Zig Ziglar Inspiring Stories Will Leave You Speechless! | Success Motivation

I was almost literally raised in a grocery store. I was a teller in a grocery store. Now I'm not trying to impress you with the title. That just meant I told people to move while I swept. I mean, I was not the manager is what I'm saying. You got to put something in here before you can expect to get anything out here. The pump is really saying in another way what we've said so many times, and that is that you got to be and do before you can have. Too many people stand in front of the stove of life and they say, "Stove, now you give me some heat and then I'll put some wood in you." Zig Ziglar was one of the world's most popular motivational speakers.

Ziglar was one of 12 children raised by a widowed mother during the Great Depression. He wrote over 25 books, including "See You at the Top," and inspired millions of people around the world. In this exclusive training, Ziglar shares with us how to deal with negativity, break limiting beliefs, and achieve even the most ambitious goals. Special thanks to the Ziglar family for partnering with us to release this exclusive content on our YouTube channel.

Enjoy.

Mr. B called a meeting, had all of his people together and said, you know, I've noticed a slackening of our attitudes around here. We're going to have to rearrange and redo some things. And in order to get everything going just like it's supposed to be going, I am going to set the pace. I'm going to start coming in early. I'm going to start staying late. I'm gonna have short lunch breaks. I mean, it was quite a little speech he made that day. But you know how people are when they make speeches and all. They forget about them. And sure enough, a couple or 3 weeks later, he was out at the club having lunch. He got involved in a conversation, forgot about the time. First thing you know, he looked at his watch and said, "Oh my goodness, I've gotta be back to the office in 5 minutes." He hopped up, he ran out to the parking lot, hopped in his car, scratched off, doing about 90 miles an hour down the freeway, and the long arm of the law entered the picture, gave him a ticket. Now you're talking about a man who was unhappy. Mr. B was furious. He said, "Here I am, a peaceful, taxpaying, law-abiding citizen, minding my own business, and this guy comes along and gives me a ticket? What he ought to be doing is out looking for the robbers, the murderers, the arsonists, the people who are breaking the law, and leave us peaceful, taxpaying citizens alone." Oh, he was upset. By the time he got back to the office, he was absolutely furious, and he did what management has done almost since the beginning of time. When they get their hand caught in a cookie jar, they say, "Look yonder." and then nobody looks here. So he walked in making much noise. He called for his sales manager and said, "Come on in here. I want to talk to you about the Armstrong account. You've been fooling with that thing for 6 months now. You either sold it or you didn't sell it. Just tell me either yes or no, you did or you didn't." Sales manager kind of ducked his head. He said, "Mr. B, I hate to tell you this. I thought I had the deal. I thought it was all locked up, but at the last minute it came unglued." Now if you think Mr. B was unhappy until then, you should have looked at him now. He was furious. He said, "The very idea. You've been my sales manager for 17 years. I have depended on you to bring in new business. This was the most important account of all. We needed the money for expansion, and now you blow it. Well, let me tell you something, friend. Just because you've been here 17 years does not mean that you've got a lifetime contract. Now, you're going to replace this business or I'm going to replace you. Oh, he was upset. But if you think he was upset, you should have seen that sales manager. He goes storming out of there, slammed the door behind him, said, this is ridiculous. For 17 years I've been the one running this company. I'm the one that keeps it afloat. Hadn't been for me, they'd have gone bankrupt 10 years ago. And now just because I lose one sale, they use a cheap lousy trick to He threatens to fire me.

It's not fair.

