Zig Ziglar
Apr 16, 2015
If you're an avid fan of golf, you might remember that John Daly won the British Open in 1995. What you might not know is that there were some "unsung heroes" involved -- Corey Pavin, Brad Faxon, Bob Estes, Mark Brooks and the caddy. The first four were tour players who had played in the tournament but did not make the playoffs. Constantino Rocca sank a 65-foot putt to tie John Daly, which sent the two into a playoff.
Many people thought Rocca's putt completely shifted the momentum, and in all probability, Rocca had snatched the title out of John Daly's hand. They wondered if John would be able to recuperate and respond to the game. That's when Pavin, Faxon and Estes came over with Mark Brooks and supplied Daly with a distance card, which measures the exact distance from each spot on the course. It seems that Daly had misplaced his.
These four people, along with the caddy, encouraged and assured John that he was going to win, and the caddy was there to help him read those tricky British greens. When you combine all their efforts together with the fact that Daly was playing unusually well that day, you have the reason Daly won the British Open.
It's true that Daly got all the publicity and all the money, but the question is: Had those people not been there to help Daly, would he have won the British Open? Personally, I doubt Daly would've gained the title. That might be selling Daly short, but I don't think so. Encouragement from others makes a tremendous difference in what we are able to accomplish.
John Daly felt good about winning -- so did Corey Pavin, Brad Faxon, Mark Brooks, Bob Estes and the caddy. The message: There's tremendous reward in being an "unsung" hero -- I'll see you at the top!
Zig Ziglar
Apr 9, 2015
Psychologist William Moulton Marsten surveyed 3,000 people and asked them, "What have you to live for?" Ninety-four percent were simply enduring the present and waiting for "something" to happen -- their children to grow up, next year, until they could afford a trip, someone to die. Most of them were waiting for tomorrow, forgetting that all one ever has is today, since yesterday is gone and "tomorrow" never comes.
The sad thing about this survey is spelled out in one word -- "waste." What an incredible waste of time, talent, ability and potential! I wonder what it would take to inspire these people to do something with the today, which they have? Unfortunately, the survey did not reveal what walk(s) of life the 3,000 people came from. As a group, they had little or no hope and did not feel they had the ability to make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen.
One of those immutable laws says that a body at rest will tend to remain at rest until and unless it is acted upon by some force. That force can be internal or external. If we wait for the external, it might never happen. That's the reason we need to "take the bull by the horns," seize the moment, develop a plan of action, decide what we want out of life and pursue that plan until something of a positive nature happens.
Interestingly enough, even if we fail to accomplish the objectives we set, we will be infinitely better off in the seeking than we can possibly be in the waiting.
I encourage you to break the "waiting" habit, if you have one, and I'll see you at the top!
Zig Ziglar
Apr 2, 2015
In 1985, one of the true symbols of success was a new, four-door Cadillac sedan. His success enabled Jim Winner Jr., to beam with pride at his new Cadillac with all the "extras" -- deluxe leather interior, state-of-the-art sound system and the top-of-the-line anti-theft system. He felt secure that this car would be with him for years. However, one evening, much to his chagrin and horror, he discovered his new car had been stolen. Later, he recalled that while serving in the Army, he prevented fellow GIs from driving off in his Jeep by winding a thick, metal chain through his steering wheel to the brake. This thought, combined with a degree of anger and frustration, served as the inspiration for a rod of hard steel painted bright red. Today, we see it advertised in magazines, newspapers, on television and radio. They call it "The Club," and it has turned the car theft into a wonderful success story. It is still true that it's not what happens to you but how you handle what happens to you that makes the difference.
Mamie McCullough, a friend, fellow speaker and author, worked with us for several years and became known as "The I CAN Lady" for introducing the "I CAN" course to the public schools. One of her favorite expressions is "Things that happen in your life can either make you better or make you bitter. You can either let your past beat you or teach you." Mamie likes to tell people that every time they look at their thumb they should remember, "You are thumb-body." She also says, "It's not where you start, it's where you go that counts." She's given many of us something to smile about.
Zig Ziglar
Mar 26, 2015
The dictionary says that happiness is "the agreeable sensations that spring from the enjoyment of good; that state of being in which his desires are gratified." It's "the enjoyment of pleasure without pain."
My 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary says that "happy" is "the pleasurable sensations derived from the gratification of sensual appetites renders a person temporarily happy, but he only can be esteemed really and permanently happy who enjoys peace of mind and the favor of God."
One of my favorite sayings is that "other people can give you pleasure, but you will never be happy until you do something for someone else." An English newspaper pondered the question, "Who are the happiest people on earth?" and they offered prizes for the best answers.
There were four winning answers: First, a craftsman or artist whistling over a job well done; second, a little child building air castles; third, a mother after a busy day bathing her baby; and fourth, a doctor who has finished a difficult and dangerous operation and saved a human life. As you can see, the list did not include kings, emperors, riches or anyone of rank. None of these were mentioned in the list of answers.
If you analyze the observations above, you will notice that in each case, the people who won the prizes were doing things -- they weren't just sitting around, pondering life's principles. I believe that's a major key to being happy. Busy people, by and large, are happy people. And I'm not talking about people who are busy for the sake of busyness, but who are busy because they have something to do that they believe is important.
In other words, happiness comes not only from being the right kind of person, but from doing things that benefit others. Take that approach to life, and I'll see you at the top!
