This Lake Highlands resident knows a thing or two about optimism. For years, she worked closely with the legendary Zig Ziglar, one of America’s leading motivational speakers. Now the former TV news reporter has built a following on the speaker’s circuit. Her book, “Attitude is Everything”, packs a potent message about the power of positive thinking — not a new concept, by any means, but her advice, compartmentalized into “10 rules for staying positive” is easy to digest and apply. Make life better, Hitzges says, by laughing, giving thanks, saying “no” more often and, her favorite, “waiting to worry”. Hitzges learned a great deal from her mentor, Ziglar. “I got a major dose of positive from him, and it’s not fake. He’s the most positive person I have ever met, and he’s real.” She includes anecdotes about him in the book. Surprisingly, Ziglar has dealt with some devestating life experiences, including the death of one of his children, the book notes in the chapter “Attitude of Gratitude”. Warm, giggle-inducing and inspirational artwork pulls it all together to make an attractive coffee-table book (think perfect yuletide gift). You can purchase it at vickihitzges.com.

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• Listen to the Advocate interview with author Vicki Hitzges