Disney Magical Mindset Podcast

Magical Lessons From Inspiring Disney Women

• Ruben R. Rios • Episode 63

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In this special Women’s History Month episode of the Disney Magical Mindset Podcast, we’re taking a look at three inspiring Disney heroines, and one real-life Disney legend, who each reveal a powerful lesson about courage, growth, and becoming who you’re meant to be.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, discouraged, or unsure of your next step this episode will remind you that the magic isn’t out there.

It’s already within you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why “trying” keeps you stuck and what to do instead
  • The real work behind making your dreams happen
  • How to break free from limiting beliefs
  • Why being yourself is your greatest advantage

So wherever you are on your journey, this is your reminder to keep going.

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

Welcome And Women’s History Month Setup

Ruben

Hey pals, welcome back to the Disney Magical Mindset Podcast. My name is Ruben, your Disney Magic mentor, and I'm so glad you're here today. Super excited for this week's episode, and I want to start off by asking you something. Think back for a moment to the first Disney female hero you ever connected with. To the first Disney heroine. And I'm sure right now you're thinking of somebody that just popped into your mind. Maybe it was someone brave, someone adventurous, someone who made you believe that you could step into your own story. You know, when we were kids, we watched those films for the songs, the adventure, the magic. But then as adults, something interesting happens. We start realizing those characters were teaching us something all along. That's why for us as Disney adults, those movies and characters, they mean so much to us because as kids, you know, we resonated with them, we connected with them, and then we get older and we realize wow, there's so many powerful magical lessons that we learn from those Disney films we grew up with and those Disney characters and princesses that we hold dear to our hearts. And now I want to invite my princess to introduce this week's episode. So if you're ready, here we go.

SPEAKER_01

Hi, my name is Mia, and since it's Women's History Month, my dad thought it would be fun to highlight a few incredible women connected to Disney and the powerful life lessons hidden inside their stories. Because Disney stories have always been about more than entertainment. They're reminders about courage, perseverance, and discovering who we're meant to be. So today we are going to look at three inspiring Disney female heroes and one real-life Disney legend who reminds us that the magic we admire in these stories might actually be the same magic waiting to show up in our own lives. Let's start with one of the most powerful transformations in Disney history.

