The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People

By Stephen R. Covey

To illustrate character based beliefs, Stephen wrote the life and business guide, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

The Seven Habits

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 be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the saw

These seven habits offer principles to a fully evolved, interdependent life, where private success must precede public success.

Your private success is determined by mastering habits 1, 2 and 3.

At this point you have reached a point of personal independence. Only then, can you leverage your own power, by interacting with others. This requires a mastery of interdependence... mastering habits 4, 5, and 6. These three habits provide the basis or your public successes.

But the process never stops - it continually evolves at higher and higher levels... habit 7 is about continual self evaluation, and renewal.

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The 8th Habit

The 8th Habit offers new ways to think about ourselves and our purposes in life. It prompts us to consider how we can perform the roles required of the new leader.

Dr. Covey believes physical self-mastery is foundational. He suggests there are three fundamental ways to develop our physical intelligence:

1. wise nutrition
2. consistent exercise
3. proper rest and prevention.

Physical self-mastery is something you can do something about immediately. By maintaining discipline in these three areas of physical self-mastery, even under trying circumstances, your ability to be disciplined in all areas of your life increases.

Use your physical well-being as your guide. It will tell you when you get off track. Listen to the messages your body sends you, and make the necessary changes to get back on course. As you increase your ability to strengthen your bodies' systems, you release the intelligences contained in the mind, the heart, and the spirit.

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Next: Keys to Influence