Best Book of the Month: Zig Ziglar – See You at the Top

It’s time for the ‘Best Book of the Month’ series. For February 2013 we picked Zig Ziglar’s book “See You at the Top“.

Zig Ziglar, who passed away last year on November, losing the fight against pneumonia at the age of 86 – was a legendary business consultant, motivational speaker and author. He traveled the world consulting for several Fortune 500 companies.

See You at the Top is a best-selling book and was first published in 1975 after being rejected by thirty publishers (according to the Monrow News Star).

The book itself is structured into six steps / stairs the author highly encourages us to take in order to succeed. Consider the elevator to be out of order and use the following 6 stairs:

1. Self-Image

2. Your Relationship With Others

3. Goals

4. Attitude

5. Work

6. Desire

“Success and happiness are not matters of chance but choice.” – Zig Ziglar

Benefits of reading February’s best book of the month:

* The book is full of stories with average people who achieved outstanding results in life. You will meet handicapped, ill children and adults who took what they have and transformed it into GOLD.

* The book has a clear message: if they can do it, you can do it.

* It all boils down to mastering the fundamentals, knowing your values and having the right mental attitude.

* No get rich fast schemes, methods and rituals. If you want to achieve your goals you need to put in a lot of work and determination.

* Find out the right mix for success: Persistence, hard work, strong desire and faith in oneself, clear and precise goals, and the right mental attitude will definitely get you ahead of the pack.

Interestingly enough, the author dedicated 100 pages (more than 25%) of the book to the chapter on ATTITUDE. It’s definitely a hint to better understand the mixture of the 6 stairs mentioned above.

What else…

If you haven’t read a sound motivational or self-development book so far, See You at the Top is definitely a great start. But for those of you who have already read a few good books, listened to audios and watched several videos on this topic – for example from Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield etc. –  the book might sound a bit superficial. Most certainly you will recognize a lot of examples, patterns and advices.

See You at the Top is a good read-up; it’s worthwhile refreshing your knowledge about what it takes to reach your goals in life and be happy.

Have you read Zig Ziglar’s book? What was your biggest take away? What do you suggest we should write about in our next best book of the month series?