The 2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is nearing its conclusion. Judging by the entries National Geographic is showing off, the competition looks tough.

In last year's contest, there were more than 18,000 entries to the contest. Photos are divided into four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place, and Spontaneous Moments.

Entries for this year's contest are being accepted until June 30th. If you think you've got what it takes, enter here.

The grand prizewinner gets an eight-day trip — the National Geographic Photo Expedition: Costa Rica and the Panama Canal — with airfare for two.

To celebrate the end of the contest, National Geographic has shared some of its favorite entries from the "Travel Portraits" category with us here.

A Mongolian toddler helps her mother with the laundry by hanging clothes on their ger, a traditional Mongolian tent.

This man is an Aghori, a secretive Hindu sect of holy men known for eating corpses. They believe doing so will make them ageless and give them supernatural powers. The Aghoris are marked by colorful body paint and clothes.

A young monk at the Shwe Yan Pyay monastery in Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar. The monastery was built in the 1800s and is richly decorated with mosaics and golden ornaments.

Summer is the perfect time to catch up on your reading, and there are plenty of great business books to add to your list.

We've picked our favorite recently released and upcoming books that will help enrich your professional life. From the first in-depth biography of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to a neurological explanation of "eureka" moments, these books will make you smarter about business while you're waiting in the airport or lying on the beach.

'Elon Musk' by Ashlee Vance

Musk is the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. He says his mission in life is to prevent the human race from destroying itself.

Vance, a Bloomberg Businessweek reporter, gained unprecedented access to Musk and those closest to him. He paints a picture of a man who has always felt a desire to change the world despite having difficulty finding his place in it, and a leader whose intensity can be difficult for the people he works with while simultaneously inspiring them.

Buy it here >>

'Work Rules!' by Laszlo Bock

Since joining Google as its senior vice president of People Operations in 2006, Bock has seen the company transform into a powerful global business, growing from 6,000 employees to nearly 60,000. In that same time, Google has regularly topped lists of the best places to work.

Bock takes readers behind the scenes and explores the management strategies that have helped make Google exceptional, from differentiating between employee development and performance and "paying unfairly."

Buy it here >>

'No One Understands You and What to Do About It' by Heidi Grant Halvorson

We'll give you the benefit of the doubt: You're the smartest, most talented member of your team. But if your colleagues don't work well with you, it is partially your fault.

Halvorson, a social psychologist at the Columbia Business School, breaks down decades of research into an enjoyable guide to understanding how people perceive each other, and how this knowledge can make you a better communicator.

Buy it here >>

There are some projects that the Kremlin would love us to forget.

The Russian military has long been a bogeyman for the West, with Cold War memories lingering even after the fall of the Soviet Union.

However, over the years Russia's fierce competition has produced a number of duds alongside its successes, as the country has scrambled to stay one step ahead of its geopolitical rivals.

The following is a collection of some of the most ambitious military projects that resulted in spectacular failures. 

The Tsar tank has achieved almost mythical status since the unusual vehicle was first tested in 1914. Due to weight miscalculations, its tricycle design often resulted in its back wheel getting stuck and its lack of armour left its operators exposed to artillery fire.

But it wasn't Russia's only tank failure. The Soviet Union's T-80 was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine when it was introduced in 1976.

However, when it was used during the First Chechen War it was discovered that when the tanks got hit on their side armour, its unused ammunition exploded. The performance was so poor that the Ministry of Defence cancelled all orders for the tanks.

As new graduates prepare to enter the "real world," colleges and universities gather them into auditoriums to absorb wisdom from great leaders.

Most of that wisdom is forgettable. A lot of it is clichéd. (Dream big! Follow your passion!) But some of it resonates — even years later, even if you're not graduating, even if you haven't graduated in years.

We've collected some of the best advice from some of the best speeches in recent (and not-so-recent) memory, worth reading and listening to for any grad — or anyone looking for a little guidance.

Max Nisen and Lynne Guey contributed to an earlier version of this article.

Sheryl Sandberg: If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat. Just get on.

Addressing the Harvard Business School class of 2012, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg began with a story from her own career: the time she almost turned down the offer to join Google because it was too low-level. She explained to then-CEO Eric Schmidt that the job didn't meet her criteria.

And that's when he gave her advice she passed onto the newly minted MBAs: "Get on a rocket ship."

