Zig Ziglar
Overview
 
Hilary Hinton "Zig" Ziglar (born 6 November 1926) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....

man, and motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...

.
Zig Ziglar was born in Coffee County
Coffee County, Alabama
Coffee County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of General John Coffee. As of 2010 the population was 49,948. Its county seats are Elba and Enterprise....

, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, to parents John Silas Ziglar and Viola Ziglar. He was the tenth of 12 children.

In 1931, when Ziglar was five years old, his father took a management position at a Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

 farm, and his family moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...

, where he spent most of his early childhood. In 1932, his father died of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

, and his younger sister died two days later.

Ziglar served in the Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 (circa 1943 to 1945).
Quotations

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

Secrets of Closing the Sale (1984)

Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission.

As quoted in Created for Excellence : 12 keys to Godly Success (1996) by Kevin Baerg, p. 25

The world's most deadly disease is "hardening of the attitudes."

As quoted in Secrets of Superstar Speakers: Wisdom from the Greatest Motivators of Our Time (2000) by Lilly Walters, p. 96

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

As quoted in Secrets of Superstar Speakers: Wisdom from the Greatest Motivators of Our Time (2000) by Lilly Walters, p. 96

The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity.

As quoted in Refining Your Style : Learning from Respected Communicators (2004) by Dave Stone, p. 143

Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting — in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard — reaching for the highest that is in us — becoming all that we can be. If we do our best, we are a success. Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.

As quoted in The Subconscious Diet : It's Not What You Put in Your Mouth; It Is What You Put in Your Mind (2005) by Hugh B. Sanders, p. 104

Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.

As quoted in Trigger Events – How To Find Your Next Customer (2007) by Alen Majer, p. 22

People who truly understand God's purpose for their lives know that we are called to be intimately involved with one another.

Better than Good: Creating a Life You Can't Wait to Live (2007)

The usual devastating put-downs imply that a person is basically bad, rather than that he is a person who sometimes does bad things. Obviously, there is a vast difference between a "bad" person and a person who does something bad. Besides, failure is an event, it is not a person — yesterday ended last night.

Variant: Failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night.

 
x
OK