Disney Magical Mindset Podcast

The Walt Way: Turning Comparison Into Fuel For Your Dreams!

• Ruben R. Rios • Episode 12

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Ever feel like everyone else is winning while you're stuck on the sidelines? We're talking about comparison again, but this time we're moving beyond the Evil Queen’s mirror and into something far more empowering: using comparison as a coach, not a torture device. 

In this episode, we explore how Walt Disney didn’t waste time comparing—he used it as fuel to create something the world had never seen. From orange groves to Disneyland, Walt built his “Happiest Place on Earth” by staying in his lane, showing up daily, and letting inspiration sharpen his vision—not shake his confidence.

✨ Here’s what we’re diving into:

  1. How to shift your perspective on comparison so it teaches you instead of tormenting you
  2. Why you must run your own race and stop swerving into someone else’s lane
  3. The power of consistency—putting in the reps even when no one’s watching

If you’re ready to silence the villain in your mind, unlock your magic, and start building your own dream—this episode is for you.

Helping you silence the villain in your mind and become the hero of your story!

  • Instagram: @rubenriosinspires
  • Website: www.rubenrrios.com
  • Click link below for my FREE Magical Mindset Guide
    https://disney-magic-mentor.kit.com/53b916a484

Ruben:

Hey pals, welcome back to the Disney Magical Mindset Podcast. I'm Ruben, your Disney Magic Mentor, and I'm here to help you silence the villain in your mind so you can become the hero of your story. On today's episode, we're cutting deep into comparison, the comparison trap and the way that comparison causes you to stop creating new things. And if you're thinking, wait a minute, didn't you talk about comparison in a previous podcast episode? Yes, I did. Thank you so much for listening. I appreciate you.

Ruben:

Yeah, we looked at comparison from the evil queen's perspective, but the thing about comparison is it always creeps up and it seems to be one of those challenges that doesn't go away. Do you know what I mean? And last week I had this moment where I was feeling discouraged because I was comparing myself to someone else's journey and I knew I couldn't stay there, because when I stay in that space, I lose momentum, I get discouraged, I don't want to do anything, I feel like I can't make it or I'm going to give up, and that's just not a healthy place to be. And listen, I've come too far with my dreams and my goals and this vision for the future. That I see it. I see it and it excites me. I'm not letting anything stand in the way, not even myself. So I had to pivot and I had to switch, and that's what I want to share with you today. I discovered something so powerful from Mel Robbins about comparison that I had to share with you because it was like a game changer for me. It really motivated me, it flipped the script for me, it like turned on the switch and I said I've got to share it with you.

Ruben:

And here's the truth about comparison. Comparison is not the problem. The problem is what you're doing with comparison. It is your perspective of comparison. It is what you're actually allowing that comparison to do to you. And I used to think, like comparison, the comparison game, all of that, it's a bad thing, and yes, it is that. It is mostly that, because that's the way we experience it or we view it right. Let's be honest. We've been there before. You're scrolling, watching, listening, and then suddenly, boom, you see them, them.

Ruben:

That person who just posted the thing you were too afraid to share, that person who booked the job you've been dreaming of, that person who decided they were going to take that step and that leap of faith to go and do something that they were so afraid of and you wanted to do that, and now you're seeing them do the very thing that you were hoping and wishing you can do. Yeah, that person who lost the weight started the podcast, moved to your dream city, whatever it is, and if we're not careful, instead of feeling inspired, we start spiraling out of control, we get frustrated and we get mad. This is the kind of comparison, yeah, that feels like torture. The comparison that steals your joy, that causes you to stop creating. This is the kind of comparison you have to steer clear from. It's hard to create your happiest place on earth when you're constantly torturing yourself by comparing your journey, your life, your experience to someone else's. Comparison feels like torture when you're focused on fixed attributes of someone else's life.

Ruben:

There are some things that you cannot change, right. There are some things that are out of your control. I wish I was taller, but comparing myself to my friend who's 6'3 is not going to make me grow. But comparing myself to my friend who's 6'3 is not going to make me grow. So there's no use in comparing myself or wasting my energy on something that I can't change. That is out of my control. You can't control that. Your parents got divorced who sings perfectly, like perfect pitch. I wish I could, and I know, no matter how I try hard to change that, I'm not going to have perfect pitch. I'm not going to have that voice.

Ruben:

There are just things that are out of your control. You can't control the fact that you have a friend or a cousin who's just gorgeous, like beautiful. You step into a room with them or you get to your family gatherings and everyone wants to be with that cousin or that family member. All eyes are on them and it's like, oh, there's our beautiful cousin, she's so gorgeous. How are you doing, mija, or whatever you know?