"When companies are growing quickly and they are having a lot of impact, careers take care of themselves," she recalls him saying. "And when companies aren't growing quickly or their missions don't matter as much, that's when stagnation and politics come in." So take note: "If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat. Just get on."

Watch the full speech here.

Transcript

Salman Khan: Live your life like it's your second chance.

The Khan Academy founder urged his fellow mega-achieving MIT grads to not lose sight of what really matters. 

"Imagine yourself in 50 years," he advised the class of 2012. Reflecting back on your life, "you'll think of all the great moments with your family and friends," he said. Then you'll look back on your regrets. You'll wish you laughed more, loved more, danced more, appreciated more, he said. You'll wish "that you better used the gifts you were given to empower others and make the world better."

Then he posed a thought experiment: what if a genie could take you back? What would you do differently?

Now, do that. "You really do have the chance to do it all over again," he said — starting right now. As of today, "you can be the source of positivity that you wished you had been the first time around."

Watch the full speech here.

Transcript

Neil Gaiman: Do the stuff that only you can do.

Acclaimed British author and artist Neil Gaiman's advice to the 2012 graduates of the University of the Arts is holds true whether you're a painter or a poet or a nurse practitioner.

"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you," he advised. "Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can."

"The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you're walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself," he warned — "that's the moment you may be starting to get it right." 

Find the full speech here.

Transcript

With stocks crossing new highs ever so often these days, going short can be tricky.

And traders at the big hedge funds have their targets on stocks they believe will tumble.

Goldman Sachs' latest Hedge Fund Trend Monitor identifies 50 stocks in its 'Very Important Short Position List.' It tracked the S&P 500 stocks with the highest total dollar value of short interest outstanding as of March 31.

The list uses the dollar value of short interest outstanding to gauge short portfolio holdings.

We've ranked the top 23 stocks by value of short interest, from smallest to largest.

SEE ALSO: Here's the top stock pick from each of the 50 biggest hedge funds

AbbVie

Ticker: ABBV

Sub-sector: Pharmaceuticals

Value of short interest: $1.7 billion

Short interest as a % of Float: 2%

No. of funds with stock as Top 10 holding: 14

Avg. portfolio weight when stock ranks among Top 10 holdings: 6%

Recent news: AbbVie acquired cancer drug maker Pharmacyclics for $261.25 per share in cash and stock – a deal worth $21 billion.

Source: Goldman Sachs

salesforce.com

Ticker: CRM

Sub-sector: Application Software

Value of short interest: $1.8 billion

Short interest as a % of Float: 4%

No. of funds with stock as Top 10 holding: 6

Avg. portfolio weight when stock ranks among Top 10 holdings: 6%

Recent news: Salesforce shares jumped to an all-time high on Tuesday after a solid earnings report. The company has reportedly hired advisors to help with a potential takeover bid.

Source: Goldman Sachs

Merck

Ticker: MRK

Sub-sector: Pharmaceuticals

Value of short interest: $1.9 billion

Short interest as a % of Float: 1%

No. of funds with stock as Top 10 holding: 7

Avg. portfolio weight when stock ranks among Top 10 holdings: 5%

Recent news: "Merck KGaA’s first-quarter earnings missed analyst estimates as the German manufacturer of drugs and specialty materials spent more on marketing and research as it tries to reinvigorate its pharmaceutical business,"Bloomberg reported. 

Source: Goldman Sachs

Because of its location near the Adriatic Sea, Croatia is home to a variety of stunning beaches with clear blue waters. 

Whether it's Dubrovnik's well-known central beach or Vis Island's secluded Stiniva Beach that's hidden between two rocky cliffs, each beach has its own unique beauty.

You'll want to book a trip to Croatia after seeing these gorgeous photos.

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Moscenicka Draga, a small coastal town outside of Opatija, is known for its beautiful pebble beach set at the foot of Ucka Mountain. The beach offers magnificent views and shady pine trees.

Brela Beach in Split is a Mediterranean oasis with 6km of white sands dotted with fig trees and olive groves. For this reason, it's a favorite with couples. It was ranked Europe's best beach by Forbes.

Dubrovnik's central beach is one of the most popular, thanks to a close-up view of the old town and city walls, nearby bars, and pedal boats you can rent to tour the city from the seaside.

Owning a big apartment in New York City is great, but having a mansion in the Hamptons is a privilege only the 1% of the 1% can enjoy.

