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Self-Improvement
If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one
thing over which I have control ̶ myself.
We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual
beings on a human journey.
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Begin each day with the blueprint of your deepest values firmly in
mind then when challenges come, make decisions based on those
values.
Habit is the intersection of
knowledge (what to do),
skill (how to
do), and
desire (want to do).
Sow a
thought, reap an
action; sow an
action, reap a
habit; sow a
habit, reap a
character;
sow a character, reap a
destiny.
Live out of your
imagination, not your history.
I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.
Through imagination, we can
visualize the uncredited worlds of potential that lie within us.
To change ourselves effectively,
we first had to change our
perceptions.
We see the world, not as it is, but as we are ̶ or, as
we are conditioned to see it.
We must look at the lens through we see the world, as well as the
world we see, and that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the
world.
It's not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us
that hurts us.
How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply
important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage
ourselves each day to be and to
do what really matters most.
Strength lies in
differences, not in
similarities.
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People simply feel better about themselves when they’re good at
something.
...to
learn
and not to
do is really not to learn. To
know and not to do is
really not to know.
I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my
decisions.
You can't talk your way out of a problem you behaved your way into!
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Stephen
R. Covey (1932 ‒2012) is the author of the
best-selling book,
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Other books he has written include First Things First,
Principle-Centered Leadership,
and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families.
In 2004,
Covey
released The 8th Habit.
In 2008, Covey released The Leader In Me ̶
How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a
Time. |
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Achievement
I think the most significant work we'll do in our whole life, in our
whole world is done within the four walls of our home.
... people are working harder than ever, but because they lack
clarity and vision,
they aren’t
getting very far. They, in essence, are pushing a rope...with all of
their might.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the
courage ̶ pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other
things. And the way you do that is by having a
bigger “yes” burning
inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good".
Independent will is our capacity to act. It gives us the power to
transcend our
paradigms, to swim upstream, to rewrite our scripts,
to act based on principle rather than reacting based on emotion or
circumstance.
Without involvement, there is no
commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it.
No involvement, no commitment.
Motivation is a fire from
within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances
are it will burn very briefly.
A cardinal principle of
Total Quality escapes too many managers: you cannot continuously
improve interdependent systems and processes until you progressively
perfect interdependent, interpersonal relationships.
Taking Action
The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of
the
proactive person.
We are free to choose our actions, . . . but we are not free to
choose the consequences of these actions.
Start with the
end in mind.
Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time
on what is important.
People Skills
Think Win-Win
Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic.
Two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right.
It's not logical; it's psychological.
Most people do not
listen with the intent to
understand; they listen with the intent to reply.
To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground.
Seek first to
understand, then to be understood.
Trust is the glue of life.
It's the most essential ingredient in
effective communication .
It's the foundational principle that holds all
relationships.
Words are like eggs dropped from great heights. You could no more
call them back then ignore the mess they left when they fell.
It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to
admit it. People will forgive mistakes, because mistakes are usually
of the mind, mistakes of judgment. But people will not easily
forgive the mistakes of the heart, the ill intention, the bad
motives, the prideful justifying cover-up of the first mistake.
Treat them all the same by treating them differently.
To retain those who are present, be loyal to those who are absent.
Leader
Management
works in the system;
Leadership
works on the system.
If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we
take just gets us to the
wrong place faster.
People
can't live with change if
there's not a changeless core inside them.
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