Back in the late ’90’s I went to a daylong event full of motivational speakers, marketers, health experts and some famous but not so profound individuals who were clearly there for their name recognition, not their content.
However most of the speakers were outstanding.
One of the highlights of the day was Zig Ziglar. I’d heard about him, but didn’t know much about his story or personality.
In addition to his famous pump story which I’ve linked above, he shared insights into relationships, forgiveness, success and faith.
One of his best lines was “I read two things every day: The newspaper and the Bible, because I want to know what both sides are up to!”
One of the things that stood out to me apart from his content was his incredible energy. He was 71 at the time I saw him and he was by far the most animated and mobile speaker on the platform, using the entire space.
He spoke for a solid 90 minutes, and it seemed like 20.
He shared how even after given the same or similar talk hundreds of times he still spent several hours in prep before each engagement.
As a communicator there are a lot of things about Ziglar worth emulating.
But a quick look at his bio brings his greatest success to the surface: He met his future wife Jean in 1944 when they were teenagers, got married two years later, still as teenagers. And they remained together for 66 years until his death in 2012.
I’d like to have his energy, his wit and some of his financial success.
But I’ll be satisfied beyond measure if I get none of that but can share a full 66 years on this earth with Kristin.
