Goodbye to a Great Motivator: Zig Ziglar

Aimee Herd : Nov 29, 2012
Ziglar.com, Wikipedia

"People who truly understand God's purpose for their lives know that we are called to be intimately involved with one another." -Zig Ziglar

I was sad to learn of motivational great Zig Ziglar passing Wednesday, though he is no doubt now resting in the Presence of the Lord.

I first heard Zig Ziglar speak many years ago on James Dobson's original "Focus on the Family" radio program.

Immediately impressed by his distinctively deep voice, I remember being very moved by what he shared and how he shared it.

That would be the norm for those who heard Zig Ziglar speak, as he was an extremely effective motivational speaker and best-selling author, garnering numerous awards during his journey.

Born in 1926, Hilary Hinton "Zig" Ziglar was the 10th of 12 children, served in WWII and later began a career in sales, moving up the ladder to become a vice president and training director. But it was his books, motivational seminars and speaking events that gained him recognition, as he shared his messages of "hope, encouragement and faith."

Up until a couple years ago, Ziglar was still speaking at seminars with his daughter. He died on November 28th after a bout with pneumonia.

A message on Ziglar's official Facebook page read:

Though his time on earth has ended, he is speaking with Jesus now in his heavenly home. The angels in Heaven are rejoicing and his family is celebrating a life well
lived.

A few of my favorite quotes by Zig Ziglar include:

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

"Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting?in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard?reaching for the highest that is in us?becoming all that we can be. If we do our best, we are a success. Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have."

"People who truly understand God's purpose for their lives know that we are called to be intimately involved with one another."

"If you go looking for a friend, you're going to find they're very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere."

"Fewer people are bent from hard work than are crooked from avoiding it."

"Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission."