Zig On…Hugging is the Answer

By Zig Ziglar

Perhaps I feel this way because my wife is affectionately known as “The Happy Hugger.”  If it’s moving she’ll stop it and hug it, and if it’s not moving she’ll dust it off and sell it!  However, there’s another reason I believe hugging is the answer.  According to Greg Risberg of the Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, the physiological benefit of hugging includes a reduction of blood pressure and increased oxygen in the blood.  He says that we all have a “skin hunger,” and we are missing out on a vital part of our health if we’re not getting in on some serious hugging.  He maintains that four hugs a day are the minimum required to meet that skin hunger.  From my perspective, I need lots more than four.  Stanley Simon of the University of Massachusetts says that “hugging does more than demonstrate affection.  It actually seems to keep people healthy.  The skin is the body’s largest sensory organ.  If it’s under-stimulated, many people actually develop an aching sensation.  These are the people who will find it harder to get well and to stay well.”

For the benefit of you husbands, let me tell you something about your wives.  They love hugs but resent it when you ignore them all day and then give them your undivided attention when the lights go out at night.  They want a hug when a hug is all you have on your mind.  They don’t necessarily want them to be long, and in most cases, they do not want them to be suggestive or sensual.  The hug really says, “I love you, I enjoy being around you, you’re important to me, I look forward to spending more time with you.”  There’s an old saying that actions speak louder than words, and to take a few seconds a number of times during the day to get and give those non-suggestive hugs really speaks volumes.  Give it a try and I’ll SEE YOU – and your marriage -AT THE TOP!

Zig Ziglar is known as America’s motivator.  He is the author of 29 books and numerous audio and video recordings.  He brings his message of hope to thousands on the stages at the Get Motivated Seminars. 

Quote

Many marriages would be better if the husband and wife clearly understood that they’re on the same side.                  ~Zig Ziglar

Proceed and Succeed

By Billy Cox

We all face disappointments and setbacks. Everyone has times in their life where they ask themselves such questions as “is it all worthwhile,” “am I really on the right path” and “if so, why is it so hard?”

These are not ordinary moments … these are your destiny-defining moments. These are moments where the decisions you make determine the path you take which will lead you to your ultimate destination. So when you find yourself at one of life’s crossroads, ask yourself these three questions:

 
1. Do I love what I do? An old cliché goes, “If you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.” No one loves everything about what they do. However, you must love the core cause, the mission behind what you do, if you expect any lasting success.

 
2. Do I have the talents to succeed at it? This is a good question because you may love what you’re doing but have no chance at ever being successful at it. If you don’t believe me, just watch American Idol. You must be brutally honest with yourself when you ask this question. You must also solicit the opinions of people you trust who will be brutally honest with you.

 
3.  Does what I’m doing offer me the potential to achieve my social and economic goals? You may love what you do and have the talent to do it, but there’s no potential in it. An example is Will Smith trying to sell high-powered X-ray machines in The Pursuit of Happyness. That would almost be like trying to sell high-powered fax machines or starting a new automobile company today. What you’re doing must have opportunity and potential.

 
If you answered “NO” to any of these questions you need to do as we say in Texas:  “Dismount a Dead Horse.” Change directions as quickly as possible. Find something you love to do that has potential and that brings your talents to light.

If you answered “YES” to all three questions, chances are you’re just in a lull. Or, as Seth Godin says, you’re in  “The Dip.”  These life-altering moments are when you must proceed and succeed. Remember that most of life’s greatest victories are just inches away from life’s biggest setbacks, and there’s always a way if you’re committed.

This is the time to keep your eye on the target, turn up the heat and keep pressing onward toward the prize.

If you’ve experienced setbacks, you may have to analyze the situation and try a different strategy. You may have to get creative and think out of the box. Where there’s talent, passion and potential, you can proceed confidently, knowing that you will succeed because you are on the right path and victory is near.

Billy Cox is a straightforward communicator, a compelling motivator and energetic leader who uniquely connects with today’s achievers through compelling and creative teaching methods.  Come hear Billy live on March 23rd – it’s FREE.  Register here.