Oh, he was upset. Calls his secretary in, says, "You know those 7 letters I gave you to get out this morning? Have you gotten them out, or are you going to use some lousy excuse about having to do something else?" She said, "Well, now, no. Don't you remember? You told me the delinquent account took precedence over everything else. That's what I've been working on, and no, I have not got the letters out." Now, if you think the sales manager was upset until then, you should have watched him now. He was absolutely furious. He said, "You know, you've been my secretary for 8 years, but just because you've been here that long does not mean that you've got a lifetime contract." "Right now, you get these letters out or I'm gonna get me somebody who will get them out." Oh, he was upset. But if you think he was upset, you should have seen the secretary. She goes storming out of there, slammed the door behind her back, said, "This is ridiculous. I'm the only one knows what's going on around here. Why, if it hadn't been for me, this company'd have gone broke 8 years ago. And now just because I can't do 2 things at once, he uses a cheap, lousy trick, threatens to fire me. And him fire me as much as I know on him? Who does he think he's kidding anyhow?" She walked out to the switchboard operator to her desk. She said, "Now, look, I know it's not your responsibility to do this, but you don't do anything anyhow but sit out here and occasionally answer the telephone. I want you to get these letters out, and if you don't get 'em out, we're gonna find somebody who can." Oh, she was upset. But if you think she was upset, you should have seen that switchboard operator. She said, "This is ridiculous. They don't do a thing in the back but gossip and talk on the telephone, occasionally get a little bit of work out, and the minute they get behind, they come out here and they put it on my desk and say, 'Now you do it or we're gonna fire you,' and I'm the only one knows what's going on "around here. Why, if it hadn't been for me, this company'd have gone under years and years ago." Oh, she was upset. But she got the letters out. When she got home, she was still furious. She walked in the front door, slammed it behind her, walked in the den, and the first thing she saw was her son laying there on the floor watching television. Second thing she saw was a big rip right across the seat of his britches. She said, "Son, how many times have I got to tell you, when you come home from school, put your play clothes on? Mother has a hard enough time as it is supporting you and sending you through school.

Now because you've disobeyed Mother, you go upstairs right now.

There's going to be no No supper for you tonight. There's going to be no television for the next 2 weeks. Oh, she was upset. But if you think she was upset, you should have seen that little boy. He hopped up, started to run out the den. He said, you know, this is ridiculous. I was doing something for my own mother. She doesn't even give me a chance to explain. It's not fair. Oh, he was upset. And about that time, his tomcat walked in front of him. Which was a mistake. The boy gives the tomcat a big old boot and said, "You get out of here. You've probably been up to some no good yourself." Now here's my question. Wouldn't it have been much better if Mr. B had just gone directly from that country club to that switchboard operator's house and kick that cat.

You see, he could have left all those other people out of it.

But here's another question: Whose cat have you been kicking? Or more significantly, How many people have you been letting kick your cat? You see, the truth of the matter is we live in a negative cat-kicking world. Have you ever gone in a restaurant, for example, to sit down for a cup of coffee and you sit there and you sit there and you sit there and finally you timidly raise your hand and say, "Could I have a cup of coffee, please?" and the waiter or waitress literally bites your head off and says, "Can't you see I'm busy? I'll get to you as quick as I can. Who do you think you are anyhow?" Now, do you react by saying, "Well, you don't have to bite my head off about it," or do you understand it had nothing whatever to do with you? Somebody had been kicking his or her cat all day long. Have you ever been at the go light, which so many negative people call stoplights? Have you ever been sitting there waiting for the light to change and the instant it changes, some dude behind you sits on the horn?

Do you turn around and say, "Can't you see we got traffic out there running?

What is the matter with you anyhow?" Or do you understand it had nothing to do with you? Somebody had been kicking his cat all day. Did you ever come in from a magnificent day? I mean, everything has just gone wonderfully well. If you were a doctor, you'd been operating good all day, or a teacher, you'd been teaching good, or a salesperson, you'd been selling good, but you get home about an hour late, and you walk in, you say, "Hi, honey!

How you doing?

Boy, it's good to be home!" "What do you mean, how am I doing?

If you'd been here all day long putting up with what I've been putting up with all day long, you wouldn't be feeling as good either! How come you're so late, Kenton?" Can you understand it's got nothing to do with you?

Somebody had been kicking your mate's cat all day long.

Hey there, it's Mark Timm with the Ziglar Family, and I sure hope you're enjoying the video from my mentor, the legendary Zig Ziglar. Because you're part of Evan Carmichael's audience, we want to give you a special bonus. It's a cool little book called The Little Book of Big Quotes. Packed with awesome content. This book is free just for you. Check out the description below and it's yours. Alrighty, let's get you back to Zig.

