I’m just not going to preface the title here. This is not “bait and switch,” and a catchy title just for impact. This is a literal issue that is paramount. Listen in.
It’s time to inspire your true performance! This is The Ziglar Show, episode #393. Today we hear from…Zig Ziglar. The man, the icon, the legend. Not because he was so great, but because he cared and he was willing. Because he devoted himself to inspiring our true…performance.
I titled today’s show…”Are you a god?” That’s not an edgy title just to pique your interest. It’s literally a viable perspective that we’re going to dive into, and it’s not a theological, doctrinal, spiritually-focused debate, though some might try to take it there. It’s pretty simple, pretty base, and dramatically important. Can you handle it?
So, folks, the last show, #392, was our first Q&A show. Tom aired it live on the Ziglar Facebook Fan page and we had a lively chat. I’d love to hear your feedback. If you have a good review, please…leave a rating and review on iTunes! If you have a criticism, let us know. Along with…do you have a question? Go to Ask.ZigShow.com. Our main desire is for questions, but it’s also a place you can connect with us on anything you wish. Ask.ZigShow.com. We’re eager to hear from you!
Ok, friends, I have a 10-minute clip from Zig on hope. Zig says hope is the foundation for successful change, and in this clip his focus is to why hope is the activator…for success. I’ll just give it to you now, then we’ll dissect it:
Zig says his focus for this message is that you would become the person you were intended to be, and, in so many ways, you already are.
- That right there. We could stop the show there. You could, and be honest. There is a possible crisis and turning point of belief.
- Do you believe you were intended, truly, for something? It’s a foundational belief. My experience is that most people, even those who are desiring and even aspiring, do not…actually have a tangible, decided belief that they have any real destiny. Any true, specific, individual purpose.
- And that right there is a complete deal changer. Complete.
- Should we do a show just on that? Let us know your thoughts at Ask.ZigShow.com
Next Zig leads us into…
Four questions:
- Do you believe there is something you can do in the next three weeks that will make your personal life, your family life, and your business life worse?
- This is the easy question. We can easily grasp onto this, can’t we?! It’s scary, actually. We are so aware of what we can do that could just…wreck our lives. For many, this is what drives us. Fear we won’t care for our families. Won’t pay the bills. Will hurt them with our sin and weakness and anger and addictions and lack. Which leads us into the mind-blowing next question.
- Do you believe there is something you can do in the next three weeks that will make your personal life, your family life, and your business life…better?
- If we believe we have the power to wreck and damage lives, even…TAKE a life, do we just as much believe we have the power to, in so many ways, give life? Massively benefit a life? Inspire lives?
- Do you believe the choice is yours?
- Do you believe every choice has an end result?
What you said is that, regardless of the past or the circumstances in this moment…the present…there is something you can do right now that will make your future, and others’ future, better or worse. And the choice is yours.
This brings up my question of…are you a god? In show #372 we interviewed Roy Williams. He discussed the complete awe that Christianity, the faith he claims (as do Zig and I), is so profound in that the Creator created beings and gave them the power to say…”No.”
For those of you who believe in God, is it not amazing that He gave us free will? The power to choose? I said I wouldn’t get into doctrine and theology, but I will say this. I believe in God’s ultimate power. I don’t believe we have the power to thwart His plan and His will. It will be done. But I do believe I have the power to opt out of His plan and His will, if I choose. Because I believe in the Bible and it says He did give me free will.
So, back to Zig. Do you have choice and power to make things better or worse for another? Yes. You can bless and love and encourage your child to become President of the United States. Or you can beat, abuse, and berate your child, and they can still become president. It’s not saying you are all-powerful over the outcome. But what you choose will have an end result. That child will be well and true and whole, or they will be hurt and troubled and scarred. You have power. It does matter and have great effect.
Are you God? No. Are you a god? Interesting question, isn’t it?
Zig’s next story is of the guy with the two dogs that fight. To repeat the punchline:
Why does the black or white dog win? “It depends on which one I feed all week.” There is positive and negative in your mind, and you have a choice of which one you want to feed.
I sat and dwelled on this a bit. Let’s take the idea of black and white and focus on the…gray.
When you think of feeding the positive or negative, I’m betting many of you think that often you’re not necessarily doing…either. You’re just…being! You know, just trying to be a good person. Not doing anything harmless, one way or the other.
So, let’s talk about other things that we feed:
Laziness
Indecisiveness
Complacency
Excuses
Busyness
Anger
Fear
Worry and Anxiety
Daydreaming
Escape – so much escape
We may not feel we are directly feeding negativity, but how much do we feed that is not…positivity? Growth? Possibility? Opportunity? Our talents, skills, and abilities?
And if feeding those “gray” things is taking away from feeding “positivity,” then they are, in essence, killing it. So, then, are they really…gray?
Big question, isn’t it?
On this specific note, Zig next says:
- You are what you are and where you are because of what’s gone into your mind.
- You can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind.
- Whatever you feed is what you will grow.
Think about this today.
- When you go home and spend your evening
- When you wake in the morning and prep for your day
- When you drive to work
- As you work and have things going on in the background
What are you feeding your mind?
- Do you really think it’s gray?
Zig’s next point is on one of his favorite focal points: HOPE
So, Zig says, “Hope is the foundational quality of all change.”
“If there’s hope in the future, there is power in the present” (John Maxwell)
- so…if today you have no viable hope in the future, then you have no power in the present.
As I was working on this show, I worried that it was a downer. It is harsh. Because it’s just true. We are crafting our outcomes, and we do desperately want absolution from such responsibility. At least I do.
I know so many with so many problems. And the root is that there is not really any hope.
There is expectation in some good times. Some nice fruitions. Some progress in time. But…that’s not hope. That’s not belief and faith and…inspiration.
And then Zig says,
“…when there is no hope, there is no action.”
Which brings us to all that gray. It’s not action, it’s just…passing the time.
Zig hits us next with:
“The way you see your past is important -- but not nearly as important as how you see your future.”
- Though it’s supremely relevant that how you see your future is shaped by your past. I’m not going to say you need to sugar-coat your past. Maybe your past was horrible. Maybe it was just…a little bad. Maybe it wasn’t bad at all, but it wasn’t overly good. Just…blah.
- Whatever your past is, you don’t have to sugar-coat it, but you do need to come to grips with it. So that you are free to see your future.
Objective – what is your list…your goal…for success?
Happy
Healthy
Reasonably Prosperous
Secure
Have friends
Peace of mind
Good family relationships
Hope for the future
Know you are loved and that you love
For those things, what will you pursue? What will you fill your mind with? What actions will you take?