Episode 302 · Dec 1, 2020

Embrace the Struggle: Zig Ziglar's Guide to Accepting Life's Challenges

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On this episode of The Daily Mastermind, host George Wright III draws from one of the most powerful books he's encountered: *Embrace the Struggle* by Zig Ziglar. George knew Zig personally, watched him speak from stages, and considers him one of the greatest motivators of all time. Written when Zig was about 82 years old after suffering a serious fall down a flight of stairs, the book carries a weight that only comes from someone living the philosophy they're preaching.

George focuses on chapter 3, "To Embrace is to Accept," sharing passages that offer a different kind of wisdom than typical motivational content. This is not about hype or quick fixes. It is about developing the mindset to face anything life throws at you and come out the other side more fully yourself.

Why Zig Ziglar's Perspective on Struggle Stands Apart

Zig Ziglar wrote 27 books and had 10 bestsellers. His work has been translated into dozens of languages. By any measure, he lived a successful life. But what makes *Embrace the Struggle* different is that it was written from the middle of difficulty, not from a comfortable distance. After his fall, Zig dealt with real limitations: reduced mobility, dependence on others, ongoing therapy appointments. His response to those circumstances is what George finds so instructive.

Zig wrote that when he looked back at the letters he received over decades, a pattern emerged:

"When you cut through all the motivation and inspiration, it was and still is about encouraging people to accept their circumstances and start right where they are to have a better, more fulfilling life."

That shift from inspiration to acceptance is significant. Acceptance is not giving up. It is the starting point for any real change.

What It Means to Respond Instead of React

One of the core distinctions Zig draws in this chapter is the difference between responding to a situation and reacting to it. When asked about the hardest part of life after his accident, Zig told his driver that he did not spend much time thinking about what he had lost. Instead, he focused on what he still had. He said:

"Complaining about my situation won't change anything. It might run off some friends who get tired of hearing the same old woes, but embracing the struggle has the potential to change everything about the situation."

That is the line George highlights twice in the episode: embracing the struggle has the potential to change everything. Reacting keeps you focused on the problem. Responding means you are looking for solutions. One is productive; the other, as Zig puts it, is negative and futile.

How Gratitude Reshapes What You See

Zig returns to gratitude throughout the chapter, not as a feel-good exercise but as a practical lens for navigating hard times. He shares one of his most quoted ideas: the more you complain about the problems you have, the more problems you will have to complain about. The inverse is equally true. The more you express gratitude, the more things you find worth being grateful for.

At 82, Zig was clear-eyed about his limitations. He could not walk or run the way he once could. Climbing stairs had become difficult. But he framed it this way: even if he had never fallen, he still would not be able to do everything he could do at 30. Age alone would have brought limitations. His fall just changed the timeline a bit. So rather than dwell on what was gone, he focused on the fact that he was still productive, still around, still had people who loved him.

George draws a parallel here to Wayne Dyer's idea that when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Perspective is not just an attitude. It is a tool.

Why Your Human Resources Matter More Than You Think

One of the most practical parts of the chapter covers how to actually move through a struggle. Zig suggests taking out a notepad and working through a set of questions: Who are the friends you can talk to? Which mentors or family members have knowledge and experience that applies to your situation? What did you learn from school or past experience that might help right now?

"All of us have more human resources than we realize. And sometimes that's just that we don't want to bother them."

Zig challenges that reluctance directly. A real friend, he says, is someone who is glad when you come to them with a problem because they want to help. The barrier is often not a lack of support. It is a hesitation to ask for it. When you step past that hesitation, you usually find both guidance and people who understand exactly what you are going through.

What "Content" Does Not Mean

George notes one subtle but important distinction Zig makes. When asked how he got content with his situation, Zig pushed back on the word itself. He was not content. He was dealing with his circumstances in what he believed was the appropriate way, acknowledging God's help, staying productive, and refusing to complain. But that did not mean he had stopped trying to improve. He said plainly: "I'm not content to accept the status quo when I can still do something to improve it."

This separates acceptance from resignation. You can fully accept where you are right now and still work toward something better. The two are not in conflict.

