The Seven Habits of Highly Effective

People
`The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help
book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 illion !opies in thirty-ei"ht
lan"ua"es sin!e first publi!ation, whi!h was arked by the release of a 15th anniversary
edition in #$$%. &he book lists seven prin!iples that, if established as habits, are supposed
to help a person a!hieve true interdependent 'effe!tiveness'. Covey ar"ues this is
a!hieved by ali"nin" oneself to what he !alls 'true north'(prin!iples of a !hara!ter ethi!
that, unlike values, he believes to be universal and tieless.
&he book was enorously popular, and !atapulted Covey into lu!rative publi!-speakin"
appearan!es and workshops. )e has also written a nuber of follow-up books, su!h as
Power of the Seven Habits, Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, and Beyond the
Seven Habits. * se+uel to The Seven Habits is The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to
Greatness published in #$$%. *lso, Sean Covey ,Stephen-s son. has written a version for
teens/ The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. &his version siplifies the 0 )abits for
youn"er readers to better understand the. In 1!tober #$$2 Sean Covey also published
'&he 2 3ost Iportant 4e!isions 5ou 6ill 7ver 3ake, a 8uide for &eens' that hi"hli"hts
key ties in the life of a teen and "ives advi!e on how to deal with the. )is oldest son,
Stephen 3.R. Covey has written a book titled '&he Speed of &rust'.
* !ourse based on The Seven Habits is offered throu"h 9ranklinCovey and at any
!orporations and "overnent a"en!ies su!h as the Re"ional Counity :oli!in"
Institute-California, ,www.r!pi-!a.or"., ;nited States 4epartent of )oeland
Se!urity-s 9ederal <aw 7nfor!eent &rainin" Center. =1>
Contents
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1 * :rin!ipled *pproa!h
# &he Seven )abits
? Related books by Covey
% 7@ternal links
A Principled Approach
&hrou"hout the book Covey points to prin!iples as the fo!us. &he book presents the
prin!iples as an approa!h rather than a set of behaviors. &he book iparts the prin!iples
in four se!tions.
Paradigms and Principles/ the basi! foundation for the !reation of the habits.
Private Victory/ the first three habits intended to take a person fro dependen!e
to independen!e, or one-s ability to be self-reliant. 5ou ust be able to win your
private vi!tories before you !an start on your publi! vi!tories. If you start to win
your publi! vi!tories first, how !an you feel "ood about yourself and still work on
habits.
Public Victory/ habits four throu"h si@ lead to interdependen!e, the ability to
ali"n one-s needs and desires with those of other people and !reate effe!tive
relationships.
Renewal/ dire!ts the reader to be"in a pro!ess of self-iproveent.
The Seven Habits
&he !hapters are dedi!ated to ea!h of the habits, whi!h are represented by the followin"
iperatives/
1. e Proactive. )ere, Covey ephasiAes the ori"inal sense of the ter 'rea!tive'
as !oined by Bi!tor 9rankl. 5ou !an either be proa!tive or rea!tive when it !oes
to how you a!t about !ertain thin"s. Cein" 'proa!tive' eans takin" responsibility
for everythin" in life. 6hen you-re rea!tive, you blae other people and
!ir!ustan!es for obsta!les or probles. Initiative, and takin" a!tion will then
follow. Covey shows how an is different fro other anials in that he has self-
!ons!iousness. )e has the ability to deta!h hiself and observe his own self,
think about his thou"hts. )e "oes on to say how this attribute enables hi. It
"ives hi the power not to be affe!ted by his !ir!ustan!es. Covey talks about
-Stiulus and Response-. Cetween Stiulus and Response, we have the power of
free will to !hoose our response.
#. egin with the End !n "ind. &his !hapter is about settin" lon"-ter "oals based
on 'true-north prin!iples.' Covey re!oends to forulate a 'personal vision
stateent' to do!uent one-s per!eption of one-s own vision in life. )e sees
visualiAation as an iportant tool to develop this. )e also deals with
or"aniAational vision stateents, whi!h he !lais to be ore effe!tive if
developed and supported by all ebers of an or"aniAation, rather than bein"
pres!ribed.
?. Put #irst Things #irst. )ere, Covey des!ribes a fraework for prioritiAin" work
that is aied at short-ter "oals, at the e@pense of tasks that appear not to be
ur"ent, but are in fa!t very iportant. 4ele"ation is presented as an iportant part
of tie ana"eent. Su!!essful dele"ation, a!!ordin" to Covey, fo!uses on
results and ben!harks that are to be a"reed in advan!e, rather than on
pres!ribin" detailed work plans.