FREE Webcast

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You Gotta Get in the Game!
Presented by Billy Cox
8:00 pm CST
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What’s New at Ziglar

Technology can be overwhelming, but it can also be extremely beneficial to your professional life.  So how do you avoid spending meaningless hours Twittering?  What’s the best way to organize your Outlook files?  How do you make the most out of the time you devote to your career?  With hundreds of opinions, thoughts, and ideas toward the subject it’s hard to know who to trust.  That’s why Ziglar wants you to go with the name you trust.  For over 30 years Ziglar has been educating the business world on how to be better in all areas.   Learning to manage technology is no different.

Come to the May 12, 2010, Tactical Tips for Managing Technology and Time class.  Learn how to not only manage your time but to manage your technology.

Call 1-800-527-0306 and ask for Margaret Garrett or Michael McGowan or leave your contact information at info@ziglar.com and someone will contact you with more information.

Word of the Week

Philomath
Noun
“Fil uh math”
1. A lover of learning, a scholar
He is a Philomath, devouring any book he can get his hands on. 

Zingers

One way to make people slow down in their driving is to call it work.
 
It is safer to limit your speed than to speed your limit.
 
Drive carefully around the children—we value our tax deduction.
 
Whether it’s on the road or in an argument, when you see red, stop.
 
Drive so that your driver’s license will expire before you do.

This newsletter is published by Ziglar, Inc.  Ziglar.com

One Sure-fire Way to Success

By Zig Ziglar

One of the main reasons people fail to reach their full potential is because they are unwilling to risk anything.  They are fearful of losing, failing, or getting hurt and just want to do the things they believe will keep them safe. They simply want to maintain their status quo and avoid anything that might upset the mediocre expectations they have for their lives. Now, I don’t want you to get the idea that I am making fun of people who have mediocre expectations. Most people have mediocre expectations for themselves, and they come by it naturally. Their experience has conditioned them to believe mediocrity is about as good as it gets, so their expectations match their experience.

What I am saying is that experience is a great teacher but we should never let our experience influence what we think about our potential. Did you know that every human being is created with a purpose and that they have a responsibility to not only discover their purpose but also to fulfill it? I don’t mean that it is every person’s destiny to be rich and famous, but it is every person’s destiny to do something that will make a positive difference in the lives of others. That is one of the reasons I believe you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. I love what Joan of Arc said when she stated, “I’m not afraid. I was born to do this.” If you believe as I do that you were born to win, you’re going to have to find your fears and start facing them. Face them over and over again until you have nothing to fear but fear itself.

To discover your purpose and act on it, you will have to take risks. What does it mean to take a risk, and how can you overcome the fear of taking risks? First, let’s consider how you might have become fearful of taking risks in the first place. Most people become fearful because they have been hurt by taking risks in the past. That is why our experience contributes to possibly limiting what we think we can do or are willing to do. The way to correct this thinking is to realize that the mistakes we made in our past are actually assets that we can use for our benefit today. It is not that we should stop taking risks. It is that we should not repeat things we have done in the past that did not work.

There is a big difference between the two!

Think about all the lessons you have learned from past attempts and then find a way to use them in a new endeavor.  By taking risks you open your life up to new and exciting possibilities.  Let others sit around and wait for opportunity—you go out and find it.

This article is an excerpt from Zig Ziglar’s newest book, Born to Win.  Order the book now and you will receive $2184 worth of bonuses!

Quote

It is not that we should stop taking risks. It is that we should not repeat things we have done in the past that did not work.   There is a big difference between the two!   ~Zig Ziglar

Show Your Thanks and Boost Motivation

By Brian Tracy

Every day I want to encourage you to voice your “attitude of gratitude.”   Say thank you and give constructive feedback to your staff, friends, children and co-workers and encourage them to be better in their lives and work.  Make it a habit to give people continual praise and encouragement. The more you praise and encourage positive, constructive behaviors, the more deposits you make to the emotional bank account. The easier it will then be for people to take constructive feedback from you at a later time.

Appreciate People for Everything They Do

There are three keys to getting the best out of others, and the first of these is appreciation. Every time you thank another person, you cause that person to like themselves better. You raise their self-esteem and improve their self-image. You cause them to feel more important. You make them feel that what they did was valuable and worthwhile. You empower them.

