5 Crucial Zig Ziglar Quotes Business Owners Should Memorize

Zig Ziglar passed away November 28th, 2012, but his legacy will live on in many books and countless recordings.

I wanted to share 5 of the "cream-of-the-crop" quotes from Zig Ziglar, which all business owners and professionals should have memorized (or tattooed somewhere memorable, if you're in to that). They have helped me shape how I view myself and my own business.

Here they are, and why they're so boss.

1) "If you learn from defeat, you haven't really lost."

It's so easy to get frustrated and give up. Some statistics say that 90% of start-ups fail in their first years. Some of these are due to business factors, but many of them are from succumbing to small defeats. It's become a maxim to learn from your failures, and Zig Ziglar points this out beautifully: anytime you gain experience, you gain. Period.

Of course, sometimes we don't ever get to the point of losing...

2) "If you wait until all the lights are green before you leave home, you'll never get started on your trip to the top."

We like to make sure all of our ducks are in a row, but sometimes that kills us. A "Ready, Fire, Aim" approach may be better than spending so long aiming that you never get to shoot...

3) "Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful."

And here, of course, is the reason why it's better to take aim quickly, but then fire and worry after about hitting closer to the mark. We learn though failure because we learn through experiences. Again, so long as you're learning, you win.

4) "The greatest good we can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but to reveal theirs."

Another way to win is to help others. Like rocks in a tumbler that polish each other, we can help polish others who will in turn polish us, leaving both parties better off than when they met. And that's important, because...

5) "You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."

All that matters in life is helping people. I'm in sales, and at the end of the day, my main goal is just to help my customers do business better. And if I can help them do what they want to do, in the end, I'll get what I want. Again Win/Win.

Summarizing Zig Ziglar's Philosophy In One Sentence...

If I had to summarize Zig Ziglar's philosophy in one sentence, it would be: Always aim for a win/win scenario. That's the thread of all of these quotes, and if you're aiming in a way that means you can't fail, then the sky is the limit!