Back in 1998, when I wrote this profile of him for the Dallas Business Journal, famed motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, then 71, said he thought he was 10 or 15 years away from his “peak.” (Now, that was optimistic thinking.) Ziglar, who died in Dallas today, also talked about growing up poor in the Deep South, selling pots and pans early in his career, and later bringing in $30,000 to $50,000 a pop for each of his speaking appearances.
Easy to lampoon for his outsized, old-fashioned style, Ziglar nonethess had plenty of worthy advice for our society, as shown in this message he delivered to his Sunday School class at Prestonwood Baptist Church:
“We need to prepare all of our children to work and prosper in the world we live in today,” Ziglar said urgently. “When you awaken your children in the morning, do it gently, kindly. End each day prayerfully and lovingly, and encourage them. When you make a mistake, apologize for it. Remember, the example you set is so important. “