Mulan And The Training Mindset

Tiana And Dreams That Take Work

Rapunzel And Stepping Outside The Tower

Mary Blair And Creative Originality

Four Lessons Tied Together

Share With Your Queen And Princess

Ruben

Thank you, Mia. Alright, let's take it back to the 90s, to one of the best Disney animated films. And listen, there were a lot from the 90s. And if we're talking about women heroes, you probably already know who we're talking about, none other than Mulan. I mean, this movie is epic, the songs are amazing, the story is inspiring, and it happens when Mulan first arrives at the army training camp. She's kind of out of place. You know that she struggles with the drills, she can't keep up with the other soldiers. And at first, Mulan tries. Like many of us, we try to do something. We and that's important. We we have to try. And that's what she does. She's actually there. She decides to, you know, save her father, and she steps into his place and she goes to these uh a training camp, right? Disguised as a man, because she wants to be able to be the hero, right? That she knows she can be. And again, she tries and she tries harder and she keeps pushing herself, but nothing seems to be working. Have you ever experienced that in your life where you're trying and you're trying, and nothing seems to work, and you're just trying, you're doing the best you can and you're trying. And then there's this moment that happens in this story where everything begins to change because Mulan stops simply trying in the moment and she begins to train. And this right here, my friends, is one of the most powerful lessons in any Disney film. I mean, this right here is such a game changer. It is so important for you to hear what I'm about to say. Mulan begins to distinguish and differentiate between trying and training, and those two ways of doing things will make all the difference in the world. Those two mindsets are going to set some of you free from breaking out of this slump that you might feel that you've been in. Because what Mulan does is she stops simply trying. She realizes that if she's going to do this, if she's going to be the warrior that she knows she's destined to be, she has to stop trying and start training. So she studies the challenge, she adapts, she practices or puts into practice, right, the things that she's learning, which is also key. And slowly, day by day, she becomes stronger and more capable. Eventually, she accomplishes what none of the other soldiers could do. And that moment reveals an important truth. Trying doesn't create transformation. You know what does? You know what does. Training does. I want you to think about it. So many of us want change in our lives. Of course we do. I believe that's why you listen to these magical mindset episodes, because we we want change. We want to live that magic. We want to break habits, we want to pursue a dream, become the person we know we're capable of becoming. And so we try, we push hard for a while, we give it everything we've got, you know, in that moment. But eventually what happens is we get tired, don't we? Or we get discouraged because we drop off, or we don't uh do what we set out to do. And then the cycle begins again. And if you've ever felt like you've been in that cycle where you're trying, and then you know, you you do well for a moment, and then all of a sudden you you uh veer off track, you get discouraged, and then you you come back again, and then you you start and you try, and then you drop the ball and you come back. You know that cycle that I'm talking about. And here's the difference. Here's why this is important, because trying often relies on bursts of motivation. You know, that's what trying does. But here's the difference. Here's why that mindset shift we have to make, like Mulan. Training builds the habits and disciplines that prepare us for the moment. That's why so many sometimes aren't prepared for the moment because they've been trying and trying. And when the moment comes up, they're not ready. Because we have not been training. And here's what training does: training disciplines you, training begins to build the right habits, training prepares you so that when the moment arrives, you're ready to go. You're ready like Mulan. You know, you're ready to become the hero. You're ready to defeat the day, you're ready to win the day, you're ready to lead your people to victory because you've been training for this moment. Mulan didn't become a hero because she tried harder than everyone else. She became a hero because she trained. And the same is true for us. The future you dream about, the future I dream about, we dream about, is built through the daily habits that prepare us for the challenges ahead. Okay? Remember, to try is simply just to make an attempt. You know, you're you're trying. I'm just gonna do the right thing when it comes up in the moment, and I'm gonna do everything I can to exert that effort, you know, when it happens. But that's just trying, and that's not gonna get you far. Right? You want to accomplish those dreams. Like we got to have the mindset like Mulan, and here it is. We gotta train. There's the difference. That that subtle shift in that magical mindset is gonna make all the difference in the world because to train is to commit, to say, you know what, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to develop those strategic habits that are going to empower me to do the right thing in the moment. I'm not waiting to do the right thing. I'm being disciplined and learning and building those habits right now so that when that moment comes, like Mulan, I'm ready. You're ready. Okay? All right, let's go down to the bayou with another incredible Disney hero, female hero, heroine, who teaches us a powerful lesson. And you know who that is. Her name is Tiana, Princess and the Frog. What makes Tiana so inspiring is that she doesn't just dream. And and her story is so encouraging, it's so inspiring. You know what she does? She works. She wakes up early, she stays late, she saves every dollar that she can. In fact, you know the words from the song. I remember daddy told me, come on, you know, fairy tales can come true, but you gotta make them happen. It all depends on you. So powerful. What an inspiration. That her dream, you know, is to open a restaurant, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. And that's something we don't talk about enough when it comes to dreams. Dreams are magical. It's the heart of Disney, isn't it? But dreams alone don't build the life we want. At some point, the dream has to move from imagination into action. And Tiana doesn't just wish on a star, she gets to work. So yeah, keep wishing on a star, but then you gotta remember that you're the star. And you gotta put the work in. And sometimes that's the difference. That's really the difference between people who talk about their dreams and the people who eventually live them. Is the ones who live them are the ones who embrace