Action Steps

When a setback hits, take out a notepad and list the people in your life who could offer guidance, perspective, or support. You have more resources than you think.
Practice the distinction between reacting and responding. Reacting keeps you stuck in the problem. Responding means you are already looking for solutions.
Reframe your limitations the way Zig did: some of what you cannot do today you would not be able to do regardless of this specific challenge. Focus on what you still can do.
Build a daily gratitude practice that is concrete and specific, not general. The more you name what you are thankful for, the more you will find.
Read or revisit a chapter of *Embrace the Struggle* by Zig Ziglar. Let someone who faced real difficulty at the end of a long life show you what acceptance actually looks like.

Struggle is not a detour from life. It is part of the route. Zig Ziglar understood that at 82, in the middle of real physical limitation, and still chose to focus on what he had, respond rather than react, and keep moving forward. George Wright III brings that message to you today as a reminder that it is never too late to start living the life you were meant to live.

READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT

Welcome back to The Daily Mastermind, everyone. My name is George Wright III. I am your host. For those of you that are just joining us for the first time on this podcast, I like to try to give you a little bit of motivation, inspiration, and education each day in order to help you as entrepreneurs, as individuals with your business, your lifestyle, your life in general. And today, what I want to do is I want to do something a little bit different. I'm going to go to one of the all-time greats, Zig Ziglar, who is by far one of the best motivators that I've ever met. He's spoken for me on stages when he was alive. And he wrote a book. He wrote a book when he was about 82 called Embrace the Struggle. Embrace the Struggle. He was about 82 years old, and he had still been out speaking and motivating and inspiring people all around the world. And he had a really bad accident, and he had fallen down some stairs and started to have some real health trouble after that. But with the help of his daughter, he wrote this book, Embrace the Struggle. And there's a little part of chapter 3 that I was reading that I thought I'd share with you today. And chapter 3 is called, To Embrace is to Accept. And one of the reasons I go to Zig Ziglar once in a while, I mean, look, the guy's written 27 books, 10 bestsellers. He's spoken all over the world. His books have been translated in, you know, dozens and dozens and dozens of languages. But I found that he's, in my mind, one of the best individuals that had the attitude, right, the positive attitude despite all challenges. And here's a guy who you might think had, you know, just an amazing life, which he did. But even when he had a struggle, even when he was personally struggling with something, whether it's age or health problems or falling down these stairs and stuff, he still had the ability to kind of turn things around. And I thought his perspective was really unique. So I'm going to read you just a little bit out of this chapter 3, because I think it gives you some good strategies and thoughts and things that you can kind of use in your life if there's some things that you are struggling with or that you're dealing with. He starts by saying, I began to think about the reasons people have been impacted by my previous books and I recalled the many letters I had received Time after time they spoke of their struggles and how what I had said and what I had written encouraged them and gave them hope When you cut through all the motivation and inspiration it was and still is about encouraging people to accept their circumstances and start right where they are to have a better, more fulfilling life. I really like that because he said it's not about motivation and inspiration. It's about encouraging people to start where they're at and start having a more fulfilling life. He goes on to say, my story and the stories of those I've included in this book prove that people can face anything and be even more in their weakness than in their strength. While it is true that it's easier to have a great attitude when everything is going your way, it's also true that the choice to have a great attitude is something nobody and no circumstance can ever take away from you. One day, Jay Helwig, which is his driver, was driving him to one of his many therapy appointments and he asked him what had been difficult for him to adjust to since the accident. He said he had been struggling with not being able to do things for himself, and it had caused a little glitch, but that he didn't spend much time thinking about it. Instead, thinking about what he does have. He says, I think about how lucky I am to have the redhead, which is his wife, looking after me, and my children working at and taking care of my company. Complaining about my situation won't change anything. It might run off some friends who get tired of hearing the same old woes, but embracing the struggle has the potential to change everything about the situation. Let me read that again. Embracing the struggle has the potential to change everything about the situation. You can complain, you can say, well, now that's a fact, so here I'm going to, this is what I'm going to do about it. My fall was just an accident. I was a little careless with my steps. That's all. I tried to do the right thing in the right way, and that within itself solves a lot of problems for a lot of people. I make sure I respond