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Stephen Covey

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Famous Stephen Covey Quotes

“As people enable themselves to achieve one or two goals for the year that are most meaningful, they will find power, peace of mind, and confidence in their abilities because they have achieved what they set out to accomplish. Your commitment to achieving what matters most will become the foundation for tremendous accomplishments and contributions. You will become the change you seek to make.”

PeopleYearsMindTwoMatterGoalAbilityAchieveCommitmentFoundationAccomplishMeaningfulAccomplishmentContributionPeace Of MindWhat MattersMost Meaningful
Author:Stephen Covey
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“In our own lives, having a mind-set of expecting to win increases our odds of winning. It helps us get better results. And better results help us increase our credibility and self-confidence, which leads to more positive self-expectancy, and more winning - and the upward cycle continues. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

MindSelfHelpingMotivationalWinningResultsIncreaseSelf ConfidenceGet BetterCyclesExpectingOddsFulfillingProphecyCredibilityMind SetExpectancySelf Fulfilling ProphecyPositive Self
Book:The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
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“Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. You can buy a person's hand, but you can't buy his heart; his heart is where his enthusiasm is. You can buy his back, but you can't buy his brain. That's where his creativity is. Treat employees as volunteers just as you treat customers as volunteers, because that's what they are. They volunteer the best parts - their hearts and minds.”

WantMindHeartPersonsHandsBrainCreativityTreatsCustomersEnthusiasmEmployeeVolunteerHeart And Mind
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
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“Intrinsic security doesn't come from what other people think of us or how they treat us. It doesn't come from our circumstance or out position. It comes from within. It comes from accurate paradigms and correct principles deep in our own mind and heart. It comes from inside-out congruence, from living a life of integrity in which our daily habits reflect our deepest values.”

PeopleThinkingMindHeartValuesPrinciplesSecurityPositionHabitCircumstancesIntegrityTreatsAccurateHeart And MindParadigmDaily HabitsCongruence
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Interactive Edition
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“How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most.”

KnowsInspirationalMindImportantDifferentMatterOur LivesInspirational LifeAdversityManageEach DayLove LifeTime ManagementComeback7 Habits
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
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“It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to admit it. People will forgive mistakes, because mistakes are usually of the mind, mistakes of judgment. But people will not easily forgive the mistakes of the heart, the ill intention, the bad motives, the prideful justifying cover-up of the first mistake.”

PeopleMindFirstsHeartMistakeOne ThingJudgmentForgivingIntentionIllMotiveCover Ups7 HabitsContinuous LearningSeven Habits
Author:Stephen Covey
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“Begin with the end in mind.”

InspirationalMindEndsSuccessGoalBusinessDeterminationPlanningSettingObjectivesOptimisticSetting GoalsTunnelsProject ManagementProactivePrioritizeWin WinGoals And LifeInspirational GoalHabits Of Mind7 HabitsInspirational Goal SettingMotivational GoalFocus On GoalsMotivation Goal SettingGoals And MotivationFirst Things FirstInspirational AchievementMission StatementPersonal GoalPersonal ValuesPersonal VisionPut First Things FirstSeven HabitsPersonal MissionPrinciples And ValuesPersonal Mission Statement
Book:Vision: Defining Your Destiny in Life
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“I believe that a life of integrity I the most fundamental source of personal worth. I do not agree with the popular success literature that says that self-esteem is primarily a matter of mind set, of attitude-that you can psych yourself into peace of mind. Peace of mind comes when your life is in harmony with true principles and values and in no other way.”

WayMindBelieveSelfMatterLife IsValuesLiteratureI BelieveAttitudePrinciplesSelf EsteemSourceIntegrityHarmonyAgreeFundamentalsEsteemPeace Of MindMind Set7 HabitsPsychPersonal WorthPrinciples And Values
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
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“If you were to fault yourself in one of three areas, which would it be: (1) the inability to prioritize; (2) the inability or desire to organize around those priorities; or (3) the lack of discipline to execute around them? ... Most people say their main fault is a lack of discipline. On deeper thought, I believe that is not the case. The basic problem is that their priorities have not become deeply planted in their hearts and minds. They haven't really internalized Habit 2 [Begin with the end in mind].”

PeopleIfsInspirationalMindBelieveHeartEndsProblemDesireThreeI BelieveCasesHavensHabitDisciplineAreasFaultsDeeperPrioritiesOrganizeHeart And MindInabilityPrioritize
Author:Stephen Covey
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“The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement or philosophy or creed. It focused on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.”

KnowsWayWantMindEndsPhilosophyCharacterValuesPrinciplesFocusAchievementMissionsFocusedWhat You WantStatementsContributionCreedsMission StatementPersonal MissionPersonal Mission Statement
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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“Someone once inquired of a Far Eastern Zen master, who had a great serenity and peace about him no matter what pressures he faced, "How do you maintain that serenity and peace?" He replied, "I never leave my place of meditation." He meditated early in the morning and for the rest of the day, he carried the peace of those moments with him in his mind and heart.”