Build Your Own Self-Esteem

And the wonderful thing about thanking other people is that every time you say the words “thank you,” you like yourself better as well. You feel better inside. You feel happier and more content with yourself and life. You feel more fully integrated and positive about what you are doing. When you develop an attitude of gratitude that flows forth from you in all of your interactions with others, you will be amazed at how popular you will become and how eager others will be to help you in whatever you are doing.

Praise and Approve Others Continually

The second way to make people feel important, raise self-esteem and give them a sense of power and energy, is by the generous use of praise and approval. Psychological tests show that when children are praised by the people they look up to, their energy levels rise, their heart rates and respiratory rates increase, and they feel happier about themselves overall.

Make People Feel Important

Perhaps the most valuable lesson in Ken Blanchard’s book, The One Minute Manager, is his recommendation to be giving “one-minute praising” at every opportunity. If you go around your home and through your social relationships praising and giving genuine and honest approval to people for their accomplishments, large and small, you will be amazed at how much more people like you and how much more willing they are to help you achieve your goals.

Practice the Law of Reciprocity

There is a psychological law of reciprocity that says, “If you make me feel good about myself, I will find a way to make you feel good about yourself.” In other words, people will always look for ways to reciprocate your kindnesses toward them. When you look for every opportunity to do and say things that make other people feel good about themselves, you will be astonished at not only how good you feel, but at the wonderful things that begin to happen all around you.

Pay Attention When They Talk

The third way to empower others, to build their self-esteem and make them feel important, is simply to pay close attention to them when they talk. The great majority of people are so busy trying to be heard that they become impatient when others are talking. But this is not for you. Remember, the most important single activity that takes place over time is listening intently to the other person when he or she is talking and expressing himself or herself.

Take Every Opportunity to Build People Up

Again, the three general rules for empowering the people around you that apply to everyone you meet are appreciation, approval, and attention.  Say thank you and voice your gratitude to others on every occasion. Praise them for every accomplishment. And pay close attention to them when they talk and want to interact with you. These three behaviors alone will make you a master of human interaction and will greatly empower the people around you.

Brian Tracy is Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations.  Brian’s goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and more easily than you ever imagined.

 
Success 2.0

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Presented by John Foppe

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Ziglar Recommends

You Were Born to Win!

Zig Ziglar, “America’s Motivator” and bestselling author, has written what is sure to become a beloved classic, Born to Win.

Zig gathers his 40+ years of teaching about success, what it really is and how to get it, and puts it all in one easy-to-understand book.

In Born to Win you will learn how:
• You can begin to win right away
• Two driving forces fuel action
• To stop worrying about results
• Being born to win can drive your business to new levels of success

Zig believes you were born to win, but you must plan to win and prepare to win. Then and only then can you expect to win. Zig shares the exact steps you can take to be the winner you are meant to be!  With his humorous writing style and real-life examples, you will find yourself going back to this book again and again.

Purchase the book today and receive over $2184 worth of bonuses FREE!
Order now!

Check it out!

Hear Jon Acuff and Joel Boggess talk about what you can expect at the Quitter Conference in this podcast:  www.4pointscoaching.com/acuff
Conference website: http://www.jonacuff.com/blog/events/

Fun Fact

The elephant is the only mammal that can’t jump!

This newsletter is published by Ziglar, Inc.  Visit us at Ziglar.com.

The Five Principles of Performance

By Zig Ziglar, author of Born to Win

Much of success is about performance. It’s about what we do and what we are able to inspire others to do. There are some simple performance principles I have learned in my life, and I want to share them with you.  They really bring success, and what it takes to be successful, into sharp focus. They are also the basis for developing and maintaining an expectation of success.

The Five Principles of Performance
1. We generally get from ourselves and others what we expect. It is a huge fact that you will either live up or down to your own expectations. If you expect to lose, you will. If you expect to be average, you will be average. If you expect to feel bad, you probably will. If you expect to feel great, nothing will slow you down. And what is true for you is true for others. Your expectations for others will become what they deliver and achieve. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

2. The difference between good and excellent companies is training. The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is to not train them and keep them! A football team would not be very successful if they did not train, practice, and prepare for their opponents. When you think of training as practice and preparation, it makes you wonder how businesses survive that do not make significant training investments in their people.