And there may be no more exclusive place to own an East End home than Southampton's Meadow Lane, which Forbes once dubbed "billionaire lane."

Not only do Meadow Lane residents have access to a long stretch of private beach, but the median sale price of a home there was just under $18 million in 2012, according to PropertyShark, making it one of the most expensive streets in the US.

The five-mile road even has a helipad to whisk its famous residents off to Manhattan.

Julie Zeveloff contributed to this story.

Meadow Lane is one of the most expensive addresses in the country, and no wonder — it runs along a coveted beachfront strip in one of the most exclusive towns in the Hamptons. The millionaires and billionaires who live there all reside within throwing distance on the same stretch of road.

Source: Forbes

They also live within easy access of the Southampton Heliport, useful to anyone who travels from Manhattan to the Hamptons by helicopter.

Source: Forbes

In mid-2014, the Hamptons home where Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson holed up in "Something's Gotta Give" sold for $41 million to hotel mogul Jimmy Tisch of Loews Corp. The 8,000-square-foot mansion has 11 bedrooms.

Source: New York Daily News

If you want to learn about personal finance, books aren't the only option. 

You have choices, including the chance to take online courses from some of the best universities in the world.

From understanding the stock market to developing negotiation skills, we've picked out some of the best classes for anyone who is looking to grow their wealth.

Trick yourself into making smarter choices.

Behavioral Economics in Action, University of Toronto

Behavioral economics answers questions like, "How can we get people to save more money?"

But this class doesn't just teach you about theory.

It also gives you practical methods to apply in real life — which could come in handy if you know that you should be handling your money better, but can't seem to follow through. 

Figure out how to decode the books.

Introduction to Financial Accounting, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School

After learning how to read the three most common financial statements — income statements, balance sheets, and cash-flow statements — you'll develop an understanding of how to make smart decisions based on what those reports tell you.

Build a productive relationship with your money.

Love Your Money, University of Tennessee and FINRA

If you want to make better decisions about managing your money but don't know where to start, the Love Your Money program is for you.

It covers topics like building wealth, settling goals, budgets, credit cards, debt, 401(k) programs, and identity theft.

Arguments aren't logical. To win them, you have to understand people.

We've scoured the research and compiled the following science-backed tactics that will help you win any argument.

Be civil.

Contrary to what your debate coach said, arguments aren't rational.

So respect the other person's perspective, no matter how ridiculous it sounds.

"When people have their self-worth validated in some way, they tend to be more receptive to information that challenges their beliefs,"political psychologist Peter Ditto from the University of California at Irvine tells New York Magazine.

With that emotional connection established, you can then start getting logical.

Don't try to 'win' the argument.

Attacking someone's ideas puts them into fight-or-flight mode. Once they're on edge, there will be no getting through to them.

So if you want to be convincing, practice "extreme agreement": Take your conversational partner's views and advance them to their logical — and perhaps absurd — conclusion. 

Don't ask why. Ask how.

In a 2013 study, University of Colorado psychologist Philip M. Fernbach separated people with extreme political views into two groups — people who had to explain why their opinions were right, and those who were tasked with explaining how their ideals could be turned into actual policy. 

The result?

Folks who gave their reasons for being right were just as confident in their convictions after the experiment as they were beforehand. But the people who had to explain the mechanics of implementation had softer views.  

College graduation is an exciting event, but it also marks a nerve-wracking step into the real world.

Help ease the transition with graduation gifts that are both thoughtful and practical. We've rounded up 10 gifts any recent college graduate will appreciate, from furniture for their new pad to a nice dinner out.

Bring a piece of their college town to their new apartment.

Memorialize their college town on a fun throw pillow. It's both a tasteful decoration for a new studio and a nostalgic reminder of their college days.

Price: $35

Treat them to a dinner for two at a local restaurant.

Treat the grad (and a friend) to dinner at a local favorite in their new city. Not only will it give them a chance to explore, but a nice meal out is always a welcome change for anyone on a strict budget.

Need restaurant ideas? Start with our list of the best restaurants in America.

Let them travel in style.

Post-graduation is a prime time to travel, whether it's an around-the-world trip or a quick jaunt home. Make sure your grad is prepared with a suitcase sturdy enough to keep up with them wherever they go, like this hard-shelled one from Longchamp.

