Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 07, 2013
Jon Acuff meets with Zig Zigler
According to Zig Zigler, an icon in the business world.....these are the three most important things to remember if you seriously desire to be successful. Quoting from an interview Zig, his wife, and his son, Tom had with Author, Jon Acuff.
Jon Acuff is the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Quitter and Stuff Christians Like. He speaks to businesses, colleges and nonprofits. He lives with his family in Nashville, TN.
1. True success starts at home.
Zig implored me to pursue my wife continually and ceaselessly. All the speaking gigs in the world, all the book sales, all the fun opportunities don’t matter at all if I abandon my wife in pursuit of some dream. Watching Zig and his wife tell stories at lunch and laugh about decades of a shared adventure, it was easy to see he was living out this principle. When I told him I was bringing Jenny on stage with me at the Quitter Conference to talk about how working on a dream can be a team sport, he said, “That is the most brilliant thing you’re doing.” And I think he was right.
2. Your reputation is everything.
“If you tell someone you’re going to be there at 9:00, don’t you dare show up at 9:01. Do the things you tell people you are going to do.” This one was hard to hear because I’m honestly not good at that. I tend to overpromise and under deliver because I want people to like me. I wrote about my desire to tell everyone, “Let’s get coffee sometime,” when I know we probably won’t. I make big promises that I simply can’t keep, because it’s fun to say “yes” to requests and hard to say “no.” But that kind of thing chips away at your reputation. Hearing Zig say that made me realize I need to do some repairs to my mine.
3. It’s not about you.
“Help other people be successful. That’s what it’s all about.” As I wrestle with building “my personal brand,” Zig’s words were like a lighthouse in a stormy night full of tweets. (That simile got a little away from me.) I know this sounds silly, but writing Quitter and holding the Quitter Conference really got me excited to help other people be successful in a way I haven’t felt before. For years, I was in a bit of a “me, me, me tailspin.” And it’s exhausting when life is all about you. You have to maintain so many edifices and fronts and plans and manipulations. I actually felt a great sense of freedom when Zig said “It’s not about you.”
Jon Acuff is the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Quitter and Stuff Christians Like. He speaks to businesses, colleges and nonprofits. He lives with his family in Nashville, TN.
1. True success starts at home.
Zig implored me to pursue my wife continually and ceaselessly. All the speaking gigs in the world, all the book sales, all the fun opportunities don’t matter at all if I abandon my wife in pursuit of some dream. Watching Zig and his wife tell stories at lunch and laugh about decades of a shared adventure, it was easy to see he was living out this principle. When I told him I was bringing Jenny on stage with me at the Quitter Conference to talk about how working on a dream can be a team sport, he said, “That is the most brilliant thing you’re doing.” And I think he was right.
2. Your reputation is everything.
“If you tell someone you’re going to be there at 9:00, don’t you dare show up at 9:01. Do the things you tell people you are going to do.” This one was hard to hear because I’m honestly not good at that. I tend to overpromise and under deliver because I want people to like me. I wrote about my desire to tell everyone, “Let’s get coffee sometime,” when I know we probably won’t. I make big promises that I simply can’t keep, because it’s fun to say “yes” to requests and hard to say “no.” But that kind of thing chips away at your reputation. Hearing Zig say that made me realize I need to do some repairs to my mine.
3. It’s not about you.
“Help other people be successful. That’s what it’s all about.” As I wrestle with building “my personal brand,” Zig’s words were like a lighthouse in a stormy night full of tweets. (That simile got a little away from me.) I know this sounds silly, but writing Quitter and holding the Quitter Conference really got me excited to help other people be successful in a way I haven’t felt before. For years, I was in a bit of a “me, me, me tailspin.” And it’s exhausting when life is all about you. You have to maintain so many edifices and fronts and plans and manipulations. I actually felt a great sense of freedom when Zig said “It’s not about you.”
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