Want to succeed? So did Walt Disney. And, more often than not, he did. Walt once described his approach to success as “dogging it until it’s done and done right.” One such example is the way that Walt’s love of trains led to financial stability for the Walt Disney Company (then known as Walt Disney Productions).

Early in his life, Walt Disney worked on a train, selling selling tobacco, candy and newspapers. He never made much money from his job but hit fuel in him a lifelong love of trains.

As an adult, Walt Disney was not your typical CEO. To escape the business pressures on him—including a debilitating strike by employees, mediocre product forced on him by World War II and a near-nervous breakdown from over work—Walt retreated to his love of trains.

He built a miniature train system in the backyard of his Holmby Hills, Los Angeles home and played engineer as he took family and friends on train rides. This snap showcases two of his train cars. Imagine the scene: the CEO of a major American corporation spending hours of his valuable time building, tinkering with and improving an oversized toy train. He even had a tunnel built underneath his wife Lilly’s rose garden!

It might appear that this CEO had lost his mind, but Walt had not. He was perusing the beginnings of an idea: a train ride for guests visiting his Studio. But even if a studio train was built, what would those guests do after exiting the train? While answering that question, Walt Disney created Disneyland.

Everyone—carnival operators, his business partner brother Roy, and his wife—told him not to do it; that Disneyland would be a terrible failure. Roy even refused to invest the company’s money in the project. That didn’t stop Walt. He mortgaged his home, cashed out his life insurance and sold shares to his employees.

The result was, of course, a tremendous success. For his company—which eventually bought ownership of the park—Disneyland was a financial stabilizer. Walt Disney Productions became, for the first ever, financially stable. All because of an idea dogged until it was done right.

There’s a lesson in Walt’s dogged pursuit of trains. The seemingly insignificant, even insane, idea can lead to the next amazing product or experience. And the relentless examination of every angle of a current offering can transform it into a must-have experience for your customers.

What is required is the ability to “ride the rails” until the end of the line. Only then will you know if you’ve, in railroading terms, dead ended or crossed-over to an exciting new destination.

So, go ahead. Build your own railroad next year. All aboard for success.