Ruben:

You get together and it's like you're feeling left out. It's like, yo, I'm right here, what about me? There are things, listen, you can't control, and so one of the biggest struggles we have is we allow other people's success to paralyze us, and we have to stop giving into that trap, because it will leave you feeling discouraged and destroy your self-esteem and it will feel like torture. And this is the kind of torture that traps you in one of those hamster wheels that sometimes it's hard to get out of, because you're constantly comparing yourself to someone else and certainly to some things that you just can't control like that are out of your control. And here's the reality. Comparison is something we're always gonna do. I wish I can tell you right now that you're never going to compare yourself to anyone else for the rest of your life, but that's just not true. The reality is that comparison is going to be with you and just destroy you, your joy, your happiness and all those great moments of your life that are yet to come. You have to start realizing this important truth.

Ruben:

Comparison is not the problem. The problem is what you're doing with comparison. Are you using it as a weapon to beat yourself up or as a lesson to level yourself up? Come on, don't you want to level up? It's level up season, and here's how you're going to level up. Come on, it's level up season. I want you to level up. I want to level up, and here's how you're going to do it. You're going to see comparison as a coach, not as a crutch. Come on, if you're with me, say go, ruben, this is so powerful. Oh my goodness. You and me have to see comparison as a coach, as something that's teaching us of what is possible. Now remember we've let go of the torture. We're not going to allow comparison to torture us and kill us inside, because it steals the joy, it kills the happiness right, it disrupts our flow. That's gone because there are things again that are out of our control. But guess what? There are things that are in your control. There are things that you can change. There are things that you can do.

Ruben:

95% of what you want in life is within your reach If you're willing to work hard, stay consistent, be disciplined and practice patience. If you have a friend who's doing something bigger, better, greater, like they're an entrepreneur, you have a family member who's got a business that's thriving, you step into one of your friends' home and you're just blown away by what you see. Or you're browsing Instagram or your social media and you're like my goodness, look at these people, look at their growth, look at the engagement You've connected with an old friend of yours, like from college, high school, and they're just living the dream. Or you just ran across somebody the other day that you saw in the store and they're just living the dream. Or you just ran across somebody the other day that you saw in the store and they just look physically healthy and well.

Ruben:

And here's the thing about all these people that I just described. We would say they are successful, they're winning in life. But what you have to understand is that their wins are not your losses. Let them have their success, let them shine. Just give them a clap while you're at it, not because you're giving up, but because they're showing you what's possible. Their success doesn't steal your opportunity. It reveals your potential. And this is the power of seeing comparison, as a coach, as a teacher, because their success doesn't steal your opportunity. It reveals your potential, what's possible. Let them go ahead of you. They're showing you the way. They're revealing to you and me that what they've accomplished is not just for them, but it's for everyone who wants to put in the work, the effort, the discipline, the commitment to make this happen in their life.

Ruben:

Stop falling into the lie or into the trap of believing that, just because someone else has gone before you and has done what you want to do, that now somehow you can't. Here's the good news, here's why this is good. When someone else has gone before you and has gone ahead of you, they paved the way. They're showing you how to do it. So, rather than comparing myself to them and seeing it as torture, see when I flip it and I use it as a coaching moment as a teacher. I'm going to let it now fuel me, like that fire inside of me. I'm going to let it now fuel me, like that fire inside of me. I'm going to look at what they're doing and here's what you got to do. You got to look at what others are doing and, because they've gone before you, obviously whatever they're doing is working. And then you ask what's the formula? What can I learn? Let me get to work on it Like nothing is new. Do you hear what I'm saying? Everyone's doing something that someone has done before. It's called stealing. Like an artist Such a great little book, by the way and if you're jealous, you know like jealous because of what someone else has that you wish you had.

Ruben:

You know the thing that you can change, because that's what we're talking about seeing comparison. As a coach, let's reframe the whole jealousy thing, because typically jealousy is not good, right, it's seen as something that's negative and, just like comparison, it can be very, very toxic and it could torture you. But jealousy is not a flaw, it's feedback. It's your future self, tapping you on the shoulder and saying, hey, this thing that you're seeing in someone else, this thing that you really want for your life, that you want to be better, that you want to grow, that you want to follow your dream, your aspirations, and become all that you really desire in this one life that you've been given? Yeah, if it matters to you in this one life that you've been given. Yeah, if it matters to you, guess what you want this? Stop being mad and start moving. Instead of saying why them, try saying why not me? Let me go for it. Remember their success is a mirror, and let that mirror show you what you're capable of If you put in the work.