Actually, companies that do not train their people and invest in their ability don’t last. They operate from a competitive disadvantage and are eventually gobbled up and defeated in the marketplace. If you want to improve and move from good to excellent, a good training strategy will be the key to success.

3. You find what you look for in life. If you look for the good things in life, you will find them. If you look for opportunities to grow and prosper, you will find them. If you look for positive, enthusiastic friends and associates who will support you, you will find them. On the other hand, if you look for ways to cheat, you will cheat. If you look for ways to justify leaving your spouse, you will find them. If you look for justifiable reasons to hold a grudge against another person, you will find those, too. It is a natural tendency of us all to look for things that will justify what we think we need or want. If you are not living by the foundation stones of honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty, you will be drawn to seeking selfish gratification, and that leads to misery and unfulfilled dreams. Whatever you have will never be enough. Always look for the good and for ways to help others.

4. Never make a promise without a plan. Far too many people make promises they can never keep. They may have the best intentions in the world to keep their promise, but if they have not made a plan to keep it, they will not be able to do it. Business leaders who make promises to their employees will not honor them if they do not create a plan on how the promises will be kept. If you make a future commitment, you must understand and be willing to do whatever it takes to complete that commitment. One of the reasons marriage commitments fail so frequently is because the husband and wife do not understand what it takes to have a great marriage. They do not plan for or understand the sacrifices each must make for the other to enable a long-lasting relationship.

5. Happiness, joy, and gratitude are universal if we know what to look for. I believe you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. All people want happiness and joy in their life, but you have to know what produces real happiness and how to do the things that produce it. The moment you begin to worry about the things you want and the things you don’t have in life is the moment you will lose your gratitude for what you actually have. If you are ungrateful, you will never be satisfied or content or joyful about your life. The greatest source of happiness is the ability to be grateful at all times.

The Right Attitude
Obviously, the right attitude to expect the best in your life is a positive attitude. But I want to be very clear that the kind of positive attitude I describe is not one that is contrived or falsely manufactured to impress or manipulate others. The positive attitude I talk about is one that you are filled with, and when you are jostled, it just spills out! What I’m saying is that a genuine positive attitude is part of who you are at your core.

If you have a bad attitude, it is a reflection of who you are, as well. It’s a “heart condition,” and to get rid of that bad attitude, you need a change of heart. I would be remiss if I did not encourage you by saying that God is the most amazing heart surgeon available to us all. He does not just repair a bad heart; He can give you a new one that your body will not reject. The new heart He provides will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in your life. When you have those characteristics and qualities in your life, you will be rightfully positioned to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are truly born to win.

Ths article is an excerpt from Zig’s latest book, Born to Win, now available.  Be one of the first to get it! 

Quote

Zig Ziglar is the real deal!  He’s an authentic voice, a light, and a life changing mentor and model for millions.   ~ Seth Godin, Zig fan #1

Buy It Now!

You Were Born to Win!

Zig Ziglar, “America’s Motivator” and bestselling author, has written what is sure to become a beloved classic, Born to Win.

Zig gathers his 40+ years of teaching about success, what it really is and how to get it, and puts it all in one easy-to-understand book.

In Born to Win you will learn how:
• You can begin to win right away
• Two driving forces fuel action
• To stop worrying about results
• Being born to win can drive your business to new levels of success

Zig believes you were born to win, but you must plan to win and prepare to win. Then and only then can you expect to win. Zig shares the exact steps you can take to be the winner you are meant to be!  With his humorous writing style and real-life examples, you will find yourself going back to this book again and again.

Purchase the book today and receive over $2184 worth of bonuses FREE!
Order now!

Dave Ramsey Recommends

“I’ve been listening to Zig Ziglar’s teachings and reading his books since I was 12 years old. His influence and experience have permeated every business decision I’ve ever made, and I’m thrilled that Zig has poured all of his best insights into one book, Born to Win. This is absolutely a must-read for anyone in business, or anyone who just wants a better life!” 