this mindset like Tiana. That yeah, I love the fairy tale and I love dreaming. But I realize, just like my dad told me, that if I'm gonna make it happen, it depends on me. I gotta do it. I gotta put the work in. I gotta be disciplined, like we talked about with Mulan. I gotta build those habits. I gotta do those daily things that are gonna get me closer to this opening of the restaurant or to the dream or to that thing that you have been thinking about. You got to put in the work. Thank you, Tiana, for the powerful reminder about what it really means to wish upon a star. Now, let's step outside the tower with none other than Rapunzel. This female hero, the heroine of this beautiful film, Tangled, which is gonna be a live action as well. That's gonna be great. But there's Rapunzel. Like her entire life, she's been told a story. Ooh, this is so good. Like the world outside is dangerous. You're safer here, right? That's what her mama, who knows best, but she doesn't know best, uh, she's telling her. Stay here. Mother knows best. Listen to your mom's, it's a scary world out there, right? All that. Stay in the tower. And for years, she actually believes it. Oh, the power of the narrative that you believe about yourself or what you believe others say about you. But eventually there's this moment where she's like, I can't do this anymore. I can't keep, I can't continue to believe this lie, right? So she does something brave. She steps outside the tower. And that single decision changes everything, doesn't it? Sometimes the towers in our lives aren't like actual physical places. My friends, and we all have those towers, right? They're the beliefs. They're the beliefs like I'm not good enough, or I'm too late, or I can never do something like that, or I should just give up right now, right? You know, those those beliefs, those towers that keep us from from being able to go after and and do what you know is on our heart. Yeah, those thoughts that that keep us stuck. And the moment we challenge those limits, the moment we step outside that tower, like Rapunzel, our world gets bigger and it gets better. And it and it just gets inspiring and encouraging because now you're like, wow, look at what's out there, look at what's waiting for me. And if I had I just stayed in this tower all my life, I would be missing out on some of the greatest things in life. All because of what I chose to believe about myself. Yeah. Rapunzel reminds us that courage often begins with one small step outside the limits we've believed. Just one small step. Because when you take that small step, guess what? It encourages you, it prepares you, it inspires you, it motivates you to take that next step. And before you know it, you're stepping outside the tower like Rapunzel to the life you've always wanted and to the story you were meant to live. Ha ha, yes. Before we wrap up, I want to mention a real woman hero, a Disney legend who helped shape Disney magic in an incredible way. Her name was Mary Blair. Mary Blair was an artist who worked with Walt Disney during the golden age of Disney animation. For nearly 30 years, he championed her work, drawing inspiration from it in both his films and theme parks. In fact, animator Frank Thomas said, Mary was the first artist I knew of to have different shades of red next to each other. You just didn't do that. But Mary made it work. You know, her artistic style was different. Mary's colors were bold, her designs were playful, her imagination was completely unique. And early on, not everyone understood her work. I I can imagine, I'm sure not everyone understood what she was doing or where she was coming from. But Walt did. He saw something special in it. And because she stayed true to her creative voice, her work helped inspire attractions like the one we all love, or the song that just gets stuck in our head and we're wondering when is it gonna stop? It's a small world, after all, at Disneyland. If you've ever been on that attraction, we have Mary Blair to think of those beautiful, you know, the dolls, like when we go through each of the countries, that is her handprint artistic, you know, creative design, imagination and in all of it. And because of her, like her work has also influenced, if you think of, I'm thinking of the classics, like Cinderella, you'll see her artwork in there. I mean, um, Alice in Wonderland is another one, and of course, Peter Pan, my favorite. And her story reminds us of something we all need to hear sometimes. You ready for it? Stop trying to be like everyone else. There is only one you. I'm gonna say that again. Stop trying to be like everyone else. There is only one you. Are you listening, please? There will never be another one. Be yourself. That's your superpower. Stop trying to be like everyone else because when you do that, you're denying yourself. You're denying the world, the amazing person that you are and that you have to offer to those who have the opportunity to get to know you and to come in contact with you and to be blessed by what you have to give and offer. Like, isn't that cool? So, yeah, there's only one you. Be you, go for it. That's your superpower, just like Mary Blair. And look at it now. Look at the attraction that we love now, look at the movies, the classics that we admire now, because Mary Blair decided to be exactly who she was. And people admire her and honor her for that. The Disney legend, Mary Blair. When you step back and look at these stories, something powerful appears. Mulan reminds us to train for the life we want. Tiana reminds us that dreams require dedication and work. Rapunzel reminds us that courage often begins by stepping outside the limits we believed. And Mary Blair reminds us that the thing that makes us different, like her amazing art, might be the thing that makes us extraordinary, just like Mary Blair. Different stories, different journeys, but the same truth. The magic we admire in Disney stories isn't just something that exists on a screen. That's why I love sharing what I do, because I want you to see that the magic we love is actually magic we can experience in our lives. It's the courage, the creativity, and perseverance that lives inside each one of you. So whatever dream is on your heart today, whatever it is, that goal, that ambition, that you're like, yes, I want to do it this year. Train for it, work for it, step outside the tower, and don't be afraid to be yourself along the way, because there's only one you, and that's your superpower. The world doesn't need another copy of someone else, it needs you. Friends, I want to thank you so much for joining me today in the Disney Magical Mindset podcast. If this episode inspired you, share it. Uh, share it with your queen, share it with your princess, right? Remind them how special they are as we honor these women in our lives during Women's History Month. And until next time, keep dreaming, keep believing, and remember, remember always, you are the magic because the magic is in you.