STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

Zig Ziglar on Action & Habits

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing — that's why we recommend it daily.

Zig Ziglar

Motivational author and sales-training pioneer


Meet the Giant

Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar was an American author, salesman, and motivational speaker whose teaching combined goal setting, character, service, and practical encouragement. Through books such as See You at the Top and decades of presentations, he argued that achievement is valuable partly because of the discipline and identity developed in its pursuit. Quote Investigator traced an early version of this saying to Ziglar in 1975, and he later credited the familiar wording to himself in a 2012 collection.

What This Means

Zig Ziglar’s words point toward a practical truth: change is rarely secured by intention alone. Motivation needs regular renewal, so progress depends on practices that bring you back to action. The important movement happens when an idea becomes behavior—something repeated often enough to influence the direction of a day and, eventually, a life.

This perspective also reduces the pressure to transform everything at once. A repeated action may look small when viewed in isolation, but repetition gives it weight. The question is less whether one perfect effort can change everything and more whether today’s choice supports the direction you want to keep moving.

The invitation in “Renew Motivation Through Action” is therefore not to admire the idea from a distance. It is to test it against real life. Notice where the principle already appears in your choices, where you resist it, and what one concrete experiment could make the insight more than a quotation.

Why It Matters

This matters because daily behavior is where values and intentions either gain traction or remain theoretical. When motivation changes, a workable practice can keep the direction intact.

Motivation needs regular renewal, so progress depends on practices that bring you back to action. In practice, that can mean making the next step smaller, protecting a boundary, asking a better question, or simply noticing what you usually rush past. The point is not perfection; it is creating a more conscious default.

Used this way, “Renew Motivation Through Action” becomes a working principle rather than an inspirational slogan: something you can return to when the old pattern reappears.

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing — that's why we recommend it daily.

      

A Moment of Reflection

Where in your life would the principle behind “Renew Motivation Through Action” help most right now? What is one small action you could repeat this week to make that principle visible in your behavior?

Carry This With You

Motivation needs regular renewal, so progress depends on practices that bring you back to action.


Source & Attribution

Common attribution to Zig Ziglar; primary publication unconfirmed

Commonly Attributed