Mark: Alright Michelle, on a scale of 'motivational poster' to 'life-changing seminar,' what's your first impression of a book titled Born to Win? Michelle: Honestly? It sounds like something a high school football coach yells before a losing game. I'm picturing a lot of glitter and vague affirmations. Like, "Just believe in yourself and you'll score the touchdown!" Mark: I had a feeling you'd say that. And you're not entirely wrong about the energy. But what if I told you this book is the final work, the magnum opus, from one of the most legendary figures in motivation, written as a culmination of his 50-year career? Michelle: Okay, that changes things a bit. That’s not just a football coach. That’s the coach writing his final playbook. Who are we talking about? Mark: We are diving into Born to Win: Find Your Success Code by the late, great Zig Ziglar and his son, Tom Ziglar. And this book is fascinating because it’s essentially Ziglar’s last will and testament on the art of achievement. It’s highly rated, but also has this very distinct, old-school charm mixed with a strong undercurrent of Christian faith, which gives it a unique flavor in the modern self-help world. Michelle: I see. So it's less about glitter and more about legacy. That’s a much more compelling angle. It makes you wonder what a man with that much experience wanted to say as his final word. Mark: Exactly. And his final word starts in a place most people completely ignore. It's not about what you want to have, it's about who you need to be.

Michelle: That already sounds counterintuitive. Most success books are a laundry list of things to do. Get up at 5 a.m., write a five-year plan, network relentlessly. You’re saying Ziglar throws that out? Mark: Not throws it out, but he argues it's the second step. The first step is what he calls the "Be, Do, Have" principle. You have to first be the kind of person who can achieve success, then you can do the things that lead to it, and only then will you have the results you want. Michelle: Okay, 'be the person.' That sounds a little abstract. What does that actually mean in practice? Mark: It means building your life on what he calls the six foundation stones of success: Honesty, Character, Faith, Integrity, Love, and Loyalty. He believed that without these, any success you build is on a foundation of sand. Michelle: I can see that. But let's be real for a second. In a world that can feel very cutthroat, does being the 'honest' and 'loyal' person always win? I mean, we see people get ahead by cutting corners all the time. Mark: That's the perfect question, and Ziglar has a fantastic story about this. He and his wife were out shopping for a leather sofa. They walk into a big furniture store, and a salesman shows them this beautiful sofa for a surprisingly low price. Ziglar asks, "Is this all leather?" The salesman, with a big smile, says, "Absolutely, one hundred percent!" Michelle: Oh, I can already feel where this is going. Mark: Exactly. So they agree to buy it. As they're walking to look at coffee tables, they pass another sofa that looks identical but has a price tag that's double the first one. Ziglar stops and asks the salesman, "What's the difference?" And the salesman, now a bit flustered, admits, "Well, that one is all leather. The one I showed you is only leather on the 'seating surfaces'." Michelle: Wow. The classic fine print. So what did Ziglar do? Mark: He and his wife turned around, walked out of the store, and never went back. The salesman lost a big sale, a future customer, and his own integrity, all for a small, dishonest shortcut. Ziglar's point is that a lack of character might give you a short-term gain, but it's a long-term losing strategy. Your reputation is built on these small moments. Michelle: That makes so much sense. It’s not about some grand, abstract moral code. It’s about the practical, real-world consequence of whether people can trust you. But what about the internal side of 'being'? How does your self-perception fit in? Mark: That’s the other half of the equation, and it’s maybe even more powerful. He tells the incredible true story of Ben Hooper, who was born in the foothills of East Tennessee. In that time and place, being born to an unwed mother was a massive social stigma. He and his mother were ostracized. Michelle: That sounds incredibly difficult for a child. To be defined by something completely out of his control. Mark: Completely. Ben grew up feeling like an outcast. But one day, a new preacher came to town, a man known for his kindness. Ben started attending church, feeling a glimmer of hope. One Sunday, the preacher looked down from the pulpit, pointed directly at him, and in front of the whole congregation, asked, "Whose boy are you?" Michelle: Oh, my heart just sank. That’s the most terrifying question you could ask him in that setting. Mark: The whole church went silent. Everyone knew his story. Ben was frozen. But the preacher didn't wait for an answer. He smiled and declared, "Oh, I know whose boy you are. You are a child of God!" In that one moment, he didn't just give Ben an answer; he gave him a new identity. He changed who Ben was. Michelle: Wow. That gives me chills. Mark: And from that day forward, Ben Hooper started to see himself differently. He wasn't the town outcast anymore; he was a child of God, with inherent worth. That change in his 'being' gave him the confidence to act. He went on to become the governor of Tennessee, twice. Michelle: That is an unbelievable story. So the 'Be' part is about both your external character—your integrity—and your internal character—your self-perception and identity. You have to build that foundation before you can even think about building a skyscraper of success on top of it. Mark: Precisely. You can't 'do' your way to a new 'you.' You have to start with 'you.'