Ken Blanchard Recommends

“Born to Win is Zig Ziglar’s legacy for all of us.  Don’t miss it!  If you think he’s already impacted your life, as he has mine, then hold on—your life will get even better after reading Born to Win.  It’s the best of the best of Zig Ziglar.” 

This newsletter is published by Ziglar, Inc.  Visit us at Ziglar.com.

Life is Like a Grindstone

By Zig Ziglar

I believe the heading for this column is true.  Life really is like a grindstone, in that it will either grind you down or polish you up.  It seems that some people have bounced back from disaster, defeat, and virtually every imaginable form of difficulty in our society.  This is certainly the case with Iyanla Vanzant.  Iyanla was raped when she was just nine years old.  She had a child at age sixteen, a nervous breakdown at 22, and spent eleven years on welfare.

Her will to win and a “never-say-die” spirit, combined with sacrifice, perseverance and faith, have propelled Iyanla to the top.  She earned a law degree and became a criminal defense attorney.  Not only that, she is an author, a radio and television talk show host and inspirational speaker.  Her universal message seems to tap back into the kind of spirituality that our grandmothers had.  She is living proof that it is not where you start or even what happens to you along the way that’s important.  What is important is that you persevere and never give up on yourself. 

She is an upbeat, enthusiastic and optimistic person who delights in persuading others that they, too, can get it all together and do things with their lives, regardless of what their past might have been.  She knows and tells others that it’s not easy, but she believes it can be done.  I might add that I share that same conviction, so pick yourself up by your boot straps, go to work with the right attitude; hang in there and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP! 

Zig Ziglar is known as America’s motivator.   He is the author of 30 books and numerous audio and video recordings.  Be one of the first to order his latest book, Born to Win. 

Quote

Life really is like a grindstone, in that it will either grind you down or polish you up.  ~Zig Ziglar

The Problem with Perfection

By Jon Acuff

When things were out of control in my room on Edgewood Drive, in Hudson, Massachusetts, my mom would ask me to clean up. I didn’t tidy or make my bed. I didn’t put the very obvious piles of dirty laundry in the right room or clean off my desk. I always tried to go from a messy room to operating room cleanliness in one afternoon. I didn’t merely pick up books on the floor; I dusted the shelf slowly and rearranged them by size or author name or both. I spent hours and hours on a two-foot square in my room, wanting everything to be perfect. About midway through, I would get overwhelmed at the task and give up.

My mom called me a “procrastinating perfectionist.” I would wait until the last minute and then try to do it all perfectly and at once.

And maybe you think that way too.

I see that kind of thinking sometimes at an event I hold called the Quitter Conference.  The goal of the event is to help you close the gap between your day job and your dream job. But sometimes when we start chasing our dreams, it’s tempting to feel like we’ve missed some of our opportunities in life. Whether you’re seventeen or forty-seven, there’s always the temptation to think that something has “passed us by.” And when we feel a little buzz to get things going, when we feel a little momentum starting to build, it’s easy to get a touch of procrastinating perfectionism. And that tends to cripple our ability to finish.

I want us to be a generation of finishers. I want us to be a generation of people who follow through and sew the last stitch or give the final keynote or write the last chapter.

And in order to get there, we have to murder perfectionism. I was going to write, “put perfectionism to bed,” but that sounded too tender for this particular monster. Murder feels right.

How do we do that? There are a number of ways. Books like Getting Things Done by David Allen are great at helping you get organized and in motion. Magazines offer monthly tips on productivity with the least effort expended. But I tend to think that the simpler I keep my tools, the more likely I am to actually use them. And there is one idea that really changed the way I looked at perfectionism. Bumping into this truth radically rewired my ability to finish.

Here’s what I learned:  “Ninety percent perfect and shared with the world always changes more lives than one hundred percent perfect and stuck in your head.”

That’s it. I admit it’s simple. But it’s also true.

The things you create and share will always outperform the things that stay stuck in your head or your desk or your laptop. You might love the ideas you have inside you. You might be more proud of them than any other project you’ve ever put together. But if you don’t follow through with them, they don’t do much good.

