Episode # 15 - The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Habits By Stephen Covey

Today is April 25, 2021 and This is Episode 15, and Today, we will be reviewing the Audible Book, “The 7 Habits Of Highly Successful People”: Powerful Lessons In Personal Change By Stephen Covey. This audible book is one of the best books on personal development that exists today. Unfortunately, the Author is no longer with us because he passed away on July 16, 2012. But before he passed, He wrote this book and other books in reference to the 7 habits. In the beginning of the audible book, he gives an overview of the 7 habits by leading with two quotes about our habits. The first quote is from Aristotle. “We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit”.  Our character basically is a composite of our habits. This leads Us to the 2^nd Quote: Sow a thought, reap an action, sow an action, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, reap a destiny.

Habit # 1 – Principles of Vision: Be Proactive: To be Proactive means that we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, and not our conditions. Between stimulus and response is our freedom to choose. When we are responsible, this means that we are response able or, able to respond to our surroundings and what happens to us on a day to day basis. We cannot let our future become a hostage of our past. It is not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us, is what hurts us. There are no have to in life, there are only choose to. The Proactive approach is to change from the inside out and not the outside in.

Habit # 2 – Principles of Personal Leadership: Begin With The End In Mind: What lies behind us and what lies before us, are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us. Beginning with the end in mind means to begin today with the image, picture, or paradigm of the end of your life as your frame of reference, or the criterion by which everything else is examined. It also means to begin with a clear understanding of your destination. To understand where you are going, so that you understand where you are now. So that the steps you take are always in the right direction. Leadership is the first creation. Management is the second creation. Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things. Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success. Leadership is making sure that the ladder is leaning, on the right wall.  

Habit # 3 – Principles of Personal Management: Put First Things First: Things which matter most, must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. Putting first things first is the ability to act, rather than being acted upon. Effective management is putting first things first, while leadership determines what the first things are. The successful person has the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do. Putting first things first is the ability to distinguish between that which is important, and that which is unimportant. The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. Your schedule is your Servant, not your Master. The Key to effective management is delegation. When you delegate authority, you are leveraging your time and the time of others.

Habit # 4 – Principles of Interpersonal Leadership: Think Win Win: Think Win Win is a human philosophy of human interaction that seeks a mutual benefit. Win Win also means that   agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial. Win Win is not about my way or your way but, a better way. Win Win is the only real alternative in interdependent realities. People who do not honor a Win Win approach, are People who have a scarcity mentality. A Person with a scarcity mentality thinks that there is not enough for me, therefore I think Win Lose. From Relationships flow the agreements that give definition and direction to Win Win. You can only achieve Win Win solutions with Win Win processes, the ends and the means are the same.

Habit # 5 – Principles of Empathetic Communication: Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood: This Principle is the Key to Interpersonal Communication. We can only appreciate what we understand. To seek first to understand is like being a Doctor who must know what is wrong with a Patient before prescribing a prescription. Empathic listening is the Key to understanding someone. Empathic means showing empathy. The first step of empathic listening, is to repeat back parts of what a Person just said. When the Person hears back parts of what they just told You, they know that you are listening. When you can present your own ideas clearly, specifically, visually and contextually, in the context of a deep understanding of their challenges and concerns, you significantly increase the credibility of your ideas and become understood.

Habit # 6 – Principles of Creative Cooperation: Synergize: What is Synergy? Synergy means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Valuing the differences is the essence of Synergy. All People see the World not as it is, but as they are. When we are left to our own experiences, we constantly suffer from a lack of data. Synergy is particularly powerful in dealing with negative forces that work against growth and change. Synergy means “two heads are better than one.” Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions to old problems. Synergy is based on differences and similarities. Those who have synergy celebrate their differences and make similarities. Synergy is working together. Teamwork Makes The Dream Work.

Habit # 7 – Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal: Sharpen The Saw: Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have, which is “You”. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. It means to constantly on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to self-improve, You. One way of sharpening the saw is by reading. The Person who doesn’t read, is no better off than the Person who can’t read. When you sharpen a saw, you are renewing it in order to use it successfully. Renewal is the principle, and the process, that empowers us to move on an upward spiral of growth, change, and of continuous improvement. Every day provides a new opportunity for renewal, and a new opportunity to recharge yourself.

Closing Thoughts: On scale of 1 to 5, I would give this audible book, a solid 5, for providing 7 Highly Effective Habits, that can change a person’s life forever. To find out more about The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Go To: www.audible.com and download this audible book, or go to www.franklincovey.com/the-7-habits.com

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