Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People
Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People
By Stephen Covey
Below are just a select few of daily reflections and inspirational thoughts from the book “Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People” for living the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century .
The Seven Habits are not a set of separate or piecemeal psyche-up formulas -- In harmony with the natural laws of growth - they provide an incremental - sequential - highly integrated approach to the development of personal and interpersonal effectiveness -- They move us progressively on a Maturity Continuum from dependence to independence to interdependence -- p48-49
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#1 Be Proactive
#2 Begin With The End In Mind
#3 Put First Things First
#4 Think Win/Win
#5 Seek First To Understand Then To Be Understood
#6 Synergize
#7 Sharpen The Saw
Dependence is the paradigm of you -- you take care of me - you come through for me -- you didn't come through - I blame you for the results -- Dependent people need others to get what they want -- p49
Independence is the paradigm of I -- I can do it -- I am responsible -- I am self-reliant -- I can choose -- Independent people can get what they want through their own effort --p49
Interdependence is the paradigm of we -- We can do it -- We can cooperate -- We can combine our talents and abilities and create something greater together -- Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success -- p49
Effective Interdependence can only be built on a foundation of true independence -- p185
If we want to change a situation, we first have to change ourselves -- And to change ourselves effectively - we first have to change our perceptions -- p18
Albert Einstein observed - " The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them" -- p42
The way we see the problem - is the problem -- p40
Effective People are not problem-minded -- they're opportunity-minded -- They feed opportunities and starve problems -- p154
Paradigms are powerful because they create the lens through which we see the world -- The power of a paradigm shift is the essential power of quantum change - whether that shift is an instantaneous or a slow and deliberate process -- p32
We must look at the lens through which we see the world - as well as at the world we see - and understand that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world -- p17
We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be - And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of those assumptions -- p24
Each of us has many - many maps in our head - which can be divided into two main categories: maps of the way things are, or realities -- and maps of the way things should be - or values -- We interpret everything we experience through these mental maps -- p24
Our character - basically - is a composite of our habits -- Because they are consistent - often unconscious patterns - they constantly daily - express our character and produce our effectiveness ........ or ineffectiveness -- p46
You are NOT your habits -- You CAN replace old patterns of self defeating behavior with new patterns - new habits of effectiveness - happiness and trust-based relationships -- p61
Highly Proactive People recognize their "respons-ability -- the ability to choose their response -- They do not blame circumstances - conditions - or conditioning for their behavior -- their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice - based on values - rather than a product of their conditions - based on feeling -- p71
Reactive People focus on circumstances over which they have no control -- the negative energy generated by that focus - combined with neglect in areas they could do something about - causes their Circle of Influence to shrink -- p83
Proactive People focus their efforts on the things they can do something about -- the nature of their energy is positive - enlarging - and magnifying causing their Circle of Influence to increase -- p83
Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security - guidance - wisdom and power -- p109
Recognized as one of Time magazine’s twenty-five most influential Americans, Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012) was an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author. His books have sold more than twenty-five million copies in thirty-eight languages, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century. After receiving an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate degree from Brigham Young University, he became the cofounder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, a leading global training firm.
The book can be purchased at most bookstores, or online at