Price: $610

In 2012, Spanx founder Sara Blakely became the youngest self-made female billionaire at age 41, according to Forbes.

As the company's sole owner, Blakely's ingenious invention has made her rich. 

Forbes currently estimates her net worth at $1.01 billion.

Though she's far less extravagant than other billionaires, she's still making the most of her success.

Sara Blakely was born on February 27, 1971 in the beach town of Clearwater, Florida, and demonstrated an entrepreneurial instinct from an early age. At Halloween, she'd set up a haunted house, then charge her neighbors admission.

Source: Forbes

After graduating from Florida State University, she struggled to find a job and ended up working at Disney World. She thought about going to law school, but crashed and burned on the LSAT. The only job that she could find was selling fax machines.

Source: Business Insider, Forbes

That job ended up paying off, because it prompted her to invent Spanx. One night, she couldn't find the right hosiery to wear under white pants, so she decided to invent her own. Her first "office" was her Atlanta apartment.

Source: Business Insider

If you're looking to invest in a penthouse apartment in downtown Manhattan, now is your chance.

For a mere $70 million, you could be the next owner of Walker Tower's Penthouse One, located at 212 West 18th Street in Chelsea.

With views of the Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, and all of Manhattan, this penthouse is the ultimate accessory to a jet-setting billionaire lifestyle.  

The current owner, Hakkasan CEO Neil Moffitt, bought the penthouse in early 2014 for $50.9 million. It only took him five minutes to decide he wanted the place.

Sotheby's International has the 5,955-square-foot, 24th floor listing and describes it as "the crown jewel of Chelsea's most important address."

The apartment has a total of eight rooms: 5 bedrooms, a laundry room, a living room, and a dining room.

How do some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs spend their money to make their lives easier and/or better?

It's one of my favorite questions to ask of my guests on my daily podcast, So Money.

Since launching the show two months ago, I've had the great privilege to interview some of the world's top business minds, authors, and influencers including Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, and Robert Kiyosaki.

Here's what they — and six others — had to say.

Farnoosh Torabi is an award-winning financial author and host of the daily podcast So Money. Want to learn more? Download her free e-book, "SoMoney Secrets: Financial Habits of Highly Successful People."

Tim Ferriss: 'Laundry and housecleaning.'

Tim Ferriss, the multiple New York Times bestselling author of "The 4-Hour Workweek,""The 4-Hour Body," and "The 4-Hour Chef" is also an entrepreneur, angel investor, and wildly popular podcaster.

Understandably, he doesn't have time to wash and fold his clothes. And mathematically speaking, outsourcing these tasks is more than worth it, since the $10 per hour or so that he pays to have someone else perform his laundry is much less than Ferriss' personal hourly earnings.

"It is almost impossible to find anyone who has made millions of dollars who doesn't delegate at least a handful of time consuming things in some fashion," he says.

Listen to the full interview with Tim Ferriss.

Tony Robbins: 'Private jets.'

"Of all the privileges I have in my life, this is the greatest … to go when you want, where you want," Tony Robbins, author of "MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom," tells me. "There's nothing that changes your quality of life when you travel as much as I do, as [private jets]."

The decision to switch from commercial to chartered flights happened in Robbins' early 30's after flying from San Diego to Aspen to visit a wealthy friend over the holidays. Due to delays and cancellations, what should have been a three or four hour trip took Robbins nearly half a day.

When he arrived, his friend pulled him aside and asked, "Why would you spend 12 hours of your time traveling? You could have been here in 90 minutes." Next time, charter a plane, he suggested. "It will change your productivity more than anything on earth."

Listen to the full interview with Tony Robbins.

Robert Kiyosaki: 'My education.'

"I'm constantly studying," Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," tells me. "I'm reading books constantly … and they cost only twenty bucks!"

At the time of our interview the finance guru was studying currency collapses, a topic he discusses deeply in his new book, "Second Chance."

The financial guru also makes sure to surround himself with smart, wealthy individuals, as part of his ongoing education. "I have my advisor friends who are … all entrepreneurs, all multi-millionaires … My time is valuable."

Listen to the full interview with Robert Kiyosaki.

A unique penthouse in Manhattan's Greenwich Village is having some trouble finding a buyer.

The apartment was first listed for $50 million when it went on the market 2 years ago, only to have its price cut to $39.8 million last fall.