Ruben:

Comparison becomes torture when we make it about them beating us, and comparison becomes a teacher when we make it about us learning from them. This is so powerful. I got to say it again because this is really what I want you to take away from today. Comparison becomes torture when we make it about them beating us. Comparison becomes a teacher or a coach when we make it about us learning from them. There are two people that I admire, that I respect, that are friends of mine, and I look at what they're doing and I'm like that's what I want. That's what I want for my life. I want this. This is the dream that I've been dreaming of, that I've been going for, that I've been chasing after in my life, and last week I started comparing myself to them, right, comparing my first chapter to their fifth chapter, and that comparison was starting to feel like torture and I knew I had to shift, I had to pivot. I couldn't stay there because if I stayed there, I wouldn't be able to create the magic that I desire so much for my life, to help others and to fulfill this dream. And so I began to start seeing this comparison more as coaching, learning from them, growing from them, finding their formula, asking them questions how did you get here? What did you do? And just putting in the work right, staying committed, staying disciplined. This is what I'm talking about. These are the things that we can change. How bad do you want it? And this is the most important question today what are you doing when you compare? Are you torturing yourself or is it teaching you something important?

Ruben:

I often wonder what would Walt say about comparison, and I firmly believe that Walt used comparison as a coach, as a teacher, not as torture. He didn't see it as torture. If he did, there would be no Disneyland. If he did, there would be no Walt Disney Studios. Instead, walt was using other people's success as opportunities for growth to learn to do it himself. He saw people building amusement parks and he's like great, awesome. But guess what? I'm going to build a theme park, a magic kingdom, my own magic kingdom. And I'm going to do it even better because it's not going to be like everyone else. Oh, thank you, walt. Think about it. There were other cartoons happening before Walt Disney.

Ruben:

But then Walt comes along and begins to change the animation game. Right, we have things like the Alice comedies, oswald the Lucky Rabbit Silly Symphony, and then, of course, oswald the Lucky Rabbit Silly Symphony, and then, of course, mickey Mouse and probably the one you're very familiar with, steamboat Willie. Then, in 1937, walt does something that no one has ever seen before the first full-length feature animated film, snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I just love how Walt wasn't wasting his time comparing himself to what others were doing and then giving up and saying well, because there are cartoons, I can't do cartoons. Walt followed his dream and used comparison as a classroom, not a cage. Instead of feeling discouraged by what already existed, walt thought I can do better, I can do better, and didn't he do just that? We get to experience the better. Now, because of him, and now because of Walt, we're all inspired to live our dream and to chase after our goals and to go after the thing that we believe in.

Ruben:

You can spend your time focusing on what you lack, or you can spend your time dreaming and focusing on what could be possible, and then, in the words of Walt Disney, quit talking and begin doing. Here's how you get started. You run your own race. You can't get to the finish line by running someone else's race. In fact, if you try to run someone else's race, you'll fall, you'll trip, you won't get there because you weren't meant to run another person's race. This is your race, me or. I keep looking over at you. You know. What happens eventually is I'm going to fall because I'm going to trip, because I'm paying attention to something that doesn't get me to my destination. And while the person you're staring at is crossing the finish line, you're still stuck back and you haven't even moved because you've been focusing on someone else's race instead of yours.

Ruben:

So stay in your lane and run your race, and remember most people who are ahead of you aren't more talented, they're not more special. They've just been putting in the reps, they've just been running their race. They have been going at this day after day and you can start today. You know Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks, if not the greatest quarterback of all time. He said this the truth is you don't have to be special, you just have to be what most people aren't consistent, determined and willing to work for it. And the reality is most people aren't willing to put in the work. They're not willing to be consistent or determined, right, or to take those weekends and work for that goal or dream, or to stay up later or to wake up earlier, like most people are just good with being average or comfortable or not putting in the extra effort. Here's the awesome thing about when you put that extra effort in and when you go the extra mile guess what? There's nobody there with you. When you go that extra mile, you've passed the traffic. Everyone else is behind you, because most people aren't gonna be at that level or be going the extra mile. But when you go the extra mile, when you stay consistent, when you stay committed, when you don't give up, when you put in the reps, that's when tremendous change and growth happens, and it happens for everyone who's committed to doing these things that most people aren't committed to doing.

Ruben:

Are you ready to build your happiest place on earth, to create your magic kingdom, to go from Orange Groves to Disneyland? Here's how you're gonna do it. Write this down, commit it to memory. This is it right here? Number one shift your comparison perspective from torture to teacher. Right, you going to see it as a coach? Use someone's success as a lesson to level up.

Ruben:

Number two run your race. Stay in your lane. Don't get tripped up by how further along someone might be in the race. You keep running your race and doing you. And number three you have to put in the reps. You got to show up every day and do the boring, irritating and uncomfortable work, the work that most people don't want to do, right? You got to stay consistent, be determined and put in the work, and when you do this, you'll actually be closer to your magic kingdom than you think. I hope this magical message was helpful and encouraging, and if this episode spoke to you, I'd love it if you'd share it with a fellow Disney fan who needs this kind of magical message in their life, and it would mean so much for me if you left a review so we can get this magic out there. And please hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode. As always, keep dreaming. So as always, keep dreaming, keep believing and remember you are the magic, because the magic is in you.