Over the Top
Zig Ziglar, (Kandivli(West), Munbai,India: Magna Graphics(India)
Ltd. 1999) 315pp.
CLAIMING THE QUALITIES
STEP #1: For thirty days first thing in the morning,
lasting at night, by yourself, in front of the mirror, stand up straight,
square your shoulder, look yourself in the eye, and quietly, but with
conviction, say in the first person present tense:
“I, ____________, am a
person of integrity with a good, positive, “Gosh!” attitude and specific goals,
I have a high energy level, am enthusiastic, and take pride in my appearance
and what I do. I have a sense of humor, lots of faith, wisdom, and the vision,
empathy, and courage to use my talents effectively. I have character and am
knowledgeable. My convictions are strong, and I have a healthy self-image, a
passion for what is right, and a solid hope for the future.
“I am honest, sincere, hardworking person. I am tough but fair and
sensitive. I’m disciplined, motivated, and focused. I am a good listener and
patient, but take decisive action. I am bold, authoritative, and confident, yet
humble. I am an encourager, a good-finder, an excellent communicator, and I am
developing winning habits. I am loving, caring, gentle, and kind, and I am a
student, a teacher, and a self-starter. I am obedient, loyal, responsible,
dependable, and prompt. I have a servant’s heart and self-control. I am
ambitious, cheerful, courteous, respectful, compassionate, and a team player. I
am personable, optimistic, and organized. I am consistent, considerate,
generous, and resourceful. I am intelligent, competent, persistent, and
creative. I am health-conscious, balance, and sober. I am flexible, punctual,
thrifty, and diligent.
“ I am a giving, forgiving, personable, friendly, unselfish,
mannerly, neat, obedient good-finder who does my best at whatever I do. I am
also a versatile, curious, mature, action-oriented person who respond to life’s
challenges, and I have a strong desire to succeed in all areas of life.
“I am a prudent, honorable person, and I run my life with integrity
and discernment. I am truly grateful for the opportunity life has given me.
These are the qualities of the winner I was born to be, and I am fully
committed to develop these marvelous qualities with which I have been
entrusted. I know that by doing this I will be happier, healthier, more
prosperous, and more secure. I will also have more peace of mind, more friends,
better family relationships, and more hope for a better future. Tonight I’m
going to sleep wonderfully well. I will dream powerful, positive dreams. I will
awaken energized and refreshed, and tomorrow’s going to be magnificent!”
Repeat
the process the next morning and close by saying: “These are the qualities of
the winner I was born to be. Today is the first day of the rest of my life, and
it is wonderful.”
STEP # 2: After
thirty days add this step: Choose your strongest quality and the one you feel
needs the most work. EXAMPLE: strongest –hones; needs most work- organized. On
a separate 3 x 5 card, print: “I, ______________, am a complete honest person,
and everyday I am getting better and better organized.”
Do this first thing in the morning
and lasting at night for one week, then repeat the process with the second-
strongest quality and the second one that needs work. D this until you’ve
competed the entire list. This process will change your life for the better.
NOTE: Keep this handy and use it
regularly for the rest of your life!
STEP # 3:
Concentrate on the qualities that more specifically apply to each area of life,
and focus on them while understanding that many of them will overlap and some
of them apply regardless of your objective.
“To build better relationship with my family and fellowman, I,
__________, am a sincere, patient, giving and forgiving, cheerful, friendly,
personable, mature, flexible, understanding, courteous, respectful,
compassionate, considerate, sensitive individual with integrity and a good
sense of humor. I am also neat, clean, and sober, a good listener and a
good-finder. I am a loving, caring, gentle, kind, loyal, companionate,
faithful, mannerly, unselfish person who is affectionate and generous with my
family and have great affection for my fellowman. These are the qualities that enable me to build permanent winning
relationships with my fellowman and loving lifetime relationships with my
family.”
To succeed in whatever your field of
endeavor and move into executive or leadership position:
“, ____________, am a consistent, creative, committed, emotionally
intelligent, competent, respectful, humble, mature person. I am a disciplined,
dependable, creative, courteous, hardworking good listener who is also a
good-finder, using wisdom, good judgment, and patience in dealing with people
and problems. I have a positive attitude, high energy level, self-control, and
good communications skills. I am focused and tough on myself and fair with
others. I am bold, authoritative, and confident, and I take decisive action. I
have compete integrity, a great sense of humor, and a thirst for knowledge. I
am action oriented and run my day by the clock and my life with a vision. I
keep my life in balance and am on a daily personal growth program in my
physical, mental, and spiritual lives, so I will live well and finished well. I
have integrity, a passion for what I do, intense faith, a servant’s heart, and
a strong desire to work for the benefit of my family and my associates. These
are the qualities that are enabling me to become the leader I was born to be.
“To improve my health, increase my energy level, and enable me to be
more so I can do more and have more, I, ___________, am a highly motivated,
disciplined, mature individual with great self-control who is health-conscious
and committed to a lifestyle that will improve my health, increase my energy,
and help ensure a high quality of life all of my life. I eat healthy, well-balanced
meals in appropriate proportions, exercise sensibly on a regular basis, and get
an adequate amount of sleep. I abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and drugs and
protect my mind from negative or degrading input. I seek and enjoy the company
of people who share my outlook and values because I know that my associates
will encourage me in my commitments.”
MESSAGE: Recognize your unique
qualities, then specifically apply these qualities to your objectives, whether
you wish to lose weight, get a better education, increase your net worth, move
up the corporate ladder, or achieve another worthwhile goal.
FINALLY: Turn back to pages vii-viii
and check the twelve objectives I identified for you plus the procedure that
can increase you income, improve your family relationship, and make you happier
and healthier. Mark ones you feel you have accomplished and start again on page
1.
Objectives
Since a significant portion of Over
the Top deals with establishing a goal program, I share with you my goals
for this book in your life.
1.
To give you legitimate hope and
fuel it with encouragement, which is as vital to the soul as oxygen is to the
body.
2.
To share with you how you can
acquire more of the things money will buy and all of the things money won’t
buy.
3.
To show you how to have
employment security in a world where job security no longer exists.
4.
To persuade you that failure is
an event, not a person.
5.
To help you change the picture
you have of yourself so you can change your perception of what life has to
offer.
6.
To encourage you to make
decisions today that will enable you to live well and finish well.
7.
To demonstrate why you’ve got
to be before you can do and do before you can have.
8.
To raise both your IQ and your
EI (emotional intelligence).
9.
To help you develop the right
attitudes, combine them with the right skills, and develop a character
foundation to ensure a balance success.
10.
To “sell” you on why you should
make friends with your past so you can focus on the present and safeguard your
future.
11.
To show you how you can be
happier, healthier, more prosperous, more secure, have more friends, greater
peace of mind, better family relationships, and more hope.
12.
To show you why you can have
everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what
they want.
GUARANTEE: If you will read more slowly and mark more carefully the things that inspire
you, you will get far more from the
second reading than you did the first reading. And if you read it to a child, a person who cannot see, or a
functionally illiterate person, you will get dramatically more from Over
the Top your second or subsequent time through.