It's now on the market for just $30.5 million, according to Curbed.

The 7,700 square foot apartment occupies the top 3 floors of a former dress factory. Its four bedrooms and four and a half baths offer a huge amount of livable space for its location in the middle of Lower Manhattan.

But not even the promise of becoming neighbors with the likes of Deepak Chopra and Leonardo DiCaprio can move the needle

The building has been renovated in accordance with Delos Building Wellness' WELL Building Standard, which Chopra serves on the board of. All six of the apartments in the building include anti-microbial countertops, nightlights that won't mess with your circadian rhythms, and showers infused with vitamin C to balance chlorine.

Dolly Lenz has the listing.

The penthouse is located on the top floors of this gorgeous, newly renovated former dress factory located at 66 E. 11th Street. In the heart of Lower Manhattan, the apartment is walking distance to the East and West villages, SoHo, the Meatpacking District, Union Square and Washington Square Park.

When you enter the apartment, you are greeted by a huge living area on the lowest floor, which features a signature light fixture. The floor boards are specially designed to improve posture, according to Delos Building Wellness' Well Building Standard, which all the apartments in the building abide by.

A curved staircase takes you between the floors. Nighttime lighting throughout the stairs and the apartment can be set to your sleep schedule and is designed specifically to not mess with your body's circadian rhythms.

Ever wondered what "Wolf of Wall Street" Jordan Belfort's Instagram posts would look like?

Look no further than the feed of Timothy Sykes, a multimillionaire who, just like Belfort, made a fortune trading penny stocks in his early twenties. Also similar to Belfort, he has a side career teaching people how to be as successful as he is. 

And most importantly, Instagram photos of his enviable lifestyle seem like they're ripped from the Leonardo DiCaprio movie based on Belfort's life.

But that's where the similarities end. Unlike the real-life "Wolf," Sykes has never been convicted of any crimes related to his exploits (although he did once receive a cease-and-desist letter from Shaquille O'Neal).

In fact, he recently defended the legality of penny stock trading in Forbes.

“There’s a whole nasty stigma around penny-stock traders,” he said. “To this day, I still get emails from financial websites that say what I do is illegal. It’s based on misinformation.”

Okay, all that said, let's get to the good stuff: Sykes's totally over-the-top Instagram feed.

Sykes insists that he doesn't have any extraordinary skills, besides wanting a better life for his loved ones and being able to make it happen.

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He captioned this photo, "I don't post pictures like this to rub in what I have vs what you don't have, it's to inspire you & help you realize I'm not special...if I can make millions of dollars in the stock market, you can too!" [sic]

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Most people's vacation #tbts aren't as luxe as this photo of Sykes's shot of the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto pool.

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With demand for air travel in Europe growing at an impressive rate, the need for world class airports is at an all time high. Leading aviation reviewer Skytrax recently released the results of its annual World Airport Awards, which includes a list of the best in Europe.

The Skytrax annual rankings are based on the impressions of over 13 million flyers from 112 countries. More than 550 airports were included in the survey, which covers 39 service and performance parameters, including facility comfort, location of bathrooms, and the language skills of the airport staff. 

10. London City Airport (LCY)

Yearly passengers: 3.4 million

Previous rank: 9

Why it's awesome: Located in the heart of English capital, City airport offers travelers direct access to London's booming central business district. 

British Airways offers a special business-class-only flight to New York's JFK International Airport. 

Source: Skytrax World Airport Awards. Yearly passenger figure is for 2013, provided by London City Airport.

9. Madrid-Barajas International Airport (MAD)

Yearly passengers: 39.7 million

Previous rank: N/A

Why it's awesome: Madrid-Barajas is one of the busiest airports in Europe and serves as a hub for Iberia Airlines as well as Air Europa. 

Skytrax reviewers loved the stylish architecture but complained about the lack of dining options.

Source: Skytrax World Airport Awards. Yearly passenger figure is for 2013, provided by Airports Council International.

8. Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN)

Yearly passengers: 9.1 million

Previous rank: 8

Why it's awesome: Located just 15 km southeast of Cologne, Germany, CGN is a major hub for budget carrier Germanwings. 

Skytrax reviewers praised the airport for its modern architecture, as well as its clean and efficient terminal buildings.

Source: Skytrax World Airport Awards. Yearly passenger figure is for 2013, provided by Cologne Bonn Airport.