to my situations, which means I'm looking for a solution instead of merely reacting and looking at the problem. One is positive and productive, the other is negative and futile and doesn't lead to a whole lot of good. He says, my mother who never complained was my first example of how to live. She lost her husband and her 13-month-old baby girl within six days of each other. She was grief-stricken, heartbroken, but she trusted God. No, she was not a complainer. Even with six of her remaining 11 children still too young to work, she did not complain. She didn have any reason to complain because she never took anything into her own hands She left the problems in the hands of God where they belonged Then Jay asked me how I got content with my situation and I told him that I never claimed to be content. I said I was dealing with it in what I thought was the appropriate way, recognizing the help that God was providing me and my family. I still haven't missed a meal. I still am productive in my career. I really don't have anything to complain about, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to do what it takes to improve my condition. I'm not content to accept the status quo when I can still do something to improve it. He says, I'm 82 years old, and that simply means that even if I didn't fall, I still wouldn't be able to do a lot of things I could do when I was 30. So I don't regret what I can't do. I'm grateful what I can do. As you know, one of my favorite quotes is, the more you complain about the problem you have, the more problem you will have to complain about. and the more you express gratitude for what you do have, the more things you'll have to express gratitude for. I just believe that's the right way to approach life. He says, I can't walk and run as fast as I could. I can't climb the steps as easy as I used to, but you know, those are such minor things. I just don't give them any thought. I'm grateful I can walk. I'm grateful that I'm around and something I've got is different than now. My life has a change of direction, a change of priorities, and a change of what I have to do and what I get to do. This is who I am and this is where I am. I really love how he says these things. He's got this way of changing the way he looks at things. It's like Wayne Dyer talks about, when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. He goes on to say, I think most readers identify with the reality that struggle is pretty normal. Setbacks are part of life. So now what we've got to decide is how we handle them. Realistically, we can say, well, you know, I've got certain, I'm not certain I'm going to like this. But at the same time, I've had a lot of good things happen for me and I don't think it's going to be fatal. So I'm going to take my little notepad out and I'm going to start taking notes on what steps I can take to resolve this situation. Most of my friends, which of my friends can I talk to and ask for suggestions? Which of my mentors or teachers or family members are trustworthy and knowledgeable and loving and can give me some input? What did I learn in school that might apply to my present circumstances How many friends do I have who can resonate with what I going through that might offer suggestions I really like when he says all of us have more human resources than we realize And sometimes that's just that we don't want to bother them. In reality, a friend is someone who is thrilled when you share a problem with them because they'll want to help you. A lot of people respond to that, particularly if you haven't a dozen problems last week or even a year. In other words, if you're not a complainer, if, and bottom line is he goes on to really say, you would be surprised how many people are out there that can relate to what you're dealing with that are willing to help you. And you would be surprised when you put your mind to it, how much you have to still be grateful for. There's always things to be grateful for. And you can choose to focus on the problem or you can choose to embrace and accept the problem and focus on solutions. He also says one last thing. He says, I'm doing the best I can with what I have and enjoying it in the process. So anyway, the reason I wanted to share with you that today is because sometimes it's not about the solutions in our life. Sometimes it's not about fixing the problems in our life. Sometimes it's just about embracing the struggle. Sometimes it's just about accepting the struggle and changing the way we look at things. Because when you look at struggles as just a bump in the road, no matter how difficult they are, I think that's what empowers you to get past them. So I hope there's something, you know, look, I know there's something in all of our lives that we struggle with. There's different things that we're dealing with, whether it's business or relationships or work or, you know, health problems. relatives, friends, family, whatever it is there's always things that we're struggling with but there's always things to be thankful and grateful for there's always things to focus on that will take us through the struggle rather than keep us stuck in the struggle so I hope that's something that will give you some food for thought I hope you'll really challenge your thinking and challenge the way you view the things you're dealing with and look for ways to find the positive look for ways to find the gratitude and look for ways to move forward rather than live in the past. That's my message for today. I hope you have an amazing day and look forward to talking with you soon. My name is George Wright III and this has been The Daily Mastermind. Have a great day.