We have to BE before we can DO...

Today, I would like to pay a small tribute to an old friend, Zig Ziglar. His inspirational life and inspiring words shaped many lives, including my own. On Monday, I heard his son, Tom, quote his father as having once said, "You have to be before you can do, and you have to do before you can have."

Isn't that the truth? Of course, one reason we loved Zig, who passed in 2012, is because he always told us the truth.

If you ever listened to one of Zig Ziglar's motivational and inspirational speeches, you know what I mean when I say that he made you want to be a better person.

You can make positive deposits in your own economy every day by reading and listening to powerful, positive, life-changing content and by associating with encouraging and hope-building people. Zig Ziglar

In today's world, I often see business people and entrepreneurs who tend to get ahead of themselves. I'm sometimes just as guilty. We think that the fastest way to success is to have the right techniques and systems in place, so we can do what we need to do to create more business. We try to generate sales with the latest tactics and we learn how to create relationships based on the advice of the newest best-seller. We get ahead of ourselves by doing in order to have the success we desire and we try to skip the step of "being" the right person for success.

A long time ago, I confided in a business friend that I was over-whelmed with too much to do. He said to me, "Beth, you need to BE for value, not DO for value. The problem is, you've got things in reverse. You've been trying to do for value."

I never forgot those words. They hit me solid, like an arrow in a bulls-eye. Since that time, whenever I catch myself over-doing it, over-volunteering, and trying to DO everything I can to succeed, I stop and take a breath. I remind myself that it is best to BE before I DO.

Each day, like Zig said, we can make positive deposits into being better, more loving and giving people. Thanks Zig! Thinking about you today.

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