One of my favorite stories has to do with the fact that one day in a hot, broiling sun, a crew was working on the railroad. And as they worked, a train pulled up alongside of them and And the last car was the president's car, beautifully handmade. A window was raised and a booming voice called out of the car, "Dave! Dave Anderson, is that you?" And the return voice from the work crew shouted out, "Yeah, Jim, that's me!" Jim Murphy said to Dave Anderson, "Why don't you come on in and let's talk a while?" Old Dave walked into that back of that car and they sat down, as old friends are inclined to do, and they visited for a couple of hours. When the visit was over, the crew still out there working saw Dave as he left the car shaking hands warmly with his friend Jim Murphy. Then Dave rejoined the crew, and as he rejoined the crew, they all gathered around him and said, Dave, was it that Jim Murphy? Dave said, sure. Well, you know, Dave, Jim Murphy is the president of this railroad. And Dave said, well, I know that, of course. And they said, well, how did you happen to know him? And Dave said, well, 25 years ago, we both went to work for the railroad on the same day. And then the crew said to him, well, Dave, we're a little confused. How is it that But Jim Murphy is now the president of this railroad and you're still out here working with the crew. And the answer Dave Anderson gave teaches us a big lesson. He said, 25 years ago, I went to work for $1.75 an hour.

Jim Murphy went to work for the railroad.

When I was a boy down in Yazoo City, Mississippi, I was almost literally raised in a grocery store. I was a teller in a grocery store. Now, I'm not trying to impress you with the title. That just meant I told people to move while I swept. I mean, I was not the manager is what I'm saying. A young fellow named Charlie Scott worked at the grocery store across the street from us. Now these were during the Depression years when inventories were very limited, and what the merchants tried to do was buy from week to week what they were going to sell that week. They started with their basic inventory and worked from that. Oftentimes we would run out of merchandise. I was the runner for our store. Charlie Scott was the runner for the store across the street. I can't tell you the number of times that Charlie Scott would hit our front door. He'd come running up to the boss and he'd say, Mr. Anderson, I need to borrow a half dozen cans of tomatoes. And Mr. Anderson, the owner of the store, would say, well, Charlie, you know where they are. Go get them. Oh, Charlie would take off in a dead run. He'd scoop up those cans of tomatoes. He'd come back up to the checkout stand. He'd plop them down on the counter. He would scribble his name on the receipt, which Mr. Anderson would have filled out, and he would make a mad dash out that front door. So one day I said to Mr. Anderson, Mr. Anderson, why is it that Charlie Scott always comes running in the store and he picks up everything and he goes running out of that front door. Mr. Anderson kind of smiled. He said, well, I'll tell you about Charlie.

He's working for a raise and he's going to get it too.

And I said, Mr. Anderson, how do you know that Charlie Scott is going to get a raise? He said, I know he's going to get a raise because If the man he's working for doesn't give it to him, I am. How many of you here today do not know how to train fleas?

Can I see your hands? Boy, you got here just in time. I know you heard the one about the 2 fleas at the bottom of the hill and one of them says, "Well, do we walk or take a dog?" Well, anyhow, you train fleas by putting them in a jar. Put the top on, the fleas will jump up and hit the top. Jump over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

And then you watch them pretty carefully and you notice that even though they continue to jump, they no longer are jumping out or jumping to the top. Now then you take the top off and those fleas continue to jump, but they will not jump out because they cannot jump out. And the reason they cannot jump out is very simple. They have conditioned themselves to jump only so high. And once they have conditioned themselves to only jump so high, then that's as high as they can jump. Man is exactly the same way.

He starts out in life to climb the mountain, to write the book, to break the record.

He starts out to do something significant in a life, and but along the way he bumps his head, he stubs his toe, and he becomes what we know as a snot.

S-N-I-O-P. A person, to remind you, who is susceptible to the negative influence of other people.

The 4-minute mile is a classic example.

