Speaker Zig Ziglar dead at 86
Zig Ziglar (86) the consummate salesman who built a lucrative motivational empire, died Wednesday of pneumonia at his home in Plano, Texas, a family spokeswoman said.
With an aim at helping people achieve success in their careers and personal lives, in addition to a focus on Christianity, Ziglar was a prolific speaker who appeared at events alongside world leaders – including several U.S. presidents and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Ziglar’s philosophy focused on positivity and leading a balanced life and resulted in a multimillion-dollar company featuring personal appearances, seminars, book sales and audiovisual recordings.
Zig Ziglar.
Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar (who wrote more than 30 books and focused on positivity and leading a balanced life) died Wednesday in Texas. He was 86.
Ziglar (who had been suffering from pneumonia) died at a hospital in the Dallas suburb of Plano, said his personal assistant, Jay Hellwig.
With an aim at helping people achieve success in their careers and personal lives, in addition to a focus on Christianity, Ziglar was a prolific speaker who appeared at events alongside world leaders including several U.S. presidents and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
“Mr. Ziglar was the same guy behind the closed doors as he was preparing for his presentations to thousands of people that he was when we were sitting at the kitchen table and he was reading the newspaper” – Hellwig said.
Prestonwood Baptist Church Pastor Jack Graham, Ziglar’s friend and pastor, said Ziglar “truly was filled with faith.”
“He was positive. He was hopeful. You just never heard negativity from Zig Ziglar” – Graham said. “It wasn’t just something he did on a platform. This was who he was. This is how he lived his life. And he helped so many people.”
“He was a leader of leaders and a mentor of mentors and all that you can say” – he added.
Prestonwood Baptist Church Pastor Jack Graham will address the media today at 3:30 p.m. regarding the death of Ziglar, a longtime member of the church.
Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, and wife Lois Evans, founder of the Pastors’ Wives Ministry, send this statement concerning Ziglar’s passing.
“We have lost a giant of the faith who was able to connect Kingdom principles with professional life in a way that brought excellence, integrity and productivity to the workplace in the name of Jesus Christ” – it says. “Personally, we will always be grateful to him for helping launch the speaking career of our daughter, Priscilla Shirer.”
More to come. Till then, below is a video titled “Attitude Makes All The Difference” – followed by a piece that appeared in The Dallas Morning News on February 10 about the couple. Below that, a 2006 short in which Ziglar talks about what he loves about his hometown.