In the lull of my life and career, my own words set me apart for some divine surprises. At the beginning of 2004, I randomly said to my husband, “I want to speak for some corporations this year and have lunch with Zig Ziglar.” Tony only said, “Okay.” And life continued with no apparent change.

My choices were based on my expanded dream. I had a message of vision and hope but most of my engagements had been faith based organizations up until that time. I thought that both of those themes would be needed in corporate America as well. Zig Ziglar represented the Granddaddy of all motivation and inspiration.

Later in the fall, I was asked to speak to the Haggar Clothing Corporation; a mandatory event for their employees, and to the LaQuinta hotel chain and their directors. Both audiences gave me standing ovations and stood in line to talk with me afterwards. The CEO of Haggar even asked for my husband’s pant sizes and sent him some new dress slacks in appreciation.

However, near the end of the year I received a surprise call that would impact the rest of my life. Zig’s assistant, Bryan Flanagan called from Atlanta, Georgia and said, “Gail, your name was given to me as a good candidate for speaking to the Ziglar Corporation. Do you have any dates open?” I nearly dropped the phone! I tried to act cool saying “Sure. Let me check my calendar.” Then he said, “We want to schedule it when Mr. Ziglar will be there. He will want to personally meet you.”

The date was set for two months from that call and meet we did. Mr. Ziglar introduced himself to me right away and let me know he would be on the front row taking notes. Amazed and tempted to be nervous, I wondered if our roles should be changed with me sitting on the front row taking notes on what he had to say. Nevertheless, my first minute might have been nerve-racking but I quickly decided that I was on assignment and had 30 minutes to impact my audience and try to inspire them.

At minute 29 I finished my message on, “Eyes That S.E.E.”” and then sat down. Mr. Ziglar stood to speak but said nothing. Not seeing his face I turned to my husband and he whispered, “Gail, he is crying.”

Soon Zig broke the silence and said, “Gail, I have never been more impacted by a life message. You must write your story and tell the masses.”

At first I just thought it was a kind man motivating me, but I soon took his challenge to heart. I spent months learning a new computer program for the visually impaired and I began to write. One year after Mr. Ziglar’s directive, I placed the manuscript on his desk and he excitedly wrote the foreword. Together we have encouraged others to “See Beyond” all around the world. My book, “Seeing Beyond…Choosing to Look Past the Horizon”, with foreword by Zig Ziglar, has been printed multiple times and in different languages. Zig saw something in me that I could not see. And having lunch with my dear, dear friend, Zig Ziglar was over the top!

Speak of your dreams aloud and get ready.  As my dear friend, Zig Ziglar, says, “See You at the Top! “

When you choose to look past the horizon… the sky is the limit!