Are You Inspiring or Discouraging?

One of my favorite books is See You At The Top, by the famous Zig Ziglar

A classic book on leadership and becoming the best you can be, this book was one of the first I read in my quest to become a better leader.  This book is truly inspirational and motivational.  When I heard about Zig’s death, it reminded me of the time that I found out Jim Rohn had passed away.  It made me stop and think about his contribution to so many peoples’ lives.   I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Rohn in the mid 90’s and have been a student of his work ever since.

I mention these 2 great men, because they built their lives on inspiring and motivating people.  By studying leaders such as Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar, you too can not only become motivated and inspired, but also share your inspiration with your employees, patients, family and friends.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if more people were inspiring versus discouraging?

As we enter the second half of 2107,  for many of us, it has been one of ups and downs.  Maybe your practice numbers are not where you wanted them to be.  You might be having challenges at home with a teen or spouse.  Maybe you had some health issues this year or even lost a loved one.  Your finances are less then ideal and you haven’t had a real vacation in a long time.

All these scenarios can make you become quite discouraged.  It is a human response to events in our lives that are not going the way we had planned.  In this article, I hope to bring some inspiration into your life and if I am successful, promise me to pay it forward and inspire those around you.

Going back to Zig Ziglar, there are a few lessons that we all can learn from this great man.  When you read and study his writings and teachings, there are several key strategies that he followed in his life to become successful and an inspiration to many.

First, you need to start believing in yourself. 

Zig talks and writes about how he grew up poor and had a “poor man” mindset when he started to sell cookware.  I remember listening to an audio of a talk he gave and said he was a great salesman during this time….he was good at selling his car, his furniture ….( not the cookware!)

He started to realize that when he changed his mindset and the way he thought about himself and his abilities, he became one of the top sales people in his company.

Second, be constantly learning.

I read that Zig would read 3 hours a day.  While that may be extreme and unreachable for most of us, maybe committing to 15 minutes a day to start and gradually working up to 1 hour a day.  You will be amazed how much you can learn, simply by picking up a book, journal, magazine or newspaper.  Personally, I have a goal to read 1 non-fiction book a month.  You can do this easily by turning off the TV or budgeting the time in your day to read for 15 minutes.   Try it and be inspired.

Third, find a mentor.

There are many people that have mentored me over the years and I continue to have mentors in my life.  These are the people who are going to help you see your potential and give you the courage and push we all need to move past our perceived barriers to success.  You can be inspired and motivated to make the necessary changes in your practice or personal life, but having a mentor to help you gets you where you can and should be sooner.

An finally,  hang out with inspiring people.

Have you ever hung out with people who are depressed, always seeing the worse in the situation or constantly have discouraging advice?  Of course , we all have!  How do you feel after an hour or even less around these people?  I call it getting “slimed” because that is how they can make you feel.

You can control the situation by removing yourself from those people and their circle of influence and getting yourself around more like minded, upbeat, positive and inspiring people.  When you are around those types of people, you can’t avoid being  lifted up and feeling positive and hopeful about your future.  Your job is to continue to feel motivated and positive and bring that inspiration back to your office and home.

These are just a few of the strategies I learned from Zig Ziglar.  I encourage you to check out his books and get your hands on audio or video of his presentations.  He was an inspiring, motivating, kind, funny, loving and a generous man.

Take inventory of yourself.  Are you inspiring or discouraging.

If you answered mostly discouraging, it is not too late to change your mindset and attitude.  Start by picking up a book from Zig Ziglar and you will learn how to become an inspiring person.  Best of all, you will learn how to inspire those around you.

It can be one of the best gifts you give to your family, patients, friends and even strangers!