Just think positive? Really? Is it that easy? No. It’s not. Which is why we listen to a 22 minute clip of Zig on the topic, then spend about the same time digging into what being “Positive” is all about, and what’s really in it for us. It’s not just a perspective. It’s a tactic for getting more out of most anything and anytime.
The Ziglar Show is founded on what Zig Ziglar, the worlds most prolific motivator, devoted his life to: Inspiring YOUR True Performance. You can have the best tools, resources and even opportunity. But unless you are truly inspired, you’ll be hopeful but remain where you are.
What is the definition of “inspired”? To influence or animate with an idea or purpose. Did you hear that? Animate with a purpose. If you want to take action, you have to know and be motivated by true purpose. That’s deep folks. And it’s why you’re here. Let’s dig in and change your world, so you can change this world. We need all of you, desperately.
Today I bring you a classic ziglar clip, the title is, “Get Intentional With Your Attitude”. If you feel you are at your full capability and glory, you can listen to this show and feel confirmed. If however, you’re like me, and know you have so much more potential…you realize you do many things to limit your best self and probably even, unintentionally sabotage your full capabilities, then you will want to not only listen to this show, but digest it slowly, then smack it on your forehead. Maybe don’t just listen. Take notes. Not many notes, just some stark, profound, life changing ones.
Zig leads off discussing having a positive mental attitude that if you’ve listened to much Zig, you’ve heard before. Then he digs in deeper, as will we when he’s done. He also mentions and uses for impact, the reality of how much more work we get done the day before vacation, than any other day. These are threads folks. Threads of truth. Listen. Digest.
Here is 22 minutes straight of Zig. Folks, he poured his life blood into this message. If you truly listen and digest, it will forever alter your life for the better. For legacy living. Here we go:
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Zig leads off with, "Positive thinking won’t let you do anything. But it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will."
CHOICE & OPPORTUNITY
Let’s talk about positive thinking. What does that really mean? Expecting the best, looking for the good. But it’s not being Pollyanna. If you don’t know that term, it’s not standing in a pile of crap and saying it smells like roses. That’s just stupid. It smells like crap and you need to get out. A lot of people are in crap and they think it’s valiant to endure. they’ve accepted a life of crap. And that’s not good. They just need to pony up and get out.
But positive thinking IS trying to look on the bright side. It is counting your blessings, striving to see the good, the opportunity, the gold in the dirt. And make something of it. THAT is the point. If we just see the negative, we can’t do anything with it. It’s a waste. Seeing the positive is about trying to find something to benefit yourself and others, even amidst hard realities and circumstances.
That is Zig’s point. The moment, the person, the job or the circumstances…are what they are. What can you DO amidst them? Opportunity and overcoming come from a Positive perspective. Nothing comes from a negative perspective.
Even going back to it being so bad you need to leave. Maybe that’s the positive! “Hey, this is too much to endure, there IS no positive, other than…I can and must get away!"
And in many ways, seeing the positive is having faith
SCHIZOPRENIC POSITIVITY
I think we can become hung up on whether we or someone else is positive, or negative. Wholly. Which I would pose is impossible. Most of us, including myself, are very schizophrenic in our positive thinking. There are many areas in my life where I’m a positive thinking, optimistic, hopeful, faith filled, high achieving rockstar! Literally. I could be in the positive thinking hall of fame. Primarily regarding my personal endeavors.
But then if you look at how I deal with some circumstances, I’d be embarrassed to have you be privy to my actions and behaviors. I’m being very serious folks. I have some significant areas of my life where I have big failures in being positive, and I’m hurting myself and those around me.
The point of that acknowledgment is to break the perspective that we are either positive thinkers, or negative thinkers COMPLETELY. We’re probably both, in certain areas of our lives. So the point is to step back and discern where we are, and aren’t having a healthy, positive perspective. and get to work on our weak areas.
RELEASING POSITIVITY
Zig talked about coming into a dark conference center and turning the lights on, and said, “Flipping switches didn’t create electricity. It released it.” Positive thinking, belief, faith, expectation…they all increase our performance, results and success and releases the possibility, again…of opportunity
So you’re not creating something that doesn’t exist. You’re not making something up. You’re just recognizing and admitting that it’s highly possible and probable that at any given moment, in any area of your life, you are wearing sunglasses to a degree. Sometimes tinted more than other times. And if you take the moment captive, and realize it, you can brush yourself off, take a deep breath, close your eyes for a moment, take off the sunglasses (negative perspective) and reopen your eyes to a brighter reality. And see more truth and blessing and good and opportunity!