For years, athletes had tried to run it, but they could not because they were SNIOPs. The coach had said, "Man, nobody's ever run it. Nobody'll ever do it." The doctor would say, "The heart'll come right out of your body." And they could not. Run the 4-minute mile until a fleet trainer named Roger Bannister came along.

When Bannister, who was an incredible athlete, but a strong goal setter following the procedures and principles we're talking about right here, involving other people, planning carefully, measuring his stride, getting a pacer for each 440 yards of the mile. When Roger Bannister broke the barrier, ran a mile in less than 4 minutes, Athletes the world over started breaking that barrier.

Less than 6 weeks later, Landy of Australia ran a mile in less than 4 minutes. To date, over 500 guys have run a race in less than 4 minutes.

One was 37 years old.

On about 8 different occasions, 8 young men in the same race have run a mile in less than 4 minutes, not because they got that much faster, but because they understood it was not a physical barrier, it was a mental one. Yes, Roger Bannister was a flea trainer. Now what's a flea trainer? A flea trainer is someone who's driven from within. They're not influenced by the snobs. A flea trainer understands that you can have everything in life you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want.

A flea trainer doesn't tell others where to get off.

A flea trainer shows them how to get on. A flea trainer doesn't try to see through people.

A flea trainer sees people through.

Got a couple of good buddies.

They used to live down in South Alabama.

Their names were Bernard Hagood and Jimmy Glenn. One day they were out riding through the South Alabama foothills and they got a little thirsty. Well, Bernard was the driver.

He's also the athletic one.

Taekwondo.

He hopped out of the car. He ran around to this old abandoned pump there in the back of this old farmhouse, and he grabbed the handle of the pump and he started to pump. Now, just as a matter of curiosity, how many of you here today have ever used one of these old pumps?

Can I see your hands? Fantastic. Most of you have had that privilege.

We've got a few underprivileged ones here today. But let me say that when old Bernard grabbed that handle and started to pump, you know, since it was August and brutally hot that day, he was He was anxious to get some water out, so he really got after it. He was just pumping away. And after a couple of minutes, he said, "Jimmy, you better get that old bucket over there and dip some water out of the creek." He said, "We're going to have to prime this pump." How many of you know what I'm talking about when I say you got to prime that pump? Well, for you underprivileged, all that really means is that you got to put something in here before you can expect to get anything out.

Not here.

The pump is really saying in another way what we've said so many times, and that is that you've got to be and do before you can have. Too many people stand in front of the stove of life and they say, "Stove, now, you give me some heat and then I'll put some wood in you." So many times the employee goes to the employer and says, "Now, give me a raise, and when you give me the raise, I'll start coming to work on time. I'll start doing the things you really want me to do." So many times, you know, We go to the manager, the owner of the company and say, "Why don't you put me in charge around here?" "Now, I know I haven't done anything to deserve that, but let me tell you about the way I am. You see, the way I am and the way I work the best is I do better when I'm in charge. And you put me in charge and I'll have these other people, man, I'll have them doing all of the work. I'll have them producing like it's never been produced." You have the occasions, you know, literally where the student goes to the teacher and said, "Teacher, I know, I know, I haven't been turning in my work.

I know I've failed." I'll flunk the test.

But if I take home a failing grade this quarter, my mama is going to skin me alive. Tell you what to do, teacher. Give me a passing grade and then I'll guarantee you next quarter I will work harder than any students you have ever seen in your life. I will really perform. As a matter of fact, if you'll just give me a passing grade this time, then I'll be on the honor roll next time. What they're saying is, reward me now and then later, I'll perform. That's not the way it works. If it did work, can't you just imagine an old farmer saying, "Lord, I know I didn't plant a thing this year, but if you'll just give me a bountiful crop this year, I promise you next spring I'll plant more than any farmer in this whole valley." It doesn't work that way. First, you've got to put something in before you can expect to get anything out. Well, old Bernard wanted to drink water. But the question is, just how much pumping are you willing to do in order to get that drink of water?

And after a few minutes he said, "Jimmy, I just don't believe there's any water down there." And Jimmy said, "Yes, it is, Menard." You know, in South Alabama the wells are deep.

