Classic Zig Ziglar from Creators Syndicate

The Hustler for 02/15/2012

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Several years ago, Paul Newman starred in a movie titled "The Hustler." It dealt with the game of pool, and a hustler was a guy who set someone up and then hustled or beat him out of his money. The connotation of a hustler was definitely negative.

Today, however, when we think of a hustler, we think of someone who is a go-getter and gives the extra effort to accomplish a specif ...

Updated: Wed Feb 15, 2012

Efficiency Is Costly for 02/08/2012

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

When I was a youngster in Yazoo City, Miss., twice each week — on Tuesday and Friday nights — I delivered the hometown newspaper. One night a week, I collected for the paper. The financial rewards were small but important. More important was the fact that I developed commitment and learned responsibility and how to deal with people. Considering everything, it was one of the most sig ...

Updated: Wed Feb 08, 2012

A Rainy Day Story for 02/01/2012

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Today was "one of those days." I don't believe I've ever seen as much rain fall so hard or for so long as I did today. My wife and I were on our way to Tyler, Texas, to make a couple of purchases and, more importantly, to see Dr. John Hudnall, an ear, nose and throat specialist, because I had a little physical problem. A blood vessel apparently burst in my nose, and I had experienced ...

Updated: Wed Feb 01, 2012

Employer Opportunity for 01/25/2012

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

"Morale is the state of mind. It is steadfastness and courage and hope. It is confidence and zeal and loyalty. It is elan, esprit de corps and determination." — George Catlett Marshall

Employee turnover is expensive. One of the most important factors in retaining employees is the integrity of the employer. A national employee survey by the non-profit Hudson Institute and ...

Updated: Wed Jan 25, 2012

Talk Radio Can Help for 01/18/2012

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

This morning, I heard a fascinating conversation between a father and a talk-show host. The father said his two little boys had been put on school probation because they had been late to school nine times in the last 60 days. The father felt good about it because it served as a wake-up call.

A family council was called, and the entire family (including Dad) accepted full responsibility f ...

Updated: Wed Jan 18, 2012

Discipline vs. Punishment for 01/11/2012

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Many people cringe when they see the word "discipline" because they are confusing discipline with punishment. Discipline is something you do for someone; punishment is something you do to someone.

Discipline is the missing quality in many people's lives. Individuals who have never been disciplined consequently do not know how to discipline themselves. A welfare experiment in Wi ...

Updated: Wed Jan 11, 2012

‘You Make Me Sick' for 01/04/2012

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

We've all probably said it — or at least heard others say it — many times throughout our lifetime experiences ... "You make me sick." There is now evidence that this is more than just a statement — it is a truth.

Research conclusively proves that when we get into strong or violent arguments and become angry, our immune system is negatively impacted and we are ...

Updated: Wed Jan 04, 2012

Is Motivation Permanent? for 12/28/2011

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Many times, I'm asked the question "Is motivation permanent?" and my standard response is "No, but then, neither is bathing." However, in view of a recent letter I received, I'm going to change my answer to "No, motivation is not permanent, but the impact can be permanent, depending on what the motivation is."

For example, several years ago, April Delashaw, ...

Updated: Wed Dec 28, 2011

Christmas and Hanukkah for 12/21/2011

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

It's that time of year when everybody puts on their holiday face and demonstrates a friendlier, more upbeat attitude. For the Christian, it's Christmas; for the Jew, it's Hanukkah. For everybody, the first of the year is just around the corner.

In many ways, it's ironic that we wait until the last part of the year to put on our best faces; give everyone our friendliest smiles; meet other ...

Updated: Wed Dec 21, 2011

The Integrity Approach for 12/14/2011

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Fortunately, in our society today there is a hue and cry demanding that we return to ethical standards. It's a "buzzword" in our society — and it's about time. Unfortunately, they're using the wrong word. The word we should be concerned about teaching is "integrity," because people with integrity will behave in an ethical manner.

Dr. Jay Strack says that "i ...

