A Casualty in the War on Stinkin' Thinkin'

In March of 1977, I came to a fork in the road in my life. Following the advice of Yogi Berra, I took it. Leaving the security of a (low) salaried position, I ventured into the wonderful, roller coaster world of commission sales. I immediately learned two things:

1. Overhead never has a bad month; and

2. If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep is your downfall.

Realizing the importance a positive attitude, I signed up for what was billed as a "PMA Rally". PMA was stood for "positive mental attitude". The all-day event featured what today would be considered a hall of fame of motivational speakers: W. Clement Stone, Paul Harvey, Art Linkletter, Cavett Robert, and Zig Ziglar, just to name a few. These men have two things in common:

1. They were disciples of the importance of maintaining a positive mental attitude; and

2. With the passing of Zig Ziglar on November 28, 2012, they are all dead.

I still have the dog-eared notes I took that day in Kansas City's cavernous Municipal Auditorium'

Born November 6, 1926, Hilary Hinton "Zig" Ziglar grew up in Yazoo City, Ms. during the Depression. He was the 10th of 12 kids. His father and a sister died within 2 days of each of other when Zig was six years old. After serving in the Navy during WWII, Zig took a job selling pots and pans door-to-door. Good old commission sales! Realizing how important his attitude was to his success, Zig became an expert on eliminating what he referred to as "stinkin' thinkin'". Per Zig, a key to success in sales (and in life) was to get a "check-up from the neck up!"

Here are a few of my favorite tips from Zig:

“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”

“There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.”

“If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.”

"Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street”

"Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have."

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great."

“Have you ever noticed that people who are the problem never realize it? They’re in denial. They think denial is a river in Egypt!”

“People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you.”

“The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want right now”

“Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking the tartar sauce with you.”

"Money won't make you happy... but everybody wants to find out for themselves."

And, perhaps the advice I found most helpful: “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”

Alas, PMA rallies seem to be a thing of the past. When I googled "PMA RALLY", the first thing that popped up was a story about the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) rallying to beat Baguio College of Technology in men's basketball.

The second thing was a link to the Pennsylvania Moose Association (PMA) hosting a state rally for moose riders. Now that sounds like a group that could use a "check-up from the neck up".

Zig Ziglar (November 6, 1926 - November 28, 2012) R.I.P.