F*ck the Bucket List for the Health Conscious

All the networks and advertisers at the time turned it down, but the head of the new Fox Children’s Network gave it a chance. The pilot of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers premiered on Fox during the summer of 1993 and was slated for an eight-week run. The expectations were low, as school was out and most kids were on vacation. There were no mobile devices back then and kids had to sit in front of a physical television set to watch the series.

What happened next surprised everyone. The ratings went through the roof. The Power Rangers became a runaway hit and an overnight phenomenon, unlike anything that had come before. This show came from left field and appealed to the imaginations of children all over the world, who resonated with the music, the characters, and their stories.

After years of rejection—like what J. K. Rowling experienced with the Harry Potter books—there was one person who believed in what they were doing and wanted to join them on their crazy quest. It took one woman to unlock the potential of the Power Rangers television show, because she shared the vision. And it was the kids, not the advertisers or the TV network executives, who resonated most with it. The kids were the last group in the food chain to be asked for their opinion and the first to openly embrace the show.

These stories of “greatness” and “success” can be either incredibly helpful or soul crushing. A lot depends on what you truly want to create in the world and whether it comes from your whole being or from a need to be seen and recognized by an outside force. If you talked to the creator of Power Rangers or the Harry Potter series, you might be surprised by what you found, and a lot would depend on the questions you asked.