Tip of the Week
04/21/2014

Tip: And that is how Zig Ziglar got to be Zig Ziglar!

A while back, I flew to Houston, Texas, to spend some time with my good friend, Pete Hinojosa, Jr. When I arrived at the airport, his dad, Pete Sr., picked me up. Pete Sr. and I have been friends for many years and I have always enjoyed the times that we have gotten to spend together.

As we were driving along, we were reminiscing about certain situations that we both had experienced. We talked too about how much the cities of Houston, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, (our home towns) have grown and changed for the better through the years. We even joked that we should have invested in property back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s when it was dirt cheap. (However, neither of us had very much money to buy property of any kind back then!)

Somehow the conversation drifted to our fond memories and excellent interactions with one of our favorite people, Zig Ziglar. As most of you know, Zig passed away a couple of years ago. He was one of the finest people anyone could ever meet! Pete Sr. shared with me how much Zig’s life and information had helped him through the years and I agreed that I had benefited from it, too. Then Pete told me an interesting story.

It seems that many years ago when Pete, Sr. lived in Pasadena, Texas, Zig Ziglar came in to speak the office staff where Pete worked. At the time, the office staff was comprised of the huge number of ten people. Pete said it was interesting to see how much life, energy and enthusiasm Zig put into the presentation that he shared that night. He said one would have thought Zig was speaking to an audience of thousands. Pete said, “Every time I think about how much that man poured his life into the early days of his career, I understand how he became world-famous. He was willing to work hard and give it his best even when he had an audience of just ten people. That is why he eventually has had audiences of tens of thousands. I guess that is the way you become a Zig Ziglar!”

I could not help but think to myself how true that really is. When we are faithful with what we have in front of us each day, it will not be long before we have even more. When we learn to be faithful with a little, in time we will have the opportunity to be faithful with much. It is an undeniable truth of life! We all start small, but we can all end up making a big difference.

When he first started out, Zig had neither a large audience nor was he paid very much. He was just beginning to pioneer the brand new industry of motivational speaking. However, he gave it all the time, effort, energy and commitment he had. Suppose Zig’s attitude had been different. What if he had told Pete, Sr., “You get me a large group of people together and I will come, but ten people are not worth my time.”? I doubt very seriously if any of us would have ever heard the name of Zig Ziglar. If he had not had the same kind of drive and enthusiasm with a small group of ten people, at the beginning of his career, I doubt very seriously if he would have ever had audiences of thousands in future years.

Life has a way of rewarding us when we are faithful to the task in front of us. It is very tempting to believe that we will do better when we are in a better situation, or have a better set of circumstances, or a better this, or a better that. The truth of the matter is that we need to “bloom right where we are planted.” If we do that, there will no end to the opportunities that come our way. One good thing always leads to several better things! Or as they say in marketing, “One thing leads to another!”

We may think that we will begin to work hard when the perfect situation comes our way. But, unfortunately, for most of us, that is not the way it works. We must learn to be totally committed in the present set of circumstances in which we find ourselves. That is when the door will suddenly open to new opportunities that are bigger and better. That is how it worked for Zig Ziglar and that is how it can work for you and me as well!

Tip: And that is how Zig Ziglar got to be Zig Ziglar!

Have a great week! God bless you!

Dr. Robert A. Rohm