Zig Ziglar Passes but his Legacy Remains

We lost a very good friend with the passing of Zig Ziglar today in his 86th year.  He and his beloved “Redhead”, Jean Ziglar just had their 66th wedding anniversary on Monday, November 26, 2012.

Zig Ziglar is a special friend of SMEI, and was inducted to the SMEI Academy of Achievement in 1995 as the SMEI Ambassador of Free Enterprise.  When the hall of fame was physically housed at Oklahoma Christian University’s Enterprise Square USA, one of the star attractions was a 3-D image of Zig that gave an animated welcome and brief narrative on the importance of free enterprise. Zig was often quoted with one of his favorite lines “Free enterprise is the only way to go.”

Aside from the countless hours of Zig’s tapes that had a considerable impact on me over the years, one of the most memorable impressions was when I met him in person at SMEI’s annual international conference held in Detroit in 1998.  While Zig was on stage telling us “Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there,” a small earthquake rattled the Dearborn Hyatt Hotel and set the chandeliers to swaying in the ballroom. Following Zig’s presentation he came and sat next to me.  I asked him if he noticed the earthquake and he said “Oh, that was an earthquake, I just thought my talk created some new energy in the room!”

There won’t be another Zig Ziglar.  He had a unique style and his forthright talks, honesty and belief system have had a profound effect on countless individuals and companies.

We will always remember Zig with some of his most popular sayings “You can get everything in life you want if you help other people get what they want,” and “See you at the top!

If you are a fan of Zig’s, his family would love to hear from you through a post on his Facebook Page.

Thank you Zig Zigar.