Zig Ziglar, best-selling self-help author and motivational speaker, died Nov. 28 at a Plano, Texas, hospital due to complications from pneumonia. He was 86.

"Though his time on earth has ended, he is speaking with Jesus now in his heavenly home," Ziglar's Facebook page said. "The angels in heaven are rejoicing and his family is celebrating a life well lived."

Author John Maxwell wrote on Twitter: "My friend Zig Ziglar passed away. I am grateful for the many wonderful memories we had together. We lost a great one!"

Ziglar's "Success Rallies," "Born to Win" seminars, self-help books and countless audio recordings attracted millions of followers with homespun advice on career advancement and moral uplift, the New York Times reported.

At his busiest, he spoke 150 times a year, and well into his 70s, he was speaking 60 times a year. His fee was $50,000 a speech plus expense, but at other times he waived his fee, The Washington Post reported. Ziglar kept up a rigorous touring schedule until retiring in 2010.

Ziglar's books include the best-sellers See You at The Top! and Confessions of a Happy Christian (both Pelican Publishing Co.). He wrote Confessions of a Grieving Christian (B&H Publishing Group) after the 1995 death of his eldest daughter, Suzan Witmeyer, from pulmonary fibrosis.

Ziglar also wrote Inspiration From the Top: A Collection of My Favorite Quotes; Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World; and Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down World: Daily Hope for the Daily Grind (all Thomas Nelson); The One Year Daily Insights With Zig Ziglar (Tyndale House Publishers); and Conversations With My Dog (B&H Publishing Group).

Ziglar was an active Southern Baptist layman and a member of Prestonwood Baptist Church in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Baptist Press reported.

"Zig has left such an indelible mark on this church that we will forever remember his servant heart, his passion for teaching the Word of God, his love of people and, of course, his high-energy, motivational speaking," Ziglar's pastor, Jack Graham, wrote in a message to the congregation.

Ziglar's friend Fred Smith, a former FedEx chief executive, told Texas Monthly in 1999 that Ziglar practiced what he preached.

"I think he's a little like Billy Graham, who has never really departed from the same sermon he was giving back in his 20s, yet who's never lost any effectiveness," Smith said. "After all these years, Zig still devotes every day to living this life he talks about, to applying some eternal truths about character, commitment, hard work and self-determination."

Ziglar is survived by his wife of 66 years, Jean; two daughters, Julie Norman and Cindy Oates; a son, Tom; seven grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.

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