The idea is then to simply release and realize and see, the good that IS. It is. It’s there, right now. For you to see. But you probably won’t see it…and this bring us to our next point:
IT WON’T BE AUTOMATIC. YOU’LL ONLY SEE IT IF YOU’RE INTENTIONAL
If you expect to hear this message, nod your head and say, “Yeah!”, and in the next moment or hour or tomorrow, be different, it won’t happen.
Take a sharpie and write on the back of your hand, “Opportunity. Think positive. Take off the crap sunglasses that are making the light, dark.” That might help.
But you must do whatever it takes to start taking moments captive and becoming intentional. Taking control. Even if that control is to give it up, to God!
You’ll have to do something intentional. I literally write things on my hand. Or put it on my computer desktop. Or put in in my calendar to pop up. I don’t like to have things in my pockets, so I’ll put something in there to remind me. I also often, just go out into the woods to still and center myself.
Zig then gives a dramatic sucker punch folks. Huge. listen:
“We deny our talents and abilities, because to acknowledge or confess them, would commit us to use them.”
Folks. Stop. Please. Stop running. Stop working. Stop driving. Stop doing whatever it is that you’re doing and listen again. And take this…captive.
“We deny our talents and abilities, because to acknowledge or confess them, would commit us to use them.”
Someone in the 100,000 people who will ultimately listen to this show, is going to have their life radically altered, from that one statement. It could be you if you’ll give it a chance.
The easy way out, the mediocre life and existence, is to commit to very little. The hard way, the high road to legacy, is to be accountable to succeeding.
Every family, every generation, has it’s heros and influencers and impact makers. The family gets together and mentions them. Everyone else is forgettable.
Which are you aiming to be?
Let me tell a personal, regretful story.
I was a pro cyclist. I was gifted in sports and found my niche in racing bicycles. Tour deFrance style. I never raced the tour, but if you cancel out all the guys who are now positive for performance enhancing drugs, I think I actually won it!
I was a great sprinter. That was my talent.
In 1991 at the age of 20 I moved to Holland to race for a team. Our mentor team was the mighty Panasonic team. We got to do training races with them. One of their star riders took us young Americans out on a training ride and was just wearing us out. Making us ride in easy gears and spin at incredibly high RPMs. He then led us to a sprint line. He took off and left the group in the dust. Except for me. I matched him…and beat him. He was a bit dumbfounded.
He later told others, and I heard second hand, that out of all the guys on the amateur team, the one he thought had top ranked pro potential was…me.
Folks, I did later turn pro, but I was never more than 2nd rate. I strove to be a mountain climber.
What was at the root? I lacked the strength at the time, to acknowledge my gift and ability and be committed to use it.
It’s a true, regretful story. It robbed me of riches that were stored up for me. I’ve found other riches, don’t get me wrong. But it doesn’t take away the regret and tragedy of missing those riches.
“We deny our talents and abilities, because to acknowledge or confess them, would commit us to use them.”
Today, will you hide, or will you rise up and commit? If not today…how about tomorrow? When? You may not be able to change everything today. But plant this seed folks. Plant it firm. And start fertilizing it.
Zig talks about Oliver Wendell Holmes and his quote that so many of us die with our music still in us. He talks of “All that talent, all that ability.”
If you are listening and in truth, you don’t see or believe you really have much talent or ability to speak of, you might…be right. You didn’t hear me wrong. I said that. You might be right. You DON’T have much talent or ability to speak of. You have it within you, but you haven’t recognized it or cultivate it enough to be worthy of speaking.
If that’s you, your priority is to find you areas of talent and ability and strength. You DO have them. Zig’s fond of saying, "God don’t make no junk".
If you believe in God, then believing that he made you without immense talent and abilities…to merely be filler on the earth amongst other superstars, is blasphemy.
It’s ok to realize you don’t know your talents and abilities. It’s not ok to believe you don’t have any. Your priority task as of this moment however, has just changed. And it’s to figure out what your talents and abilities are.
RESOURCE
I asked Tom what a couple of his favorite resources were for discovering your talents and abilities. He referenced:
- 'StrengthsFinder', by Tom Rath
- And soon we'll be bringing you, "Live To Win - 7 Weeks To Balanced Success".
In the clip, Zig has everyone stand up and make some positive statements about themselves. This is directly from his self-talk cards. Go right now and get them for free at http://www.ziglar.com/show/selftalk
Zig ends saying, “Motivation gets you going, habit gets you there”. You are simply the sum of your daily habits. You want to see where you’re going? Watch where your feet take you.