MindHeartMatterMomentsMorningMeditationMastersPressureNo Matter WhatSerenityEasternHeart And MindZen Master
Book:The Stephen R. Covey Interactive Reader - 4 Books in 1: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, First Things First, and the Best of the Most Renowned Leadership Teacher of our Time
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“The person who is truly effective has the humility and reverence to recognize his own perceptual limitations and to appreciate the rich resources available through interaction with the hearts and minds of other human beings.”

MindHumansHeartPersonsHuman BeingsRichHumilityResourcesAppreciateHumbleAvailableLimitationReverenceInteractionHeart And MindBe HumbleSeven Habits
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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“To focus on technique is like cramming your way through school. You sometimes get by, perhaps even get good grades, but if you don't pay the price day in and day out, you'll never achieve true mastery of the subjects you study or develop an educated mind.”

IfsWayMindSometimesSchoolLeadershipPayStudyFocusAchieveSubjectsTechniqueEducatedGradesMasteryPay The PriceGood GradesCrammingEducated Mind
Book:The Stephen R. Covey Interactive Reader - 4 Books in 1: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, First Things First, and the Best of the Most Renowned Leadership Teacher of our Time
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“Too many vacations that last too long, too many movies, too much TV, too much video game playing - too much undisciplined leisure time in which a person continually takes the course of least resistance gradually wastes a life. It ensures that a person's capacities stay dormant, that talents remain undeveloped, that the mind and spirit become lethargic and that the heart remains unfulfilled.”

MindHeartPersonsLongLastsHappinessSpiritCoursesGamesToo MuchTalentTvsWasteCapacityRemainsVideoResistanceVacationLeisurePursuit Of HappinessDormantLeisure TimeUndisciplinedLethargic
Author:Stephen Covey
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“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”

KnowsMindMeanEndsValuesUnderstandingVisionStepsClearDestinationWhere You AreRight Direction
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
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“At the core, there is one simple, overarching reason why so many people remain unsatisfied in their work and why most organisations fail to draw out the greatest talent, ingenuity, and creativity of their people and never become truly great, enduring organisations. It stems from an incomplete paradigm of who we are - our fundamental view of human nature. The fundamental reality is, human beings are not things needing to be motivated and controlled; they are four-dimensional - body, mind, heart, and spirit.”

PeopleMindHumansHeartReasonBodyRealitySpiritHuman BeingsSimpleViewsCreativityFourFailingTalentHuman NatureDrawsFundamentalsEndureCoreReason WhyWho We AreControlledMotivatedStemParadigmIncompleteOrganisationIngenuityUnsatisfiedMind Heart
Author:Stephen Covey
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“Most people say their main fault is a lack of discipline. On deeper thought, I believe this is not the case. The basic problem is that their priorities have not become deeply planted in their hearts and minds.”

PeopleMindBelieveHeartProblemI BelieveLeadershipCasesDisciplineManagementFaultsDeeperPrioritiesTime ManagementHeart And MindPrioritize
Book:The Stephen R. Covey Interactive Reader - 4 Books in 1: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, First Things First, and the Best of the Most Renowned Leadership Teacher of our Time
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“Innocent pleasures in moderation can provide relaxation for the body and mind and can foster family and other relationships. But pleasure, per se, offers no deep, lasting satisfaction or sense of fulfillment. The pleasure-centered person, too soon bored with each succeeding level of "fun," constantly cries for more and more. So the next new pleasure has to be bigger and better, more exciting, with a bigger "high." A person in this state becomes almost entirely narcissistic, interpreting all of life in terms of the pleasure it provides to the self here and now.”

MindPersonsSelfStatesBodyNextFunTermPleasureLevelsCryOffersSucceedBiggerExcitingSatisfactionInnocentBoredFulfillmentLastingModerationRelaxationMind And BodyHere And NowPursuit Of HappinessNarcissisticInterpretingBigger And Better
Author:Stephen Covey
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“Just as the education of nerve and sinew is vital to the excellent athlete and education of the mind is vital to the scholar, education of the conscience is vital to the truly proactive, highly effective person. Training and educating the conscience, however, requires even greater concentration, more balanced discipline, more consistently honest living. It requires regular feasting on inspiring literature, thinking noble thoughts and, above all, living in harmony with its still small voice.”

ThinkingMindPersonsStillsLiteratureVoiceGreaterHonestDisciplineTrainingConscienceHarmonyAthleteNoblePersonal DevelopmentExcellentConcentrationNervesScholarBalancedConsistentlyProactiveSmall VoiceFeastingHonest Living
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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“During the first few minutes in lift-off, the astronauts were strictly controlled and were powerfully buffeted by the forces of nature struggling to keep them on earth. This is somewhat comparable to the pull of the flesh when our alarm goes off early in the morning. Unless we put "mind over mattress" and carry out the resolves made the night before, we will experience our first defeat that day. Not sufficient to finish. Mission aborted.”

MindFirstsMadeEarthNightForceMorningStruggleMinutesDefeatMissionsFleshLiftsSufficientResolveControlledAstronautAlarmsForces Of NatureMattresses
Author:Stephen Covey
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“All things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation of all things. You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind.”

WantMindFirstsEndsOrderCreationAll ThingsWhat You WantEach DayConstructionShedBricksBlueprintsMortarBricks And Mortar
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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