Stephen Covey

Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, legendary author & teacher

Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book was The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me — How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death.

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Primary Greatness

The 12 Levers of Success

by Stephen R. Covey

Stephen Covey passed away in 2012. This book was published posthumously and features a collection of wisdom focusing on the fact that private victory precedes public victory. Primary greatness. It’s all about what’s on the INSIDE. Covey tells us there are 12 levers of success—each with its own chapter in this great book. Big Ideas we explore include: Esse Quam Videri (“to BE rather than to seem”), Virtues: meet your parents, say “YES!,” your high-tech power saw and living in crescendo.

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Leadership & Optimal Living

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

by Stephen R. Covey

This classic has sold 15 million copies and was the first self-development book I read back in the day (1995 to be precise). In this Note, we'll take a quick look at all 7 Habits—from being proactive (huge!) to beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win/win, seeking first to understand, synergizing and sharpening the saw. Lots of goodness here to help us develop our character to create our ideal lives as we most fully give ourselves to the world.

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Habits & Leadership

action Body Character Modern Classic Top 101

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Sharpening the Saw
#30

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/Building a Chainsaw

Stephen Covey’s seventh habit of Highly Effective People is “Sharpen the Saw.” He tells us about the importance of renewal if we want to stay at our best and shares this parable to bring the point home: Imagine walking into a forest. You see a guy sawing a tree. He̵...

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Now, What Doesn’t Need to Get Done?
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Tip: Don’t Do Useless Stuff

Peter Drucker is known as the “Father of Modern Management.” Basically, he was the greatest business thinker of the 20th century. He once said: “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” Think about that for a moment: “There...

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Discipline Mind Vision

Today's To-Be List
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Goes Nicely with Your To-Do List

In our last +1, we talked about living your eulogy virtues TODAY. We don’t want to think of our eulogy virtues as some abstract notion of the ideal you, but as a moment to moment compass that points you in the direction of the most exemplary, noble version of yourself. Here’s one way to kee...

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Goals & Purpose

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Be Proactive (aka Response-Ability)
#218

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Habit #1 of Highly Effective People

The very first self-help book I ever read was Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The very first habit of the most effective people? Be Proactive. The easiest way to understand how to be proactive? Break down the word “responsibility.” Notice we hav...

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Antifragility & Mindfulness

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Begin with the End in Mind
#219

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Habit #2 of Highly Effective People

In our last +1, we talked about Stephen Covey’s Habit #1: Be Proactive. How? Be response-able. Step into the gap between stimulus and response and choose the optimal response. Let’s continue the theme and have fun with a quick tour through all 7 of Covey’s Habits, shall we? Habit #...

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Goals & Purpose

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Put First Things First
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Habit #3 of Highly Effective People

We’re officially on a roll with the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We’ve covered Habit #1: Be Proactive and Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind. Today? Habit #3: Put First Things First. Here’s the short story: Covey tells us that some things matter and other things ...

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Goals & Productivity

big-picture focus goals greatness Mind productivity time management tool

Think Win/Win +
#221

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Habits #4 + #5 of Highly Effective People

Continuing our series on Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, today we’ll look at Habits #4 + #5: Think Win/Win + Seek First to Understand. But, first, a little pop quiz: Can you recall the first three habits? 😃 The science of learning says: One of the bes...

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Connection & Leadership

Character Compassion connection greatness Heart relationships Spirit

Sharpen Your Saw Again (Please)
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Habit #7 of Highly Effective People

Today we wrap up our tour of the 7 Habits. One more pop quiz. Can you recall each of the prior 6? … Insert Jeopardy music here while you work out your brain… #1. Be Proactive. #2. Begin with the End in Mind. #3. Put First Things First. #4. Think Win/Win. #5. Seek First to Un...

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Peak Performance & Self-Care

Body Energy Fundamentals greatness Peak Performance Recovery self-care

First Things First
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Second Things? Not at All

One of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is “First Things First.” He also wrote a whole book by the same name. But you know where he got that phrase? Peter Drucker. It was Drucker who said “Put first things first.” And you know what he said we sh...

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Goals & Productivity

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Stephen Covey

Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, legendary author & teacher

PhilosophersNotes on Stephen Covey's Books All PhilosophersNotes

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Begin with the End in Mind #219 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Put First Things First #220 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Sharpening the Saw
#30

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Now, What Doesn’t Need to Get Done?
#153

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Today's To-Be List
#213

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Be Proactive (aka Response-Ability)
#218

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Begin with the End in Mind
#219

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Put First Things First
#220

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Think Win/Win +
#221

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Sharpen Your Saw Again (Please)
#223

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First Things First
#275

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