Michelle: Alright, so you've built your character. You 'are' the right person. But you still have to actually do the work. How does Ziglar approach that? Is it just the standard 'work harder, hustle more' advice? Mark: Not at all. In fact, he argues that one of the biggest obstacles to doing the work is fear, and his approach to preparation is designed specifically to dismantle that fear. He uses this brilliant analogy of training fleas. Michelle: Flea training? Okay, you have my attention. Mark: Researchers put a group of fleas in a glass jar. Naturally, they jump right out. Then, they put a lid on the jar. The fleas jump, hit their heads on the lid, and quickly learn to adjust. They start jumping just high enough to not hit the lid. Michelle: Makes sense. They're adapting. Mark: Here's the fascinating part. After a while, the researchers remove the lid. And what do you think the fleas do? Michelle: I'm guessing they stay in the jar. Mark: They stay in the jar. They never jump out again. They've been conditioned by a limitation that no longer exists. They've created a self-imposed ceiling. Ziglar says that's what most of us do. Our past failures, our fears, that invisible lid, keeps us from reaching our true potential. Michelle: That is such a powerful and slightly depressing metaphor. So how do you get the fleas to jump out of the jar? How do you break that conditioning? Mark: Through a specific kind of practice. Not just mindless repetition, but deliberate, strategic practice of the 'little things.' He tells a story from his own sales career. He knew that the most difficult moment in any sale was the close, asking the prospect to sign the contract. It’s where fear and hesitation spike for both the salesperson and the customer. Michelle: Right, the moment of commitment. Mark: So, what did he do? He practiced telling stories that involved the word 'sign.' He’d talk about signing his marriage license, signing his children's birth certificates, signing up for a life insurance policy to protect his family. He would practice placing a warm, positive emphasis on the word 'sign,' associating it with love, commitment, and progress. Michelle: Wait, he practiced saying a single word? That sounds obsessive, but also... kind of brilliant. He was re-wiring the emotional association with that word. Mark: Exactly! So when he got to the end of his presentation and said, "Now, all you have to do is sign your name right here to get these benefits for your family," the word wasn't scary anymore. It was familiar, positive. He had practiced that one small moment so many times that his fear was gone, and so was the customer's. He mastered the little thing that made the big thing happen. Michelle: That's a game-changer. It reframes practice from a chore into a strategic weapon against fear. But what about when you don't even know what to practice? When you're facing a challenge so big you're completely lost? Mark: That's the other side of preparation: getting the right advice. Ziglar is adamant that you can't succeed in a vacuum. He credits his own transformation to a man named P.C. Merrell, his supervisor early in his career. Ziglar was struggling, feeling like a 'wandering generality.' Michelle: A 'wandering generality.' I know that feeling. Mark: Merrell pulled him aside one day and said something that changed his life. He told him, "Zig, I've been watching you. You have the ability to be great, to be a national champion in this business. But you are wasting it." He gave Ziglar a plan, a schedule, and most importantly, he gave him the advice that he was capable of more. Michelle: And that belief from someone else was the spark. Mark: It was everything. It gave him a new vision. And that's why Ziglar says one of the most critical parts of preparation is to become an 'advice miner'—to actively seek out mentors and coaches who have good character, a track record of success, and who will tell you the truth, even when it's hard. Michelle: It's interesting you say that, because a lot of the reader reviews for this book mention that reading it feels like getting a personal coaching session from Ziglar himself. It seems like he's trying to be that P.C. Merrell for the reader. Mark: I think that’s exactly the point. The book is his way of offering that life-changing advice to millions. He’s trying to be the voice that says, "I've been watching you. You have the ability to be great."

Michelle: Okay, so we have these two massive pillars. First, building the 'Be' foundation of character and identity. Second, building the 'Do' engine of strategic practice and wise counsel. How do these two connect to the title of the book, to actually winning? Mark: They connect to the third and final part of his formula: Expecting to Win. And this is the part everyone misunderstands. Ziglar argues that expecting to win isn't just blind optimism or positive thinking. It's an earned right. Michelle: An earned right? What do you mean by that? Mark: Think of a world-class weightlifter walking up to the bar for a record-breaking lift. She expects to lift it. But that expectation didn't come from a motivational poster. It came from months, even years, of planning her training, preparing her body, and practicing the lift thousands of times. Her expectation is justified. It's the logical outcome of her foundation and her preparation. Michelle: Wow. So, the secret isn't just 'thinking positively.' It's doing the foundational work that gives you permission to think positively. The expectation is the result, not the cause. Mark: You've got it. That's the entire philosophy in a nutshell. You were born with the potential to win, but to be that winner, you have to first plan to win by building your character, then prepare to win through practice and counsel. And only then, after you've done that work, can you truly, authentically expect to win. Michelle: That feels so much more solid and achievable than just 'believe in yourself.' It gives you a concrete roadmap. For our listeners, maybe the one action to take this week isn't to set a new, ambitious goal. Maybe it's to do that 'desire inspection' Ziglar talks about. Mark: What a great point. Instead of asking 'what,' ask 'why.' Michelle: Exactly. Before you plan to win, figure out why you want to win in the first place. Is it coming from a place of solid character and true desire, or is it just something you think you should want? Mark: And maybe ask yourself that other question we touched on: what's one 'little thing' you could practice this week that would make the biggest difference? It might not be a huge project. It might just be practicing how you say a certain word. Michelle: I love that. It’s about finding the smallest hinge that swings the biggest door. Mark: This is Aibrary, signing off.