My Passion is Your Phenomenal Success!
On Thanksgiving Day, Tom Ziglar and I were set to leave for a 5 city training tour
in Australia and were texting some last minute details when he said
“Dad is not doing well, looks like we are headed to the emergency room”.
My heart sunk.
At that time we did not know how serious it was, but knew Tom should stay behind.
He asked if I was up to going without him, and of course I was.
We also agreed, that honoring our commitment in Australia would be the best
way to honor Zig, so I flew on over to Australia.
Each morning before the training sessions and every night after, I would check
in with Tom to see how we was doing.
On Thursday morning Australia time, I woke up to the sad news.
Being there alone and not being able to connect personally with the family was tough
as I have grown close to them. Fortunately, Zig and Jean’s “Australian daughter
Lisa McInnes-Smith and her husband Colin came by that day and I at least had
someone to hug and cry with. I thank God for having us there for each other that day in Melbourne.
To leave after the 3rd city and try and make it back for the Memorial Service in Dallas was going
to be difficult if not impossible, so it was on to Perth. I was grateful that the service was broadcast
by live streaming video. There are few things that I would get up at 1am for, but I watched every
moment from my dark hotel room. I was so proud of Tom. I don’t know how he had the strength to get up and speak.
The first time I met Zig, there were more than 20 thousand people packed in the Toyota Center in Houston.
Little did I know that someday he would speak at my conference and I would be Ziglar’s exclusive small business coach.
Zig Ziglar was recognized as the greatest, most encouraging, inspirational motivational speaker and
teacher of our time. He touched an estimated quarter of a billion people around the world. His passing
made national news, being covered by CNN, The Today Show, and a trending topic on Twitter.
Within the first 24 hours of his passing, the official news was shared over 30,000 times and
almost 12,000 comments were posted. This was no ordinary man.
The greatest lesson I learned from Zig is that your success is limited only by the image you
have of yourself. That you’ve got to “be” before you and “do” and you’ve got to “do” before you can have.
So, if you want to “have” something you don’t currently have, and you want to do something you currently
aren’t doing, you have to become something more than you are today. “You are what you are and where you
are because of what goes into your mind. You can change what you are and where you are by changing
what goes into your mind.” Zig would always say.
Zig finished the race, and he finished strong. He made it through life without the moral failures that
befall some. He was true to his family while touching literally millions of lives. He was a true legend,
and for one am grateful to have known him.
In Zig’s last book Born To Win, he says “man is designed for success, engineered for accomplishment,
and endowed with the seeds of greatness – you were born to win, but to be the winner you were born to be,
you must plan to win and prepare to win. Then and only then can you expect to win -if you plan to win
and prepare to win, you can expect to win!”
Zig goes on to say in Born To Win “If you want to become the winner you were born to be, it’s going to
take changing your daily actions until they become a habit.
In Chapter 2 he quotes Frank Outlaw:
Watch your thoughts; they become words
Watch your words; they become actions
Watch your actions; they become habits
Watch your habits; they become your character
Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny!
Your success, your destiny starts with what goes into your mind. It ends with what you actually
DO each day. It starts with knowing you were born a winner and that you can build the business
you desire. And speaking of desire, it all starts there. People asked Zig “If everyone can be great,
why isn’t everyone great?”. “Because not everyone wants to be great”. You must have desire.
You must have a vision.
Vision creates desire. Then you must take that vision and plan and prepare. You must practice.
You must learn the skill and flesh it out every day. In the end it will be worth it. Why? To quote Zig
once more: “It’s not what you get when you reach your goals, it’s what you become as you reach your goals.
It will take each of us more than a lifetime to learn and apply all that Zig taught. I am
looking forward to that journey.
Congratulations Zig! You done “better than good”! You finished the race.
You did right by your family and friends. You inspired millions.
You demonstrated for all of us how to win in business and in life.
We will carry on your legacy with respect and honor sir!
We will always love you.
Your Friend and Fan Forever,
Howard Partridge
