Life is so Unpredictible

Life is So Unpredictable

This time two years ago I was just starting to travel and speak with my father, Zig Ziglar. We were working on the third book of a three book contract, and the more I traveled with Dad, the more I realized the book we were writing at the time just wouldn’t have the impact a book about his existing circumstances would.

It didn’t take much for my brother to convince Dad we needed to deal with the topic at hand…how do you respond to life on life’s terms? Dad’s third book on that contract, Creative Imagination, was laid aside so that Embrace the Struggle could be written.

I’ve been hearing from the people he has inspired with his willingness to be just who he is, just where he is. Many, many of those who have seen us on stage together comment that seeing the love and the strength of our relationship spurred them on to call or visit their mother or father. We’ve been told that the relationship we have on stage is the greatest indicator that Dad has truly lived what he has taught. I’m glad it shows.

For me, being on the road with Dad and Mom (she has made all his speaking engagements for almost three years now) has been an answered prayer. When your parents reach their eighties, you start to think about that sand in the hourglass and you just want to be close to them. Dad has always worked so hard that it has been a real effort for me to keep up with him. We’ve written up to three books in one year…or I should say, he’s written three books in a year and I’ve edited them…pretty much every day of the year. Obviously, I didn’t get to see my folks much because of all the work Dad had me doing.

As awful as Dad’s fall was, there really have been some beautiful things that have come about as a result. My sister Cindy and I have gotten to truly know our little brother Tom. Before the accident we were all busy living our lives, and Tom’s life was a lot different from ours…and always had been. He was born almost 10 years after I was born, his family is younger, and his interests are different. But we were all in the same position when it came to helping Mom and Dad deal with the aftermath of the fall. That brought us together like nothing else could have. Tom isn’t just the younger generation now….he’s our grown-up brother.

All three of us children have now gotten to spend more time with our parents than we have in years. One week I traveled with them from Monday through Thursday night, going to our Get Motivated Seminar engagements. Cindy picked them up Friday and drove them to the Ziglar family reunion in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and home again Sunday afternoon; then Tom traveled with them to Hershey, Pennsylvania, on Monday and they got home on Wednesday. That’s what I call spreading out the love…and we’re all glad we get to spend special time with them individually. That’s a gift many adult children never get.