Folks, there is no one on the planet who is immune to needing this message. It’s impossible. We are all victims of our own narrow views of ourselves and limitations. Some have drastic limitations, some have mild, albeit subversive, erosions that handicap their efforts. This show will be an effort to recognize that you and I invariably need to expand our views of ourselves.
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We’re going to listen to 13 minutes of Zig today and get into our personal blindness and narrow vision for ourselves. Folks, I’ve been in the personal and business development world for most of my life. Business development doesn’t add up to much until you address personal development. And any aspect of personal development is pretty much hijacked if you aren’t clear on the vision you have of yourself.
Now don’t get me wrong, you can do a lot, even amongst your handicap. But you will always be a bit hamstrung. Always dragging an anchor. Anxiety, frustration, anger…these are just some of the results of not having the peace you can have, when you are clear on how you see yourself. I know well, as I’ve been plenty victimized by my own narrow view of…me.
Few people ever dig in here. It’s not nearly as fun as, “7 steps to accomplish…whatever.” Which is why people scurry about to this resource and that resource, but generally just consume info and never change.
That’s not you though. You are here for change. Meaning. Purpose. Legacy. Otherwise you’d be listening to a different show. Some surface entertainment or info. But you are here to suck the marrow out of life. Yes? Can I get an amen?!
My co-host Tom Ziglar has been out for a couple shows. We’ve also missed a couple Ziglar, weekly team gatherings. So I need a quick catch up. Tom, I have two questions before we dive into the depths of personal development here:
- What’s on your mind regarding your own personal growth and journey as of late?
- As we both share a love of great food and cooking, what’s the best thing you’ve made recently?
Hear Tom's answer, as he hits on the reality that we statistically hear 50 negative things and one positive, regarding ourselves...daily.
And hear Zig from the stage. Here is the show in entirety, with more notes below:
So regarding Zig’s shoe salesman story. The guy didn’t believe he was Zig Ziglar, because “His picture was so narrow and so shallow it bore no resemblance to what I am and what I can do.”
Zig goes on to say, “Most people have a picture of themselves that is so narrow and so shallow it bears no resemblance to who they are and what they can do. Most people have no idea what they can do, because all they’ve been told is what they can NOT do. Most people don’t know what they can do because they don’t know who they are.”
Folks, let’s take this captive. I think our natural tendency is to hear this and frame it around negative thinking. But my experience is that often, it’s not all about negative thinking. Sometimes, it’s just ignorance. I like the work ignorant. It doesn’t mean stupid. It simply means…lacking knowledge or information. I’m incredibly ignorant in lots of areas. Multitudes! And that’s ok. I’m really smart and maybe, hopefully, brilliant, in a few areas!
But regarding our personal view of ourselves, many of us have about as much experience being able to see ourselves with a very broad and deep view, as we have experience speaking Swahili.
It’s not our fault and it doesn’t mean we have a poor upbringing and abusive or incompetent parents. It just means we only know about ourselves…what we know. And there is so much we don’t.
So our charge and responsibility today is to expand our understanding, and therefore abilities of ourselves.
Tom, in all truth, do you find many people, ever, who didn’t have to do a significant amount of work to get past some narrow views of themselves?
> Hear Tom's answer in the show, as he shares a common thread of breakthroughs, and the sequence of success.
Let’s talk a bit about risk, limits and failure. In knowing ourselves, we need to stretch ourselves, test ourselves. As a culture, we’re seeing the deficits brought on by not being encouraged and allowed to test the limits and push the envelopes. We have a growing cultural trend of very sheltered, confined and “safe” people. We aren’t allowed to go to our limits and experience the highs of achievement and the lows of failure. We’re bred to fit into a system. That’s not conspiracy theory talk, it’s just what’s been done to manage people and business and we have a system created for maintenance, not glory. So we must step outside the norm.
I have a passel of kids in running races where they are all winners. They all get a ribbon. They post the results with every kid listed in alphabetical order with no times listed. So my kids ask, “How did I do?” And we can’t really tell. We can’t track their results and weekly progress. What does this teach?! Corporations today are suffering from this. They cite the struggle of having young workers coming in who can’t handle failure and actually having to be accountable for their results. I want my kids knowing from the start about winning and losing and success and failure. I want strong, resilient kids who can adapt and rise above challenges. And that takes trials.
Let’s look at sports and athleticism. Nearly everyone listening to this show will have either played sports, or they watch some sport today. And we all understand. You train and practice and work out to get, what…? Better! And you do this by daily working to make progress. In nearly every true sport, you are practicing to failure. To build muscle and endurance and strength, you work out to failure. And you are breaking yourself down. Folks don’t think about this, but when you work out at the gym or on the field, you are working to break yourself down and in that moment, you are making yourself weaker. You are pushing yourself to failure.
Why? Because then you build back stronger. Seriously. Working out makes you weaker. What makes you stronger is recovery. Eating to replenish. Sleeping to replenish. THIS is when you get stronger.
So today, I bet in the past 24 hours, you’ve eaten. You’ve slept. But did you break yourself down so you could build back…stronger? Doing the work of understanding yourself, is part of breaking yourself down. So you can grow stronger!