And we're glad they are, aren't we? Because you see, the deeper the well, the cleaner, the sweeter, the purer, the better tasting the water is.

And isn't that another lesson to pump? God can teach us.

Isn't it true that those things which have value, I mean real value, are those things which we have to work for over a period of time?

You see, it is true that every Tom, Dick, and Harry who is available to every Sue, Jean, and Jane, if they're available to anybody and everybody under any circumstances, that obviously is not the kind of an individual that we're going to choose as our mate.

If everybody could become an expert at anything at a drop of a hat, would there be any rewards for it?

And I think you have the answer even as I ask the question.

Yes, it's absolutely true that those things which have value, which have real value, are those things which we make that honest effort to acquire. We work at it and we do a little sweating in the process. And by now, oh, Bernard is really beginning to sweat. I mean, it's August, it's hot, And finally, he just threw up his hand.

He said, "Jimmy, there just ain't no water down there." Jimmy said, "Don't stop, Bernard.

Don't stop. If you stop, that water's going to go all the way back down, and then you're going to have to start all over." And isn't that the story of life?

Isn't it true that so many people lose out on a lot of effort they've expended in the past because they don't do just just a little bit more. How many times have we been driving through a rainstorm, we can scarcely see, and all of a sudden, I mean, all of a sudden, it's like walking out of a rainstorm into a beautifully lighted building. All of a sudden, the rain is over. But had we stopped 50 feet sooner, we would never have experienced going into the beautiful light.

So many times we stop with the goal just around the corner, with the goal just over the hill, with the goal within our reach, where a little more effort, a little more commitment, a little more work would have made the difference. Yes, sometimes it does take an awful lot of pumping. You really got to stay after it. But here's one of the most exciting things about the game of life.

Once you get the water to flowing, then all you got to do is keep a little easy, steady pressure on it, and you're going to end up with more water than you know what to do with. You know what I, I like about this? I like the fact, you see, that this has nothing to do with your age or education. Has nothing to do with whether you're black or white or male or female or Catholic or Jew or Protestant.

Has nothing to do with whether you're old or young, extrovert or introvert.

This has to do with with your God-given ability as free people, to work as long as you wish, as hard as you wish, and as enthusiastically as you wish to get those things in life which you really want to get. You see, the advantage of continuing to pump is this. Have you ever noticed when things are bad, they get worse?

And if things are good, they have a tendency to get better, but it has nothing whatever to do with what's going on out there.

Has everything to do with what's going on right between your ears. Yes, I love the story of the parrot. Basic problem a lot of people have, they get involved in something. You know, this is the cool generation that we're now a part of. Maybe that's one of the reasons, as I indicated in an earlier portion of this training program, that 84% 40% of all of the time wasted on jobs in America today is wasted by young people who are under 30 years old. Now don't any of you old codgers who are over 30 get to feeling too smug because the national average, according to Dr. Tor Dahl, who is a productivity expert at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Dahl says, that 41% of all of the time spent on the job is wasted.

U.S. News and World Report said that costs us $160 billion every year in our economy.

So we've all got to get something on behind us.

We've all got to get busier. But the basic problem, you see, a lot of times when people get involved in a project, they'll say, well, you know, I'll play it kind of cool. I'll just kind of pedal along, and then if it "If it works out, I mean, that'll be good. And if it doesn't work out, I mean, not much ventured, so no big deal." Well, I'm here to tell you, friends, when you start a project like this, you're going to pump long and long and long before you can ever expect to get anything done. When you get ahold of a project, you really need to get after it. And then once you get the water to flowing—

Then when you get that water to flow, and then all you got to do is keep that easy, steady pressure. So I close with this: keep pumping, and I'll see you at the top.

To watch another amazing Zig Ziglar video, check it out right there next to me. I think you'll love it. Continue to believe. And I'll see you there.

Sometimes we think failure is a failure when it's not. So a lot of times when we belittle ourselves, you know, we haven't really failed. It's just a different direction we're going to be successful in. For 30 years, I've read an average of 3 hours a day.