Book Recommendation: Over the Top by Zig Ziglar

Andrew 9/17/2010 9:24:14 AM

[note: links at the bottom for enhanced readability]

When I think about what led to me being able to jump back on the 0 Dark 30 bandwagon and return to the lifestyle changes that were having a real benefit in my life, and even add some new ones, many factors come to mind. Maturing in my faith and prayer life was an important factor, as was becoming disgusted with how overweight and out of shape I was getting.

But an additional factor that I think cannot be overstated is the choice of media that I consume at any given time. During the time when I was going downhill, my media of choice was typically TV or video games. While those are OK pastimes in moderation, they’re neither particularly edifying, nor prone to motivate you.

At the same time, constant late-evening exposure to electronic media (including hopping on the computer late at night) was dramatically affecting my sleep cycle, keeping me up late, resulting in getting a late start in the mornings.

So one of the changes I made was choosing different media, which included reading more. No, I haven’t sworn off TV and video games entirely, but I have made the decision to let them take a much smaller role in my life.

Part of what led me back to more reading was a result of my gadget geek nature. When Amazon.com recently acquired Woot! (an online outlet that sells one deal a day, often at ridiculously cheap prices), Woot! celebrated by selling the Kindle 2 e-book reader for $149. Not surprisingly, shortly thereafter Amazon released new models, but this was still a great deal, so I jumped on it.

Since then, I’ve been sampling many books, and buying those that seemed particularlyzig-ziglar-over-the-top_jpg interesting. One such book was Zig Ziglar’s Over the Top. Zig Ziglar is a motivational speaker and author who is frequently recommended by Dave Ramsey, whose podcasts I listen to frequently when driving or working out. It’s a given (or should be, at least) that if you want to be successful, you don’t take advice from those who are broke or unmotivated, you listen to successful people. So I figured that if Dave admires Zig Ziglar, he’s worth a look.

I will say from the beginning that Over the Top is not what I would consider a great book. Instead, it’s an easy read that provided exactly what I needed at the time I read it, which is a gentle kick in the pants. A reminder that we are the ones who make the decisions that affect how our life is going to go. I personally believe that God is the ultimate decision maker, but as I see it He opens doors for us, offers opportunities, and yes, places challenges in our way…all because they’re the things we need to grow and prosper. But He leaves to us the decisions on whether to walk through that open door, take that opportunity, and choose how we respond to adversities we may face.

The point here is that for me at least, I am finding that my ability to do the things that lead me in the right direction are reinforced by reading, particularly by reading books that provide motivation. During the earlier stretch of time when I first started, and was regularly rowing, and taking good care of my body, and practicing sound sleep habits, I was also reading pretty regularly. In fact, prior to getting my rower, I was reading even more, as I would usually exercise on my Nordic Track, and would almost always have a book or article on the book rack that I’d custom fit on it. Books like Dr. Henry Cloud’s One-Life Solution, 9 Things You Simply Must Do, and Boundaries, helped me not simply because they offered the right solution for my life (though they certainly had wisdom to offer) but because they kept me in the mental state of wanting to continue improving my life.

So, when faced with the choice of turning on the boob tube, or flipping on a game console, or surfing the web on the one hand, and opening a book on the other, I’m trying to take the latter choice more frequently. I think it will help me to maintain my ability to sustain good habits and resist bad ones…time will tell!

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