%. Thin$ %in&%in des!ribes an attitude whereby utually benefi!ial solutions are
sou"ht, that satisfy the needs of oneself, or, in the !ase of a !onfli!t, both parties
involved.
5. See$ #irst to 'nderstand( Then to be 'nderstood. Covey warns that "ivin" out
advi!e before havin" epatheti!ally understood a person and their situation will
likely result in that advi!e bein" reDe!ted. &horou"hly readin" out your own
autobio"raphy will de!rease the !han!e of establishin" a workin" !ouni!ation.
2. Synergi)e des!ribes a way of workin" in teas. *pply effe!tive proble solvin".
*pply !ollaborative de!ision akin". Balue differen!es. Cuild on diver"ent
stren"ths. <evera"e !reative !ollaboration. 7bra!e and levera"e innovation. It is
put forth that, when this is pursued as a habit, the result of the teawork will
e@!eed the su of what ea!h of the ebers !ould have a!hieved on their own.
E&he whole is "reater than the su of its parts.F
0. Sharpen the saw fo!uses on balan!ed self-satisfa!tion. Re"ainin" what Covey
!alls 'produ!tion !apability' by en"a"in" in !arefully sele!ted re!reational
a!tivities.
#irst Things #irst *boo$+
9ro 6ikipedia, the free en!y!lopedia
Gup to/ navi"ation, sear!h
First Things First
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,199%. is a self-help book written by Stephen Covey and *. Ro"er
and Rebe!!a R. 3errill. It offers a tie ana"eent approa!h that, if established as a
habit, is supposed to help a person a!hieve 'effe!tiveness' by ali"nin" hi- or herself to
'9irst &hin"s'. &he approa!h is a further developent of the approa!h populariAed in
Covey-s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and other titles.
&he book asserts that there are three "enerations of tie ana"eent/ first-"eneration
task lists, se!ond-"eneration personal or"aniAers with deadlines and third-"eneration
values !larifi!ation as in!orporated in the 9ranklin :lanner. ;sin" the analo"y of 'the
!lo!k and the !opass,' the authors assert that identifyin" priary roles and prin!iples
provides a 'true north' and referen!e when de!idin" what a!tivities are ost iportant,
so that de!isions are "uided not erely by the '!lo!k' of s!hedulin" but by the '!opass'
of purpose and values. *ssertin" that people have a need to 'to live, to love, to learn, and
to leave a le"a!y' they propose ovin" beyond 'ur"en!y addi!tion' into what they !all
'+uadrant two' ana"eent ,not the sae as the +uadrant II in a Cartesian !oordinate
syste..
&he four-+uadrant atri@ for iportan!e and ur"en!y.
* weekly worksheet to identify roles and plan iportant a!tivities before fillin" in entire
s!hedule.
In the book, Covey des!ribes a fraework for prioritiAin" work that is aied at lon"-ter
"oals, at the e@pense of tasks that appear to be ur"ent, but are in fa!t less iportant. &his
is his #@# atri@/ !lassifyin" tasks as ur"ent and non-ur"ent on one a@is, and iportant or
non-iportant on the other a@is. )is +uadrant # has the ites that are non-ur"ent but
iportant. &hese are the ones he believes we are likely to ne"le!tH but, should fo!us on to
a!hieve effe!tiveness.
Iportant ites are identified by fo!usin" on a few key priorities and roles whi!h will
vary fro person to person, then identifyin" sall "oals for ea!h role ea!h week, in order
to aintain a holisti! life balan!e. 1ne tool for this is a worksheet that lists up to seven
key roles, with three weekly "oals per role, to be evaluated and s!heduled into ea!h week
before other appointents o!!upy all available tie with thin"s that see ur"ent but are
not iportant. &his !on!ept is illustrated with a story that en!oura"es people to 'pla!e the
bi" ro!ks first.'
4ele"ation is presented as an iportant part of tie ana"eent. Su!!essful dele"ation,
a!!ordin" to Covey, fo!uses on results and ben!harks that are to be a"reed in advan!e,
rather than on pres!ribin" detailed work plans.
5 Golden Rules for Wealth
Arina Nikitina
Rule #1: Set Up Your Mind
You are what you want to be. Just like you are what you eat,
it also follows that you are what you think. If you set your
mind to work for somebody as an employee, you will look for
a job and you will be satisfied working as an employee.
However, if you set your mind properly to attain finanial
freedom, you will find means of getting wealthy without the
pressures and hassles of working for someone else. It seems
that the mindset of many people is almost always pre!
oupied with working as an employee that they forget or
unintentionally ignore to ross the line, to see how they an
reate real wealth. Just like a oin, they never bothered to
look and to find out how it feels to be on the other side of it.
