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I BELIEVE You can get everything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want. SEEVOU AT THE TOP Formerly entitled BISCUITS, FLEAS AND PUMP HANDLES By ZIG ZIGLAR Illustrated by AI Mayton PELICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY GRETNA 1986 To Sugar Baby The redhead who has been my wife and my life for thirty-six wonderful years-and the best is yet to come. I BELIEVE Man was designed for accom plishment, engineered for suc cess, and endowed with the seeds of greatness. 7 ACKNOwLEDGMENTS I t would be impossible to more than scratch the surface in the form of acknowledgments to the many individuals who have helped me through the years. However, some have contributed so much that their names literally jump off the pages of my life and demand recognition. Heading the list is my "Sugar Baby" who gives my life meaning while making it fun and worthwhile. Her love has been the steadying and motivating factor that is and always has been present regardless of circumstances. My mother, through her living examples of faith, courage, common sense, and love gave me the foundation for life and much material for this book. Mr. and Mrs. John R. Anderson played a prominent role in my life. Mr. Anderson served as a "substitute father" and treated me like a son as he blended genuine interest with love and/or discipline as the situation demanded. Mr. Walton Haining taught me a lot about "horse sense" and selling myself to the public. Ditto for Bill Cranford, my first sales manager, whose patience and personal interest transcended the normal sales manager-salesman relationship. For sheer drama the short time I spent with P. C. Merrell is unmatched. He "turned me on, turned me around, and boosted me up" with the gift of believing in myself. Hal Krause gave me national and international exposure through his company and made the road I traveled as a speaker and author considerably easier. My colleagues on the platform - Cavett Robert, Bob Richards, Bill Gove, Dick Gardner, Ken McFarland, and the late Charlie Cullen - all played an important part in the areas of encouragement, instruction, and inspiration. Bernie Lofchick, "Brother Bern," whose advice, help, encouragement, and belief in me and the "Zigmanship" philosophy was vitally important in furthering my career and my personal life as well. My friend, former associate, and fellow speaker, Dan Bellus, whose experience was invaluable in the publication of the original edition. Carroll Phillips, whose attentiveness to detail 8 and specifics of instruction contributed greatly to the clarity and effectiveness of this edition. Patti Bond, who typed page after page for both editions at an incredible speed and Jorita Symington, my secretary, who "held things together" through it all. Both rate reams of praise and a heartfelt thank you for their contributions. Ann Anderson of Nashville, Tennessee gets a "special" bit of gratitude for helping to reopen my eyes to the joy of living a fuller, richer life on earth while making certain that I spend eternity with Jesus Christ. I would be remiss and even ungrateful if I did not acknowledge the help given me by my brothers and sisters. There has always been a deep love and strong sense of encouragement among us. I hope this effort on my part will be meaningful to each of them. Finally, there are my children. Each one is unique, different, and deeply loved in a special way. Suzan, my first born, provides me with much stimulating conversation and encouragement. Cindy, the middle child, quietly comes and goes as she makes her presence felt everywhere. Julie, the little one, is everywhere doing everything. Tom, the son whose belated but welcome appearance keeps me young and hopping. Each has given me much pleasure and occasionally a little pain. Each has con tributed immeasurably to family enjoyment and solidarity. Each was a gift from God for which I thank Him every day. To all of you whom I have named, please accept my deepest thanks. To you whom I have not named, please know that even though you are unnamed in this work, you are not unknown to me and you are appreciated more than you know. To all of you, good luck, God bless you, have a good forever, and I'll see you at the top. IT'S TRUE What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson -AND- You are the only one who can use your ability. It is an awesome responsibility. 10 FOREWORD The word "different" will probably come into your mind every time you open the pages of See You At The Top. The dust jacket is different, and to start with "The End" is certainly different. The book is different in "feel," "subject matter," and "technique." For example, I will often "shift gears" on you and insert an analogy, example, one-liner, or power phrase to force you to pause and hopefully lead you to re-read the material to make certain you got the message. I will also emphasize a "different" theme in today's market place as I stress that you can get everything in life you want only if you help enough other people get what they want. As the author, I believe that the entire book is different and effective, but my objective was not to write a book that was "different." The difference evolved because I wrote the book as I speak. [I'm like the crosseyed discus thrower. I don't set any records, but I do keep the crowd alert.] During the past 19 years, I have given the speech, "Biscuits, Fleas and Pump Handles," the original title of this book, over 3,000 times. Initially, the material only covered a forty-five minute presentation. Through the years that forty-five-minute talk has expanded into this full length book and the "I CAN" course which is being taught in schools and churches, and the Richer Life Course which is being taught in businesses all over America. I cover a lot of subjects in See You At The Top, but my major objective is to communicate my feelings on faith, love, optimism, a~d enthusiasm. This is important because in today's world many people are confused about what real love and real faith is and are too "sophisticated" to show their true feelings and display real enthusiasm for anything. On love - I plead guilty to loving the Lord, my wife, my family, my fellowman, and America. On faith - I don't know what tomorrow holds but I know Who holds tomorrow so I approach it with confidence and thanksgiv ing. My Bible assures me that my past is forgiven and forgotten. That takes care of my past. Jesus Christ said, "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." That takes care of the present. John 3:16 assures me I will have everlasting 11 life. That takes care of my future. With my past forgiven, my present secure, and my future irrevocably guaranteed, why shouldn't I be enthusiastically optimistic? See You At The Top is a philosophy, but there is little theory involved. The ideas, procedures, and techniques come from a lifetime of living. It incorporates thirty years of sales and people development experience, as well as personal involvement with many of the world's top professionals from virtually every field of endeavor. The utilization of the ideas and techniques in this book will mean that you're learning from other people's experiences not other people's theories. This is the only practical way to grow because it's too frustrating, too time consuming, and far too expensive to learn everything from personal experience. I say with candor and complete conviction that had this particular book been available when I started competing in the game of life, my progress would have been faster and my results better. Obviously, I believe you'll be richer in many ways if you utilize this philosophy which I spent over 2,000 hours refining and committing to paper. Within the body of See You At The Top, I use over 800 analogies, examples, "one liners," power phrases, human interest stories, and humorous incidents. The purpose is to hold your interest and keep you involved in the total message. Hopefully you will be like many readers of the first nine printings who enthusiastically stress that this is a book you never finish. That you can pick it up - open it to any page for a mental snack, read a chapter for a full mental meal, or read it from cover to cover as a way of life. Then you start over. God bless you and if you utilize the ideas in this book, I will "see you at the top."