We live in a complex, ever-changing world, with several opportunities and dangers ahead of us.

We've taken a closer look at 20 of the most important economic, political, environmental, and social themes that define the state of our world and its future.

China's rise and its challenges, the emergence of robotics as a major economic force, Greece's fiscal woes, and the threat posed by a warming climate are among the most important things happening in the world today.

Source

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Image: Reuters

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Germany's thriving startup scene is one of the most unique in Europe.

The capital Berlin is home to a mixture of hackers, privacy experts, scientists, and video companies that are making waves in the tech scene.

Here are some underground companies as well as more established names that are worth watching. 

17. Foundd

Foundd is a site that recommends movies based on what you like, as well as what your group of friends likes. That's different to services like Netflix, which just look at your own viewing history.

The company earns money when people click through to buy movies on iTunes — so it want to make the recommendations as good as possible.

Mashable reports that Foundd raised a $350,000 (£223,000 round) of funding in 2013 from investors including JMES Investments, Lars Dittrich, and Tao Tao (a cofounder of GetYourGuide). 

16. Crate

Crate offers an impressive technology that lets startups and companies easily set up distributed data centres. Why's that important? Well, startups don't want to put all their data in one place. With Crate, companies can spread their data around, and Crate handles all the hard work. 

Crate raised $1.5 million (£957,000) from investors, including Sunstone And DFJ Esprit, in 2014. It also beat out other companies to wn a £30,000 prize at TechCrunch Disrupt Europe in 2014.

15. Plinga

Plinga is a Berlin-based video game developer that creates social games for a wide audience. Founded in 2009, the company has launched a series of games, including Family Barn (27 million players) and Dragons of Atlantis (13 million players). 

Unlike its competitors, Plinga makes it games available to embed around the web, so they're not just playable on its own sites. That's different to how rivals like Zynga and King work.

Plinga began as a direct competitor to Zynga, featuring a game called FunCards ("Like UNO, just better!"). It received investment from Rocket Internet, the investment firm run by German entrepreneurs the Samwer brothers.

Deere just put out an ugly outlook for farming and agriculture.

The maker of construction and farming equipment reported second quarter earnings on Friday morning, crushing expectations for earnings.

In the release, Deere noted a rise in sales of construction equipment, which offset losses in sales of agriculture machinery. 

The latter segment suffered because of a plunge in commodity prices.

And Deere expects things in the farming industry to go from bad to worse.

Here's the downbeat outlook for sales.

Agriculture sales are forecast to be worse than previously expected.

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That's because commodity prices have been sliding, after climbing early in the economic recovery.

Disney's next big film, "Tomorrowland," starring George Clooney is in theaters Friday.

If you've seen the trailers, it's kind of difficult to decipher what the film is all about. 

A young girl (Britt Robertson) is transported to a mysterious, futuristic world called Tomorrowland, at the touch of a magic pin.

In actuality, the film, named after the futuristic section of the Disneyland theme park, was inspired by Walt Disney's original vision for Epcot.

Check out Disney's original plan for Disney World and Epcot > 

After Disneyland was built in California, Walt had an idea for another Disney project in Florida; however, he passed away in December 1966 before he could see it come to fruition. Before he died, he filmed a video two months earlier expressing these plans in detail. Bits and pieces of it can be seen in trailers and features promoting "Tomorrowland."

Disney produced the nearly half-hour video, found on YouTube, for Florida Legislators to get permission and rights for his project. In it, Disney laid out his big ideas for his massive Florida project. 

Called "Project X," Walt's Florida expansion wasn't about Disney World, though it was a small part of the picture.

Rather, Disney's plan consisted of building his own perfect Utopian city: the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow—Epcot.

While Disney's film brings this vision to life a la Tomorrowland — a place full of hopes and dreams — Disney's original video for Epcot sounded like a scene straight out of Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," which envisioned a similar world back in 1932.

Located partly in Orange and Osceola Counties, Disney picked the center of the state for his Florida project on purpose, reasoning it would be easy for tourists and residents to arrive by car.

The land was located between Orlando and Kissimmee, a few miles from the crossing point of Interstate 4 and the Sunshine State Parkway (this was before I95 was finished).

The theme park and all the other tourist facilities—hotels, motels and recreational activities—were meant to fill one small part of Disney's Florida project. This part alone is five times the size of California's Disneyland.