Alabama Native remembered: Zig Ziglar

ZigZiglar was born in Coffee County, Alabama to parents John SilasZiglar and ViolaZiglar. He was the tenth of twelve children.In 1931, when Ziglar was five years old, his father took a management position at a Mississippi farm, and his family moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, where he spent most of his early childhood. In 1932, his father died of a stroke, and his younger sister died two days later.

Ziglar served in the Navy during World War II (circa 1943 to 1945). He was in the Navy V-12 Navy College Training Program, attending the University of South Carolina.

In 1944 he met his wife, Jean, in Jackson, Mississippi; he was seventeen and she was sixteen. They married in late 1946.
Ziglar later worked as a salesman in a succession of companies. In 1968 he became a vice president and training director for the Automotive Performance company, moving to Dallas, Texas.

As of 2010, Ziglar still traveled around taking part in motivational seminars, despite a fall down a flight of stairs in 2007 that left him with short-term memory problems.

Ziglar is a born again Christian with a very strong belief in God. Many of his books are written from a Christian perspective or at least have subtle evangelizing messages within them. One of his favorite phrases is “You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

Over his long and successful career he has published more than twenty five books on leadership, personal growth, sales, faith, family, Christianity, and success. He has also published and recorded a long list of audio programs, videos, books and training curriculums for individuals, small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, churches, and nonprofit organizations.

“I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.” Zig Ziglar Quote

Selected published books by Zig Ziglar include..

Better Than Good: Creating a Life You Can’t Wait to Live – Published in 2006
Confessions of a Grieving Christian – Published in 2004
Selling 101: What Every Successful Sales Professional Needs to Know – Published in 2003
Success for Dummies – Published in 1998
Over The Top – Published in 1997
See You at the Top – First published in 1974