ive just bought the well known book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, by Stephen Covey. This is a best selling book that’s incredibly popular around the world. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to read it anytime soon.
Stephen Covey was a successful author, unfortunately passing away in 2012. He wrote many great books on the topic of self-enrichment, and if you haven’t already read some of his books, then you need to do so!
The most important thing in business is to understand that it is not about money, it is about changing people’s minds about money.
[Image: Covey, Stephen R. – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989)]
The biggest trap most entrepreneurs fall in is believing they are the business and thinking other people are there to do what they’re doing for them.
44 Wise Stephen Covey Quotes to Memorize
Work should be your constant state of mind: always in the present, always working on a goal, and always be mindful of where you are and where you want to be.
There are many good relationships that are not based on trust, but there are no good partnerships that are not based on trust.
Show respect and appreciation for people, and respect them back. They will feel respected, safe, and their defenses will go down, allowing you to work on solutions rather than problems.
All of us are unique in a way. We should learn to embrace our differences.
As we grow physically, we need to be constantly lifting weights in order to build those muscles. It is in those moments when we face adversity that we learn the most about ourselves.
When we don’t delegate, we end up having to do everything ourselves, and that often leads to doing things so badly that we lose control or credibility, which can have ripple effects throughout a company. We can either do better and take control of our own lives and delegate or we can stay in our comfort zone and continue to do things in our own way, and that won’t ever change.
A mission statement is a way for your business to establish its core values. This helps you to understand what makes your business unique. You can then use that as a benchmark to measure how well you are doing.
8. We can’t accomplish anything that we don’t first visualize and then create a plan to achieve.
People want to collaborate and work together, and work to become more synergistic. They don’t want to go it alone or have someone doing things for them. Working together is better as long as you respect each other’s ideas and opinions and put aside your own to help achieve common goals.
10th of 44 Stephen Covey Quotes
Being a product of our nature means that everything that has happened to us – the good, the bad, the things we’ve done, the people we’ve known, the places and things around us – is in us, an integral part of who we are and who we will always be. This will happen regardless of the life we live.
While outsourcing is inevitable, and I don’t think it’s necessarily treating people like things, it’s important that we treat them with compassion and respect.
I could have never imagined how the world would change around me. I am surrounded by some amazing individuals that are doing great things. I just have to keep moving in the right direction. Life has certainly been challenging but I have never been happier than right now. This month will be the best I have seen in my life. I am focused and I am determined to get where I want to be with my education and business. I can’t wait to see what the month has in store.
This is a pretty accurate paraphrase. That might not be the exact words, but the meaning is the same.
Every time I think that there is a problem, that’s the problem.
Every time I think there are problems, I’m in a problem.
I have a philosophy that teaches you by learning and you learn by teaching.
Individuals, if not a team or collective body, can achieve personal success, but never can they achieve the success of a collective, be it a team or corporation.
Sorry is best when it’s from the heart. It’s great to have a sense of security in fundamental principles and values, but you’ll never be truly secure until you’re secure in the God of Israel.
Human beings are not capable of creating a great civilization without a large quantity of free time. As a result, people have learned to use their free time for the acquisition of material wealth. Most of the time they spend their free time either doing nothing at all, or watching television or playing video games.
20th of 44 Stephen Covey Quotes
Leadership is a choice that is often a difficult one, because it is a choice that is not always understood as something that is done by position, but rather something that is done by one individual working to be a better version of themselves.
Winning isn’t about winning over everyone, but creating a winning culture. To the winner the loss isn’t so bad, and by changing your culture, others are going to lose.
I believe that there are three constants in life… change, choice, and principles.
It is the task of the leader to prioritize tasks so their employees can get the most important work done.
Management is the efficiency of climbing the ladder of success. Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
Home is where there is unconditional love and support; where you can be who you are; where there is a space for personal freedom and development; where you have the chance to choose your own direction. At home, you have the possibility of experiencing positive self-determined learning.
This is one of those quotes that gets read out a lot, but often the way people think about it is completely wrong. Because the phrase is taken in its own context, it can easily be misunderstood.
We are the creative force of our life. We have the ability to accomplish whatever we want. Through our decisions rather than our conditions, we can accomplish our goals.
We cannot become better if we do not know what our purpose is. You must know who you are and what you are about before you can start to work on bettering yourself.
A leader with good leadership qualities is one who works on himself before he works on his teams. He gets the results right first, then does the right things. He is disciplined. The leadership of a leader is all about how he carries himself.
30th of 44 Stephen Covey Quotes
You cannot talk yourself out of problems you behave yourself into. We are all creatures of habit. This is true not only with money, but with our actions. If we do not take action in every day life, we are setting ourselves up for failure in the future.
“It was great to have parents that told me I could do and be anything I wanted to be.”
This is a perfect example of what I believe is the most valuable thing you can impart to an entrepreneur – confidence. In an industry as competitive and challenging as entrepreneurship, confidence is often the most valuable asset you can have. It’s not about having all the answers, it’s about making a plan and acting on it.
I do not like making mistakes, so I would rather deny the problem (because it makes me feel bad). However, if you accept that you made a mistake, you can go ahead and correct it. This is called a “proactive” approach to resolving a mistake.
I’m going to do the best I can and keep doing it. It’s always a great feeling to know that we were successful.
Be curious about others, and then treat them in a way that’s conducive to your curiosity.
The challenge of work-life balance is without question a major struggle for modern men to face.
You are not small, you are not unimportant, and you are certainly not powerless. Your power is not limited by your imagination. You can imagine anything you choose.
To be acknowledged by others, your inner feelings are to be acknowledged, and to be acknowledged by others is to be fulfilled.
The main thing for you to do is to learn to be focused, and to stay in the present and the now.
Being realistic does not mean you will never be pleased by anything you do or achieve.
There is a difference between what you want and what you actually want.
A person with a strong sense of identity will not be easily swayed by the demands of others.
If you’re trying to prove the other person wrong, you aren’t listening.
To know something but not to use it is like not knowing anything. To understand something but not apply it is like not understanding anything.
My voice is loud. My voice is strong. My voice is loud. It is strong. It is loud. It is loud. It is loud. Is loud.
5% of the world’s population is in the United States of America. With 5 people in the U.S. population, we can produce almost 29% of the world’s goods and services.
There is no point to a goal without the end in mind.
Summary
Stephen Covey taught us to be “better” by focusing on our strengths and improving weaknesses.