Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Zig Ziglar, born Hilary Hinton Ziglar

Salesman, Motivational Author and Speaker

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

"Goals are dreams we convert to plans and take action to fulfill."

"A goal casually set and lightly taken is freely abandoned at the first obstacle."

"A goal properly set is halfway reached."

"A flea trainer is a person who jumps out of the jar."

"A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could"

"A man or woman is seldom happy unless he or she is sustaining him or herself and making a contribution to others."

"A narrow mind and a fat head invariably come on the same person."

"A lot of people quit looking for work as soon as they find a job."

"A positive attitude will have positive results because attitudes are contagious."

"A plan is always successful if the plan is good."

"Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."

"A productive employee who is kept busy working at his or her job is far more likely to be happy at that job and less likely to look for employment elsewhere."

"A sincere compliment is one of the most effective teaching and motivational methods in existence."

"Action often precedes the feeling."

"Ability is important ? dependability is critical."

"All of us perform better and more willingly when we know why we're doing what we have been told or asked to do."

"All resources are not obvious; great managers find and develop available talent."

"All you need to find and accomplish God's purpose in your life is God's permission and approval--not anyone else's. When you get in step with Him, there will be a glow on your face that will make people wonder what you're up to."

"Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come."

"Ambition, fueled by compassion, wisdom and integrity, is a powerful force for good that will turn the wheels of industry and open the doors of opportunity for you and countless others."

"Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart."

"An idea unrecorded is an idea often lost."

"An optimist, as you probably know, is a person who, when he wears out his shoes just figures he?s back on his feet."

"Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well."

"Any relationship primarily built on physical attractiveness is predestined to be short lived."

"Are you a SNIOP? Someone who is Sensitive to the Negative Influence Of Others?"

"An optimist is someone who goes after Moby Dick in a rowboat and takes the tartar sauce with him."

"Anyone with a purpose can make a difference."

"As long as the vegetables were green, they were growing, but when they got ripe, they started to rot."

"Are you committed to a life of continual counseling, growth, and education? Are you committed to a life of consistently receiving truth, of renewing your mind? From what sources do you receive your counseling? Are you reading books by authors who speak wisdom? Are you listening to music and watching movies that have redemptive and edifying themes? Are you involved in a small group or community of people that can offer you support, guidance, and encouragement, and in which you give back that which you have been given? Do you know of professional counselors you can see when needed? Are you asking God for wisdom about life on a regular basis? (He says if you will ask, He will provide."

"As you head toward your goals, be prepared to make some slight adjustments to your course. You don't change your decision to go ? you do change your direction to get there."

"At 25, I was in the audience of my first professional speaker, Bob Bales. His presentation got my attention. I had never seen anyone having so much fun ?at work? and getting paid for it!"

"Athletic skills are acquired over a long period of time and after countless hours of practice."

"As youngsters, my mother taught her children that while we might not be the smartest people around, we could be courteous, polite and considerate of others."

"Authors by the hundreds can tell you stories by the thousands of those rejection slips before they found a publisher who was willing to ?gamble? on an unknown."

"Attitude, not Aptitude, determines Altitude."

"Ask yourself a question: Is my attitude worth catching?"

"Be careful not to compromise what you want most for what you want now."

"Be helpful when you see a person without a smile, give them yours."

"Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining - it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn't solve any problems."

"Be there for your kids. Later, when you need them, they'll be there for you."

"Before you can change your thinking, you have to change what goes into your mind."

"Being a winner is much different from having the potential to win. Everyone has the potential; it?s what you do with that potential that really matters."

"By altering our attitudes we can alter our lives."

"Being productive gives people a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that loafing never can."

"Building a better you is the first step in building a better America."

"Besides, failure is an event, it is not a person ? yesterday ended last night."

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they've never failed to imitate them."

"Chance made us sisters. Hearts made us friends."