Updated: Wed Dec 14, 2011

Your Opinion, My Opinion for 12/07/2011

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

A friend of mine frequently says that "everyone is entitled to his own opinion — but no one is entitled to the wrong facts." Yet it seems to be universally true that confidence seems to go with ignorance; the less we know, in many cases, the more dogmatic we are in our statements.

I love the observations that Lawrence Fargher makes concerning differences of opinion. He po ...

Updated: Wed Dec 07, 2011

An Interlude With a Message for 11/30/2011

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Several years ago, on a cold, drizzly morning, I was working in my office, when I heard a strange noise in the chimney. After several minutes, my wife heard it too and thought it might be a bird or a squirrel. I realized it was a bird and that it was trapped, so I opened the damper, and in a few minutes, the bird made his appearance on the hearth.

I walked over to pick it up, but it flew ...

Updated: Wed Nov 30, 2011

Look and Relax for 11/23/2011

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

We live in a stressful world, and stress has been identified as a prime health culprit. It reduces productivity and often brings illnesses — including high blood pressure and palpitations of the heart. The experts tell us we should relax, but the question is: how?

You might not be able to relax where you are at the moment, so a short walk to a quiet or secluded spot will put you in ...

Updated: Wed Nov 23, 2011

Stretching the Soul for 11/16/2011

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

"I was just a kid," said Mr. Sharpe. "One spring day, Father called me to go with him to Old Man Trussell's blacksmith shop. He had left a rake and a hoe to be repaired. And there they were, ready and fixed like new. Father handed over a silver dollar for the repairing, but Mr. Trussell refused to take it. 'No,' he said. 'There's no charge for that little job.' But Father insiste ...

Updated: Wed Nov 16, 2011

Teaching by Parable for 11/09/2011

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The parable has always been my favorite method of teaching. The reason is simple: People remember the story, and when they remember the story, they remember the lesson the story provided. As an example, the greatest storyteller of all time, the Carpenter from Galilee, told parable after parable. Incidentally, two-thirds of them had to do with our physical and financial well-being.

One of ...

Updated: Wed Nov 09, 2011

We All Live in a Small Town for 11/02/2011

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Chances are excellent that when you read the heading on this column, you thought to yourself, "Man, what's he talking about? I live in Chicago, New York or Los Angeles! That's not a small town!" You're right. However, in every big city there are lots of "small towns." The place you work, the neighborhood in which you live, the local church, etc., are small towns in many ways ...

Updated: Wed Nov 02, 2011

Happiness Is ... for 10/26/2011

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Many years ago, Abraham Lincoln said that most of us are about as happy as we make up our minds to be.

Somewhat more recent studies done by David Meyers of Hope College in Holland, Mich., and Ed Dyner of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, indicate that happy people have four things in common: First, they have a support system. For a long time, a popular song was "People ...

Updated: Wed Oct 26, 2011

The Truth About Family Values for 10/19/2011

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

One of the ongoing discussions we hear is that of family values. There are some who try to identify them; others say there are no established family values.

The reason people have been unable to isolate and identify family values, in my opinion, is very simple: There are no "family" values because the values that make for a strong family are exactly the same values that make fo ...

Updated: Wed Oct 19, 2011

You Can Make a Difference for 10/12/2011

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

In March of 1993, a 14-year-old student from Haltom City, Texas, killed a policeman and seriously wounded three of his neighbors. In the exchange of gunfire, he was killed.

There has been much speculation about this tragedy. Outwardly, things seemed normal. His father was on the police force. They were a middle-class, law-abiding family. The reality is his classmates made fun of his clot ...

Updated: Wed Oct 12, 2011

The 80/20 Rule for 10/05/2011

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

In the early 1900s, Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian engineer-economist-sociologist, developed what he called the "80/20 rule." His research indicated that in a business, 20 percent of the items accounted for 80 percent of the business and that roughly 20 percent of the population controlled roughly 80 percent of its wealth.

Since then, others have incorrectly stated, "Twenty p ...

Updated: Wed Oct 05, 2011