Zig Ziglar was the undisputed king of motivation. He was known for packing large auditoriums with raving fans. He wrote more than two dozen books on salesmanship and motivation over five decades.

He is probably mostly known, though for his message about have a positive attitude. He spread his message through stories punctuated with short quotes that became legendary among his followers.

While some would wonder what the true definition of success is, Ziglar made it crystal clear:

Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.

Hey Zig is motivation permanent?

Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis."

How do you define failure:

Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street."

While most of us start our day with an alarm clock, Mr Ziglar would insist that he woke up to an "opportunity clock!" Furthermore, "if you aren't on fire" when you get to work, "then your wood is wet." And you have to remember that "money's not the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen."

All of this would mean less if Ziglar had an easy life. Although you would never hear him complain about his plight, facts would suggest that things were not ideal for a young boy growing up in Yazoo City, Mississippi.

He was raised by a single parent, Hilary Hinton Ziglar, who was the 10th of 12 children. Being raised without his father was nothing you would ever hear Zig talked about. Instead he described his mother as the foremost influence on his life; she was a strict and devout woman whose mental storehouse of adages remained a cornerstone of Mr. Ziglar's speeches and writings.

After Navy service at the end in World War II, he was married in 1946 to Jean Abernathy.

When I talk about her, I refer to her as the red head. When I talk to her I call her sugar baby.

Zig celebrated each day with a positive attitude. He believed it whole heartedly. He implored people that their life could change if they would change their response to the question " How are you doing today? "Zig would tell his followers to say

Outstanding but I am improving."

He didn't believe in cold calls, instead they were warm calls. When asked if all of this changing of words was really necessary. He would simply reply. "No, you can be mediocre without it."

More bits of Ziglar wisdom:

You never judge a day by the weather!"

If you're going to have to swallow a frog, you don't want to have to look at that sucker too long!

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want

The more you gripe about your problems, the more problems you have to gripe about!

All of this homespun wisdom undeniably makes us better at what we do. One of my favorite Zig quotes about positive thinking:

Positive thinking will not help you do anything! But, it will help you do EVERYTHING better than negative thinking will.

That really explains the success of Zig Ziglar. What a great way to see the world. Although there have been other "positive thinkers" none of them were the supreme communicator that he was. In our NLP, Hypnosis and Sales training, we teach our students that the most powerful form of persuasion is found within stories and metaphors. Zig was the master of both Don't take our word for it, lets hear Zig tell the story like only he can.

WANT TO DISCOVER MORE?

As you already know, Zig Ziglar inspired the I.S.P.I. Mr. Ziglar taught the world about sales and the Institute for the Studies of Professional Influence will forever be in his debt.

It is with in this spirit that we have created the certified course "Professional Influence." You might have already heard that our trainers will actually show you how to formulate "contrast options" into your specific products and services. You may already know, by now, that employers are attracted to people that are different, new and unique. Today we have overwhelming scientific proof that sales people that differentiate themselves from the crowd are more successful. They are more likely to close that sale, get that promotion and have longer lasting relationships.

THIS IS THE NEXT LEVEL OF SALES TRAINING!

Show your employer that you are deadly serious about reaching the companies goals. Increase your income and line yourself up for the next big promotion. All of this can and will be achieved when you enroll in the "Professional Influence Certification Course."

Upon successful completion of this course you will become CERTIFIED! Your certification goes on the "BIO" page and is registered with the INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDIES OF PROFESSIONAL INFLUENCE (ISPI). As you read through this you may begin to realize that a link to this bio page can also be a powerful part of your resume.

Are you ready to take your game to the next level? If so email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information about this and other certification courses simply click here.

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Lessons from Zig Ziglar - Positive Attitude