In school, the fundamentals are found in the three Rs — reading, writing and arithmetic.

But for a group hoping to help the Miss-Lou move forward as a region, the key can be found in the three Gs, or G-cubed — “Good for me, good for you, good for the community.”

The G-cubed philosophy will be presented at the G3 Summit, a Zig Ziglar community building conference, at the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center March 27-28.

“The conference will talk about building community relationships, building trust between different levels — individuals, politicians, business owners — people who haven’t normally been perceived as working together and bringing them to the table,” said Liz Brooking, a member of the Miss-Lou Regional Steering Committee’s housing sub-committee, which is promoting the conference.

Zig Ziglar grew up in Yazoo City and spent many years in sales promotion. But Ziglar is best known for his motivational speaking, which focuses on hope, encouragement and faith. Ziglar died in late 2012, but his son Tom will present the message of the Ziglar Way at the G3 summit.

Bryan Flanagan, lead sales leadership promoter with the Ziglar company, will also speak at the summit.

“We are going to have the two premier speakers of this organization to come to our area,” Brooking said.

According to the Ziglar website, the Ziglar Way, “Takes action, common sense, fairness, commitment and integrity (to) form the basis for this way of life. And when you live by this philosophy you’ll live a balanced life while achieving significance at both work and home.”

Ziglar programs focus on three components: will, skill and refill.

According to the Zigalr website, “will” is given by motivation and inspiration presented during the program, while “skill” is given in step-by-step how-tos. Continued motivation and retention devices given during the program give the “refill.”

The Ziglar Way fits well with the regional steering committee’s goal of bringing everyone together, Brooking said.

“One of our goals is for the Mississippi River not to be a wall between Louisiana and Mississippi, and for us to know that we are all one community,” she said. “We still have those little rivalries within our community, and that is OK, but the bottom line is we are all in this together and what is good for one is good for the other.”

In addition to inviting all of the area’s residents to come to the conference, Brooking said the committee especially wants local elected officials to attend at least one session.

“We want them to be thinking correctly in their heads and their hearts and to try to get the politics out of politics, get the focus of this area down to a grassroots level and help them understand their citizens and the needs of the people in their community, and not just be worried about their personal legacies,” she said.

Brooking said she can testify to the power of the Ziglar Way.

“From a personal standpoint, I, like everybody, have had struggles in my life, whether made by me or the world, and I came upon Zig Ziglar in the 1970s, his book, ‘See You at the Top,’” she said.

“I got that book at the right time in my life. My mind was right to hear it, my heart was right to hear it, and I worked with it on the principles given in the book and was able — with God’s help — to change my life around and get pointed in the right direction.”

Brooking later had an opportunity to attend a Ziglar conference in Baton Rouge.

“Zig himself was such an inspiration, and his kids who are continuing it,” she said. “I am sure they have the same spirit their daddy had, and I know their message is the same.”

“In these days, people are losing hope and when you lose hope there is not much out there. I am so hopeful we can give some hope back to those people who have totally lost it, and for the ones who are trying real hard and not at that point, that it can be sort of like a B-12 shot and get them pumped up and inspired.

“We want people to have a little faith, to get ready and to maximize all the potential that may come.”

The cost to attend the two-day event is $20, while the last day to register is March 20.

Brooking said pre-registration is greatly encouraged because high interest in the conference means walk-ups on the day it starts may not have a seat.

Pre-registration can be completed by visiting eventbrite.com and searching for “G3 Summit.”