Zig Ziglar - Better Than Good: Creating a Life You Cant Wait to Live

You _____________________________ are about to create the life you cant wait to live, and that will make you Better Than Good!

Better Than Good

Copyright 2006 by Zig Ziglar.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

HELPING PEOPLE WORLDWIDE EXPERIENCE the MANIFEST PRESENCE of GOD.

Published in association with Yates & Yates, LLP, Attorneys and Literary Agents, Orange, California.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version(NIV). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Cover Design: Charles Brock, The Design Works Group, www.thedesignworksgroup.com
Interior Design: Sharon Collins, Artichoke Design

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ziglar, Zig.
Better than good : creating a life you can't wait to live / Zig Ziglar.
p. cm.
Summary: Better Than Good offers practical and spiritual vision for what life can be when we allow the power of purpose and passion to permeate our soul--Provided by publisher.
ISBN-13: 9-781-59145-400-7
ISBN-10: 1-59145-400-X (hardcover)
1. Christian life. 2. Conduct of life. 3. Success--Religious aspects--Christianity. I. Title.
BV4501.3.Z54 2006
248.4dc22

2005030299

Printed in the United States of America

07 08 09 10 11 BVG 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

I dedicate this book to my beloved son,
John Thomas Ziglar,
the president and CEO of Ziglar Training Systems.
Of him I am immensely proud.

Contents

Not being one to shy away from introductions, let me tell you who I am and what youre going to discover in Better ThanGood.

My parents named me Hilary Hinton Ziglar back in 1926 when I was born in Alabama, but ever since grade school my friendsand I hope that includes youhave called me Zig. For decades Ive been traveling around the world speaking to audiences about getting the best out of life by putting your best into life. Whether in business, personal, family, or community settings, Ive told millions of people that they can have everything in life they want if they will just help enough other people get what they want.

After seventy-nine years of living, twenty-plus books on motivational subjects, and countless speeches and seminars on living the abundant and fruitful life, I have more than ever to say. I feel like Im just getting started! And thats why Ive written Better ThanGoodIve got some things to share with you that I believe will motivate you the same way they have motivated me. Ive connected some dots between subjects Ive addressed over the years that are creating new levels of motivation for me. And I want you to connect those same dots in your life.

I cant remember exactly when I said, Bettern good! the first time, but it was a long time ago. Being raised in the south and then living in Texas, Ive participated in exchanges like this thou-sands of times:

Hey, Zig! How ya doing?

Good, good. How bout you?

Recognize those words? Nothing wrong with them, of course. Theyre just the colloquial way friends greet each other everywhere.

But at some point it dawned on me that good was not an apt description of how I was doingor how any of us ought to be doing. If were going to live life to the fullest, we ought to be doing better than good. So thats why when people say to me, Hey, Zig! How ya doing? I respond: Im doing bettern good!

The response has been amazing. People literally stop in their tracks to remark on my greeting. Some thank me for giving them a needed lift; others make my greeting their own. The power of words should never be underestimated. When you say, Im doing better than good, thats a first person, present tense, positive affirmation of who you are and where you are. Just saying you are doing better than good wont make it so. But when you understand what it takes to live the better than good life and apply yourself, your life will truly be better than good.

There are three pillars to the better than good life: passion, peak performance, and purpose. I dont think anyone can stay motivated for very long in life without understanding all three of these concepts. And I dont think anyone will live a better than good life if he or she is not motivated to do so.

In essence, that brings me to the thesis of this book: the better than good life is experienced by living with genuine passion, striving for peak performance, and fulfilling ones God-given purpose. And I dont mind telling you up front: my goal is to motivate you to want to live that kind of life!

Heres how were going to connect the dots between passion, peak performance, and purpose. I dont care what the field of endeavor issports, business, science, medicine, education, ministry, public serviceI dont believe anyone will perform at his or her peak without passion. Lifes too tough to get to the top without passion. Youre going to fail, be taken advantage of, be disappointed by people you trust, disappoint yourself, run out of resourcesalmost every day youre going to encounter a good, solid, logical reason why you ought to give up. And without passion, you just might. Thats why passion is the prerequisite for peak performance.

Peak performance is dependent on passion, grit, determination, and a willingness to do something poorly until you can do it well. True peak performance is influenced by the condition of your physical, spiritual, business, and family life. I address each of these areas in depth.

The third part of the equationpurposeis something I have come to believe is a key to the whole dynamic of motivation and the better than good life. For years Ive recognized that its hard for a lot of people to be passionate about what theyre doing because they dont like what theyre doing! And its hard to argue with that reality. There are lots of people who would rather be doing something different with their lives. When asked this question, If obstacles were not an issue, what would you like to be doing with your life? many people (most people?) dont say, Im doing what I know I was put on this earth to do. I wouldnt want to do anything else.

I admit thats a problem not easily solved. Because of family and financial obligations, it can be difficult to change course and start doing what you would rather do. Difficult... but not impossible. I believe if you truly have a passion for somethingand if you believe its your God-given purpose in lifeyou can do it.