The business that is open will always outsell the business that is closed.

If your goal is to change the world, you have to step out and share your work. And sometimes that means getting comfortable with A-minus work.

I learned that while working on my blog, http://www.stuffchristianslike.net/. I used to kill myself on each post. I would write and rewrite each one, trying to perfectly craft what I wanted to say. It’s so easy to misinterpret something online and I wanted my message to be clear. It was tempting to hold off on posts until they were perfect. 

But 7:00am comes at the same time every morning, and people expected a post from me. Not a perfect post. A great post. If I wanted to impact someone that day, if I wanted to change the way they thought about something, I had to share what I wrote. Even if I thought it was only ninety percent done. Even if I thought a little more work could make it perfect. Because that’s the lie of perfectionism, isn’t it?

We never tell ourselves, “The land of perfect is about a year away.” We never think perfect is impossible. Perfect always glows from right around the corner. We just need a little more work, a little more time and then we can share our work with the world.

I’m afraid the land of perfect is a myth. We might feel we are skirting its borders with our dream, but the reality is that those borders don’t exist because perfect doesn’t. Your definition of perfect will not fit mine, which will not fit hers or his. You can’t catch perfect. But you can catch published. You can catch finished and shared.

That’s not an excuse to do your work half-heartedly. I want you to be excellent at passion, not just passionate. But since you’re reading this newsletter, chances are good you struggle with perfectionism much more than doing things half-heartedly. The solution to doing something lackadaisically is not difficult. Just do it better. The solution to perfectionism is tricky because, at first, it doesn’t feel like something that needs to be solved.

At first you get lauded for your “attention to detail” or “commitment to excellence.” But what a lot of people don’t see are the extra hours you’re putting in to make sure something is perfect. Perfectionism seems like a character trait sometimes, not a flaw. People don’t normally see it as the poison it is until someone burns out or has a breakdown.

I look at starting any endeavor kind of like swimming. You can read all the books you want to about swimming. You can participate in blogs about swimming and buy magazines and study videos of swimming online for hours and hours. But if you waited until you were perfect at understanding swimming before you started swimming, you might never get in the water. And you’d never learn to be a great swimmer because you have to get wet a lot first.

Quit perfect. It’s an unnecessary obstacle. Chase the idea of your dream being better finished at ninety percent than perfect and not pursued.

Jon Acuff closed the gap between his day job and his dream job when he joined the Dave Ramsey team to become a full-time author. He has contributed to CNN.com, consulted with some of the top brands in the world, speaks nationally on a variety of subjects, and is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of three books: Quitter; Gazelles, Baby Steps And 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt; and Stuff Christians Like. He lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife and two daughters. Follow him on Twitter: @jonacuff  and read his blog at http://www.jonacuff.com/blog.

Success 2.0

FREE Webcast

Born To Win
Presented by: Tom Ziglar and Billy Cox

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
2:00-3:00 pm CST

Register now!

Ziglar Recommends

The 2012 Born To Win Business Planning Conference

January 27-28, 2012
Nashville, TN

Do you have a complete, clearly defined, written 12 month business plan? Sadly, most small business owners don’t. Sad, because a focused plan can make the difference between barely getting by and huge success.

Finally Get Focused, Organized and Systematized … Start Reaching Your Goals in Life and in Business … And Live the Life You’ve Always Imagined …

http://www.howardpartridge.com/borntowin/

Fun Fact

Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

This newsletter is published by Ziglar, Inc.  Visit us at our website, Ziglar.com.

From Wealth to Broke to Wealth

By Zig Ziglar

When Castro and his Communist regime took over Cuba, the socialist system replaced free enterprise and many successful people were devastated.  Carlos Arboleya, an accounts officer for one of the largest banks in Cuba, was one of them.  In 1960, shortly after Castro took over, Carlos arrived at work and discovered that all private banks had been taken over by the Communists.  Three weeks later he was able to get himself, his wife and his small son out of Cuba.  The only problem was, Carlos arrived in America with only $42 in cash.  He was unemployed, had no place to stay, and did not know a single person in Miami.  He sought employment by going to every bank in Miami but all of them turned him down.  He finally found a job in a shoe factory, taking inventory.