Tom, there is plenty of commentary today on the value of being able to fail. Being ok with failure on the journey to success. But on this aspect of breaking ourselves down. What if we give that focus. it’s a different perspective. Forget failure for a minute and let’s just talk about the reality of growing stronger. Am I right in thinking this only happens by first breaking ourselves down?
> Tom discussed the need for true recovery and renewal
In today’s message, Zig says people don’t know what they want out of life because they don’t know what is available for them. They see where others can do it, but not themselves. It’s great to be a fan of others. To encourage them and sing their praises. But I also see people devoting themselves to only being fans of others and never advocating for themselves and striving to elevate their own abilities. Is it ok to acquiesce all achievement and success and life to others and divest ourselves of it, and relegate oneself to being a lifetime spectator? The word vicarious: felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of others.
Tom, are we at risk of being fans of someone winning on the field, and abnegating our own place on the field? Is it ok to always be a spectator, and never a player?
> Tom comes out with a significant statement, "We all have to claim and own our own field." We have to combine our passions and skills. The happiest people are those who make steady progress on a daily basis.
Zig claims “We must CHANGE our personal picture.”
- Man was designed for accomplishment
- Engineered for success
- Endowed with the seeds of greatness
- You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)
If you hear all those personal success claims, and it doesn’t resonate, then what DO you believe? From a faith based perspective, do you believe God created you to just be filler? You were just to fulfill a quota of human creation for the day? Or you are a worker bee just existing to be a cog in a machine? This isn’t about standing out and being a superstar. It’s just recognizing and believing you have an absolutely vital role, unto God. What that role is, and it’s breadth…is up to you to discern.
But Christ does not leave room for debate on his claim. He says “I am the truth and the way”. That’s not fair and it’s the root of all division against Him. He also doesn’t leave room for you to be lukewarm and coast through life just playing it safe and being comfortable and copping out on being a mere worker bee.
You don't have to be the superior leader of the human race. You can be a rockstar in a vital support role! Back to the Bible again, there is no judgement or superiority in the Body of Christ. Every part is just as vitally important as the other. Neither I, nor anyone else, can claim what your greatness is. But I can absolutely claim, just as Zig did, you were
- Designed for accomplishment
- Engineered for success
- Endowed with the seeds of greatness
- You are fearfully and wonderfully made
That’s biblical, and we here at Ziglar believe, in absolution, in the Bible
Tom, talk to us about this issue of recognizing the glory within ourselves. It’s of course not about being prideful and full of ourselves. It’s just recognizing and walking in the glory of being God’s creation. Why do you think this is so hard for most of us?
> Tom discusses how, when our image improves, our performance improves. And how vital is the story we tell ourselves.
Zig gets real, as he often does, by discussing himself. He discusses the picture we have of ourselves. And divulges that, he had the image of, “I’m a little guy from a little town who will struggle all of his life.”
If you haven’t read his personal story, go to Ziglar.com and buy his autobiography. It’s my personal favorite Ziglar resource. He had every reason, probably more than anyone listening, to discount himself. To be anonymous and mediocre and a victim.
We want to move from
- survival to stability
- stability to success
- success to significance
This usually comes as we age. Some do it sooner, some later. Some are a bit schizophrenic. I wanted significance while I was still in survival.
Zig ends the clip by pointing out:
- 58% of people who finish formal education never read another meaningful book
- Successful people read on average, 20 books per year
I want to point something important out and testify to everyone listening to this show right now. Whoever you are, wherever you’re at. You are pursuing teaching and training and breaking yourself down in order to build yourself up. You could be listening to nothing. You could be listening mindless music. You could be listening to bubble gum for your ears. But you’re not. You’re here listening to content in order to better your life, and from that, better the lives of others. Not to be pithy, but like the military promotions, you are part of the few, the proud and the brave.
I’m not exalting this show, but I am validly recognizing our content, and it’s surely not bubble gum. Why are you here? Why are you listening?
For the past week we’ve been one of the top 60-80 podcasts on the planet. And top 5 or 6 in the Business category. Residing around the likes of Dave Ramsey and global celebrities. But folks, for disclosure, we’re not talking about millions of listeners. Millions watch an NFL football game or popular TV series. It’s in the lower hundreds of thousands who are tuning in to a show like this. That makes you a minority. A rarity. I’m asking you to recognize and honor the reality that YOU, yes you...are here.
You are a minority of humanity that’s listening and feels called to more.
HONOR THIS truth and reality
Tom, your Dad ended his message stating, “You can measure the IQ, but you can’t measure the heart.” While there may be people listening who have high IQs, the spoils historically go to those with the most heart.
You can lack:
- IQ
- Physical ability
- Good looks
- Heritage
- Privilege
- Education
- Experience
- and more
But Tom, is it fair to say that having the most heart is a choice anyone can make? An opportunity anyone can have?
> Tom states that heart equates to hustle. Someone can out-talent you, but not out hustle you. Wisdom comes from obeying the wise and pride is the enemy of wisdom
Thanks for tuning in!