DAILY
INSIGHTS
ZIG ZIGLAR
with Dwight Ike Reighard
JAICO PUBLISHING HOUSE
Ahmedabad Bangalore Bhopal Bhubaneswar Chennai
Delhi Hyderabad Kolkata Lucknow Mumbai
Published by Jaico Publishing House
A-2 Jash Chambers, 7-A Sir Phirozshah Mehta Road
Fort, Mumbai - 400 001
2009 Zig Ziglar
English edition for India 2010 Jaico Publishing House
with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved.
DAILY INSIGHTS
ISBN 978-81-8495-154-7
First Jaico Impression: 2010
Second Jaico Impression: 2012
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in
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To Paige Patterson, my longtime friend and confidant,
who has had a major impact on my life as he ' s guided me
through some pitfalls along the way.
I love and respect Paige Patterson and am grateful
he took an interest in me as a new and growing Christian.
ZIG ZIGLAR
I would like to thank Pat Springle, my writing partner for over ten years,
and Donna Monroe, my executive assistant and friend of over twenty years.
And to the four girls in my life: Robinfor over twenty-five years as my friend
and the best wife ever! Abigail thanks for being my writing partner and thought
generator on this project. Danielle and Addithank you, my lovely daughter,
for blessing all of us with a granddaughter who delights us
each and every day!
DR. IKE REIGHARD
INTRODUCTION
IN 1985, AS A GUEST SPEAKER at a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, I quoted Zig Ziglar from his book See You at the Top in my message on overcoming giants in your life. After the service, a tall, thin, immaculately dressed gentleman approached me and said, "I really liked what you had to say about Zig Ziglar." I replied by asking, "Oh, are you a Zig fan?" The "fan" paused for a moment before he said, "I am Zig Ziglar!" To my astonishment (and embarrassment), I had met one of my heroes!
Long before I ever met Zig Ziglar in person, his book See You at the Top inspired me to make significant changes in my life. I began setting goals. One of the first was to graduate from college. Zig's influence in my life through that book continued as I earned a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a doctorate.
After I had met Zig and as our friendship grew, I began receiving regular Saturday morning calls from him that have been a great blessing in my life. As Zig prepared to teach his Sunday morning Bible class, he would go over his ideas for his lesson. I soon became his "pastor in residence" and amateur theologian. As we spoke of the week's passage from Scripture, I would use my background in biblical studies to give him context and socioeconomic, geographical, and spiritual implications from my personal studies. Saturday mornings with Zig became not just a ritual but a blessing that I will treasure forever.
Our long-standing friendship has been featured in two books: Sheltering Trees, by Donna VanLiere and Eddie Carswell, and Over the Top, Zig's sequel to See You at the Top. Zig used my story of becoming "a meaningful specific" rather than "a wandering generality. "
We bonded from the beginning, and what ensued was an unequaled relationship thatother than my relationship with Jesus Christhas helped shape me as a husband, a father, a Christian, and an inspirational speaker.
DR. IKE REIGHARD
I ASKED IKE to write this book with me because I have valued and trusted his spiritual discernment and his biblical counsel for many years now. I believe you will benefit, as I have, from the wisdom and knowledge that Ike Reighard brings to this book. Between the two of us, you will find quotes, memory verses, and thought-provoking daily insights into our beloved Word of God. It is our prayer that these daily devotions will encourage you and lead you into a more intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
ZIG ZIGLAR
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. PHILPPIANS 3:13-14
PAUL WAS THE GREATEST leader in the history of the church, but he wasn't cocky. He knew he was still a work in progress. Paul's days were filled with starting churches, managing leaders, and taking the gospel to everyone in the known world, but he reduced his job description to "one thing." We'd interpret his comments in management terms as the rigorous commitment to a singular objective that has two parts: not dwelling on the past, but reaching ahead to achieve the vision of the future.
The past can bog us down in two distinctly different ways: Some of us feel ashamed by failures in our personal lives or in business, and our minds are haunted by those memories. Every decision we make is colored by our grief and the fear that we'll make the same mistake again. Others of us, though, live in past glories. We've enjoyed stunning success, but instead of using our gains as a foundation for future growth, we keep reliving those memories. Living in the past, whether failed or successful, takes our lives out of focus. Paul says, "Forget the past and move on."
In which direction should we move? We should reach forward to fulfill the vision God has for us. Paul encourages us to uncover and embrace a God-sized cause, one that has a positive impact on people and expands His Kingdom. We can have causes like that at work, in our neighborhoods, and at home, as well as at church.
As you begin this New Year, focus on Paul's "one thing."
The LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it."
HABAKKUK 2:2-3
SOME OF US WANDER from one thing to another our whole lives. We're capable of so much more, but we have never clarified our purpose in life. An out-of-focus purpose can't inspire us, but a crystal-clear lens on God's purpose for us rivets our attention and gives us energy to keep going until we reach our goals. While the prophet Habakkuk was in prayer, God told him to write down the vision He was giving him. In that day, scribes used a stylus to etch words into blocks of clay. It took work, so they thought carefully about what they wanted to write in order to avoid wasting time and tablets.