Carlos worked with enthusiasm and with enormous energy as he put in countless extra hours. Results were spectacular and within sixteen months he was manager of the shoe company.  A short time later he was offered a job at the bank where the shoe company did business.  From there he moved into the presidency of the largest chain of banks in America.

Carlos Arboleya did what he had to do (provide for his family) by taking a job he was over-qualified for and eventually landed the job he desired.  He proved that it is not where you start but that you start that counts.  Speaker Joe Sabah puts it this way: “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Carlos’ story is simply a vignette in the overall picture of America, the land where anyone who will apply him or herself, and strive for that education, can move forward to unique successes. This is evidenced by the fact that 80% of all millionaires in America are first-generation Americans.  Think about it, give it your best shot, and I really will SEE YOU AT THE TOP! 

Zig Ziglar is known as America’s motivator.   He is the author of 29 books and numerous audio and video recordings.  See him in action!

Quote

It is not where you start but that you start that counts.  ~Zig Ziglar

It is Time to Stop Managing Down and Start Coaching Up!

By Bryan Dodge

Manager: a person who has control or direction of a business, or of a part, division, or phase of it.

Coach: a person who gives instruction or advice to elevate the performance of an individual or student.

Business men and women are looking for leaders who demonstrate an enthusiastic and genuine belief in others and who strengthen their will to succeed. Look at the two definitions above and think about which of those people is going to get the results needed in business today. Coaching is all about focusing on the talent of the person, and not so much about the production of the job description given when hired. Yes, businesses hire a manager to control the output of sales in order to control the outcome or production of business. However, if the focus is on enhancing the talents of hired staff, I believe the outcome will be greatly improved. Coaches focus on supplying the means to achieve, not on the fear of employees losing their jobs. It is the title of “coach” that helps to express optimism for the future with a firm walk in life.

A coach must keep hope alive from within the person. They must always strengthen their players’ belief that life’s struggles will produce a more promising future. This evolves into an intimate and supportive relationship, a relationship based not on pure authority, but on mutual participation that results in an inner renewal. The coach sees the good in you, and it is his or her job to bring the good out and place you in a position where your talent matches the task so success is almost a given. It is when you put people in positions of your needs that you are thinking like a manager, not a coach. Your job isn’t to put people in a position of your need; it is to put them in a position where they will succeed.

All great coaches find ways to change up the game plan in order to get tried and true results. Different competitions, changing up strategies, having employees input ideas from the field—all these things help to get your team engaged in the company’s goals and have some friendly competition to bolster energy for production. A manager without a coaching strategy might simply post the goals of the company for the quarter and give no input as to how to achieve those goals. This kind of manager is relying on the talents of the sales staff, but not enhancing or improving upon past performance. Yes, the coaching up manager is going to have to be creative.

Business owners should be looking for that quality in a coach for their team. Coaches, study your competition. There are strategies out there that are proven in the marketplace and should be followed, just like the skills to make a three-point jumper shot at the buzzer. Perfect practice makes perfect. Follow your team on the road to help them to continue following proven principles your company has set. But by all means, have some fun with some friendly competition.

During these uncertain and changing times, those who take the title of “coach” lead with a positive, confident, can-do approach to life and business, something that is so needed with the people I see each week. The feedback I receive from investing hundreds of hours each year with people is that they want a leader with a coaching focus, not a managing agenda. These people want to believe that we all are part of a journey, and this is not just a job or a task. They seem to gravitate toward people with a can–do attitude, not those who always seem to have a reason why something can’t be done. It is when the pressure is on that the title Coach becomes so important. A manager thinks one way and a coach thinks another. A coach says, “I asked you to be on this team because I believe in who you are as a person, not just as a player.”

The good coach sees what is good on the inside and brings it out. A manager sees what is on the outside and pushes it in. I hope this message will find you coaching up for success.

Bryan Dodge is an author, speaker and successful salesperson.  Every appearance and product by Bryan Dodge is fueled by his passion for sharing with others what he has gained in over 20 years as a lifelong, avid student of success habits and leadership principles—knowledge he used first to transform his own life.  Hear him for free on January 11, 2012.  Click here for more information.