I"m not saying that employers are bad. #hey provide jobs
and it"s good. I"m just painting a piture of one of life"s
realities whih we hardly notie at times. If you go to
business, you eventually end up as an employer yourself.
I"m just opening the finanial area of your mind. $onsider
this% &alms faing up is reeiving, kind of similar to begging.
&alm faing down is giving. 'mployees reeive. 'mployers
give. How do you want your palms" position to be(
Rule #2: Think and Act Rich
Always keep in mind that you an attrat as muh money as
you desire by knowing that it is all in the mind. It is what
you hoose to think, and at upon, that produes the money
you want. )hat you think will be, will be.
#ehni*ue +,% -eel .ih and /e 0rateful
)hat I am about to teah you is a simple yet very powerful
way of attrating wealth and prosperity in your life.
-irst, imagine what life would be like if you are rih. 1on"t
just see it. -eel it as if you"re already e2periening the
lu2uries and lifestyle of the rih.
1o you see yourself driving your dream ar( )hat model
and olor is it( #ouh the seat and feel its soft te2ture. 3pen
the ar radio and listen to your favorite musi. '2periene
the joy of driving it towards your favorite plae.
4aybe you ould visuali5e a house. How many rooms does it
have( #ake a rela2ing soak in the bath tub. 6mell the food
aroma oming out from the large kithen. &lay sports in your
own private gym.
#he important thing here is to believe that you are already
rih.
Now doesn"t that feel good( /y doing this e2erise, you are
unleashing the powers of your subonsious and direting it
to give you what you"re dreaming of.
/ut it doesn"t end there. #o make this even more effetive,
breathe slowly while still hanging on to this wonderful feeling
of being rih, and say a small thanks to 0od, or to a Higher
&ower.
/y being grateful, you are ommanding the &owers of the
7niverse to work in your favor. You are onfirming that you
are graiously aepting your blessings.
#ry it out. /elieve and feel that you are already wealthy, and
be thankful for it. You will be astounded by the results.
#ehni*ue +8% /e 0enerous
4any people think that rih people are selfish, that"s why
they have lots of money at hand. #his may be true in some
ases9 however, there are a lot more individuals who are
wealthy beause they know how to give.
)hen you give something from your heart without e2peting
anything in return, you release a powerful fore that will
trigger your good deed to :boune: bak to you in ama5ing,
and sometimes unusual ways.
)henever possible, be generous in giving to others. You will
notie that what you reeive, or the return, will be more
than what you give. As humans, we have the tendeny to
reiproate what we reeive. /ut don"t give for the sake of
e2peting something in return. 0ive freely from your heart,
and the rewards would be greater.
#he at of giving an summon the spirit of joy to ome into
your heart. How would you feel when you;ve given
something to your less fortunate neighbors( <et me tell you
that nothing ould brighten up a day more than hearing
them e2press their most heartfelt gratitude and seeing their
smiles e2tend from ear to ear.
)hat you give doesn"t neessarily have to be something
material. It an also be time, effort, talent, servie, or even
an affetionate feeling.
<astly, here;s what I onsider the most important rule about
giving. =eep your good deeds to yourself. 1on;t announe to
the whole world that you;ve donated >,??,??? to your
favorite harity or that you;ve helped save a hild from a
life!threatening disease.
If you really desire to give, do it seretly and in private.
6ome people would write :anonymous: rather than their
own names when they;ve made a ontribution. #he universe
smiles upon these individuals, and they will get their just
rewards in due time.
$onsider this% If you are on the giving end, doesn"t it mean
that you are in a better position than the reipient( 1oesn"t
it omplement your harater(
#ehni*ue +@% 1on"t /e Afraid #o <ose
It is said that winners are not afraid to lose, beause failure
is a part of the proess of suess. &eople who are afraid to
fail, lose suess.
<ike a oin or a hip, look at both sides of the possible
effets of something you want to do. 6ay you want to buy a
house or a ar. It may seem to look like you"re buying an
asset. #ake a look also at the other side, it might be a
liability beause of the additional e2penses it would inur.
)eigh your options.
#hink rih and put your thinking into ation.
.ule +@% 'nhaning Your 4oney $onsiousness
#he ne2t paragraphs will enhane further your money
onsiousness. In more ways than one, these moneymaking
thoughts may sound like proverbs, but I find them very
enouraging, hene I want to share them with you.
,. No one else will determine your future e2ept yourself.
'ither you get up or sink down from where you are now.
#his an be determined on how you mold your thoughts. #o
be weak or strong, rih or poor, you deide your own fate.
#he effet of your thoughts eventually affets your life.