Wonderland is how quickly Alice decides to chase the white rabbit. She doesn't know where he's going, she doesn't know where the rabbit hole leads to. She gets a little distracted, yes, right? As she's sitting on the tree, doesn't really care about the instruction, the reading. She's just like in a world of her own, right? Like I can do so often, and I know you and me can do as well, right? The the uh the daydreaming. And she's like, I'm not gonna wait. She doesn't know what's waiting at the bottom of that rabbit hole. She's just going to follow. And can I tell you something? Most dreams begin exactly like that, don't they? They just they begin like that. There's no map with without a guarantee, without knowing how everything's gonna work out. And so many people postpone their dream because they're waiting for certainty. They're waiting to have the map figured all out. They're waiting to have everything in order. And I'm like, that's just no way to follow your dreams because if you keep waiting for that, you're never gonna get there. I have you heard this before? I'm gonna start when everything is ready, or when I know everything. I'm gonna only do it when I know that I'm ready. I'll take the step when I know it can't fail. But that's not how dreams work. Walt Disney didn't know exactly what Disneyland would become. He didn't know. He had a dream and he chased after it and he went after it. And I'm still amazed that he did this Disneyland dream from start to finish. When you know, when they when they broke ground in one year, ooh, my goodness, he simply knew he had to begin. He knew he had to begin. And the white rabbit reminds us that that this is how those dreams start. It kind of looks like this, like taking the next step before you know where the path ends. So when you think about your dreams, I want you to think about the white rabbit and following the white rabbit down that rabbit hole. And you don't really know where it's gonna go, but you know that you've got to do this because if you don't, and if you keep waiting, you're never gonna go. You're never gonna get there. And maybe, maybe today your white rabbit is that conversation you've been avoiding. Maybe it's starting the business or writing the book or applying for the job or reaching out to um content creators or people that you're trying to grow your online presence, right? Um, maybe it's making the phone call, you know, calling someone and saying, hey, um, is this opportunity available? You don't need every answer. Maybe following the white rabbit down the rabbit hole is believing in yourself today, is believing that you have what it takes to go after what your heart desires. Okay, because you don't need every answer. You just need enough courage to take the next step. Because sometimes the greatest adventures begin with curiosity in Wonderland. Woo, we're on a roll today. We're on a roll. All right, so let's get to lesson number three.

Remember Who You Are

Ruben

The final lesson in Alice in Wonderland is to remember who you are. I know it it sounds like very Simba and uh Lion King, but there is a conversation uh in the movie that happens with the Caterpillar. And it reminds me of of this, remembering who you are, right? Because the Caterpillar asks that one famous simple question, who are you? Who are you? And Alice answers, I hardly know, sir. And while it's funny and we kind of laugh, I think we all can resonate with Alice because at some point we've all felt that way. Life just has a funny way of making us question ourselves. And Wonderland constantly tells Alice she needs to change, right? When she's in Wonderland. Or with or or the caterpillar that poses this question, and all of the all of a sudden, I'm sure there's all these thoughts that come that we think about. In Wonderland, it's eat this, drink that, grow bigger, shrink smaller. You're too much, you're not enough. Off with their heads, all right? The uh queen of hearts. Doesn't that sound familiar? And social media tells us who we should be, right? That's the thing about social media, which is why breaks are so important. But social media will tell you who you're supposed to be. Um, and and then there's comparison that tells us we're behind and we're constantly comparing ourselves with other people, which causes us to worry and miss out on our own wonderland, right? Then you have culture that tells us this is uh what success looks like. Success looks like a certain way. And so what happens is you define success based on other people's interpretation of success. And because you don't look like that or do that thing or are successful in the way that they determine success to be, then you feel like a failure and you feel like you're not successful. And pretty soon we forget who we really are. But here's what I love about Walt Disney: he didn't become Walt Disney by becoming someone else, he embraced the person he was created to be. Um, he became this Walt Disney because he imagines something that nobody else could see. And I love this about Walt, and I want to just encourage you today. Maybe that's your reminder. Don't spend your life shrinking yourself so you'll fit into someone else's expectations. Because here's the thing I know about that. You try to shrink yourself to fit someone else's expectations, and they will always have something to say. They will always expect more of you or something of you that you can never quite fulfill until you find yourself at peace and in the space of joy and happiness for who you are, not who others think you should be, but who you are. Who are you? Okay. So don't spend your life trying to live someone else's story. You got to live yours. You got to live the story that you've been given. Like this one beautiful life is your story. You get to be the hero of your story, you get to live your happily ever after, you get to create your very own happiest place on earth. It's your story, and that's enough. As we celebrate 75 years of Alice in Wonderland, perhaps the greatest lesson isn't found in the Mad Tea Party, although there are lessons for sure there. Or the Cheshire Cat. The Cheshire Cat's got a lot of lessons. Or even the Queen of Hearts, as scary and tough as she might be. Yes, there are lessons there, but but maybe the main one is this is that every single day you and me get to choose. We wake up in the morning and we start our day, and we get to choose to live in worry land, always anxious, fearful, always waiting for someday. Like you get to choose that. That you can live in worry land, or we can choose Wonderland, a life filled with curiosity, faith, joy, wonder, and imagination. Because the people who experience the most magic aren't the ones with perfect lives, they're the ones who never stop believing there's still something wonderful waiting for them in Wonderland, or around the riverbend, or the next corner. They believe that there's something wonderful waiting for them.

Choose Wonder And Share It

Ruben

Thank you so much, my dear friends, for spending a few minutes with me today. I never take it lightly that you choose to spend some time out of your busy day to listen to this Disney Magical Mindset podcast. It means the world to me. If this episode encouraged you, would you do me a favor? Can you share it with someone who might need a little more wonder in their life this week? Um, and if you haven't done so already, I'd love for you to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss a new episode of the Disney Magical Mindset Podcast. I appreciate you all so much. Go out there and have the best day ever. And you never know what happens when you follow the white rabbit down the rabbit hole. Y'all, the best. Take good care. Much love to you. Until next time, keep dreaming big, keep believing, and remember, remember always, you are the magic because the magic is in you.