Success 2.0

FREE Webcast

Building a Team that Works Without You
Presented by Bryan Dodge

January 11, 2012
2:00-3:00 pm CST

Register now!

Ziglar Recommends

The Quitter Conference

Have you ever felt caught between what you have to do and what you love to do? Do you feel called to do something big with your life, but don’t know how to get there? If so, you don’t want to miss this event! Join Jon Acuff, author of the best-selling new book Quitter, for a motivational event packed with practical insights for reaching your dream job.

You’ll discover how to:

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It’s time to close the gap between your day job and your dream job. It’s time to be a Quitter. Join us for The Quitter Conference in Nashville, TN, February 10–11.
http://www.jonacuff.com/blog/events/

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The 2012 Born To Win Business Planning Conference

January 27-28, 2012
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Do you have a complete, clearly defined, written 12 month business plan? Sadly, most small business owners don’t. Sad, because a focused plan can make the difference between barely getting by and huge success.

Finally Get Focused, Organized and Systematized… Start Reaching Your Goals in Life and in Business… And Live the Life You’ve Always Imagined…

Find out more!

Prayer Request

Please pray for Zig’s great granddaughter, Phoebe Lucille Fair.  Read more at her CaringBridge site.

Fun Fact

“Almost” is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

This newsletter is published by Ziglar, Inc.  Visit us at Ziglar.com.

The Right Switch

By Zig Ziglar

Old Fred, our town’s 85-year-old bachelor, loves children.  He frequently sits on his shady lawn in a rocking chair, whittling toys for the kids when they gather around him in droves.  Most of the townspeople often wondered why Fred had never married; one day someone asked him the question.  Fred’s response gives all of us something to think about: “Well, I’ll tell you,” Fred replied, “I was like a man riding a horse through the woods looking for a switch.  Every time I saw a likely-looking one I’d pass it by, thinking I’d find a better one.  And before I knew it, I was clear through the woods.”

Fred was obviously looking for “the perfect woman,” and, like “the perfect man,” she doesn’t exist—and if she did, she would not have married him.  Think about it and be grateful that your mate is not perfect because, had he or she been perfect, they certainly would not have married you. 

The add-on to that little bit of information was summed up by a lady who gave me a note with these words on it: “I married my first husband hoping he would change.  I married my second one hoping he wouldn’t.”  We conducted a survey involving 359 couples who had been married 25 or more years and who stated they would marry the same person again.  One question we asked was, “What would you change about your mate if you could?”  Eighty-nine percent of them said they would change nothing.  Most of those who did say they would change anything listed things like, “I would try to get him (or her) to try to take better care of their health.”  Maybe that accounts for the longevity of their marriages.  The reality is, none of us is going to change anybody else.  We can change ourselves, though, and when we do it’s amazing how much the other person changes.  Think about it and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Zig Ziglar is known as America’s motivator.   He is the author of 29 books and numerous audio and video recordings.  See him in action!

Quote

Think about it and be grateful that your mate is not perfect because, had he or she been perfect, they certainly would not have married you! 

Happy New Year !

Success 2.0

FREE Webcast

Building a Team that Works Without You
Presented by Bryan Dodge

January 11, 2012
2:00-3:00 pm CST

Register now!

What’s New at Ziglar

The 2012 Born To Win Business Planning Conference

January 27-28, 2012
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Do you have a complete, clearly defined, written 12 month business plan? Sadly, most small business owners don’t. Sad, because a focused plan can make the difference between barely getting by and huge success.

Finally Get Focused, Organized and Systematized … Start Reaching Your Goals in Life and in Business … And Live the Life You’ve Always Imagined …

Find out more…

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“The Ultimate Customer Service Culture” workshop includes presentations from Jason Young, author of Culturetopia, and David Reed, author of A Culture of Service. This half-day customer service experience combines two successful service philosophies and is designed for all employee levels.  Every organization will benefit from this engaging presentation, including Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, non-profits and government agencies.

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Fun Fact

Of all the words in the English language, the word ‘set’ has the most definitions!

This newsletter is published by Ziglar, Inc.  Visit us at Ziglar.com.