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Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey Quotes

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Famous Stephen Covey Quotes

“It's not enough to have values without vision ; you want to be good, but you want to be good for something. On the other hand, vision without values can create a Hitler . An empowering mission statement deals with both character and competence; what you want to be and what you want to do in your life.”

WantEnoughCharacterHandsValuesDealsVisionMissionsBe GoodWhat You WantStatementsEmpoweringCompetenceMission Statement
Book:First Things First
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“Develop all four intelligences. PQ (physical intelligence) which represents 70 trillion cells that fight disease and digest your breakfast. IQ (intellectual intelligence) EQ (emotional intelligence) the sensing and wisdom of the heart - - and SQ (spiritual intelligence) having to do with meaning, purpose and integrity around your selected value system and your believed source. When combined, they change the world for good.”

WorldHeartSpiritualPurposeValuesFightingFourEmotionalSourceIntegrityDiseaseIntellectualCellsChanging The WorldBreakfastEmotional IntelligenceSelectedValue SystemsSensingSpiritual Intelligence
Author:Stephen Covey
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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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“Be a function of your values rather than a function of the impulse or desire of any given moment.”

MomentsDesireValuesGivenFunctionImpulse
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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“When we value correct principles, we have truth - a knowledge of things as they are.”

ValuesPrinciples
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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“Being proactive is more than taking initiative. It is recognizing that we are responsible for our own choices and have the freedom to choose based on principles and values rather than on moods or condition. Proactive people are agents of change and choose not to be victims, to be reactive, or to blame others.”

PeopleValuesChoicesPrinciplesConditionsResponsibleVictimBlameMoodAgentsInitiativeRecognizingProactiveFreedom To ChoosePrinciples And Values
Book:The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
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“Synergy is the highest activity of life; it creates new untapped alternatives; it values and exploits the mental, emotional, and psychological differences between people.”

PeopleValuesDifferencesTeamEmotionalActivityConflictHighestPsychologicalAlternativesWorking TogetherTeamworkCollaborationCooperationConsensusExploitsTeam BuildingTeam WorkSynergyTeamwTeam WorkingBuilding A TeamCooperation TeamworkInspirational TeamworkCooperation And TeamworkInspirational Team BuildingTeamwork In EducationTeam Building Inspiration
Author:Stephen Covey
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“It takes a great deal of character strength to apologize quickly out of one's heart rather than out of pity. A person must possess himself and have a deep sense of security in fundamental principles and values in order to genuinely apologize.”

InspirationalHeartPersonsCharacterValuesOrderDealsPrinciplesSecurityFundamentalsPityApologyApologizingFundamental PrinciplesI ApologizeBeing SorryFriendship ApologyPrinciples And Values
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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“As you live your values, your sense of identity, integrity, control, and inner-directedness will infuse you with both exhilaration and peace. You will define yourself from within, rather than by people's opinions or by comparisons to others.”

PeopleCharacterValuesOpinionIdentityIntegrityComparisonExhilarationDefine Yourself
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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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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“Look at the word responsibility-"response-ability"-the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling.”

PeopleLooksFeelingsValuesChoicesAbilityResponsibilityConditionsProductsCircumstancesBehaviorConsciousBlameResponseConditioningProactiveAbility To Choose
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
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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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“You basically get what you reward. If you want to achieve the goals and reflect the values in your mission statement, then you need to align the reward system with these goals and values.”

IfsWantNeedsValuesGoalAchieveManagementRewardsMissionsStatementsMission Statement
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Interactive Edition
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“In the space between stimulus (what happens) and how we respond, lies our freedom to choose. Ultimately, this power to choose is what defines us as human beings. We may have limited choices but we can always choose. We can choose our thoughts, emotions, moods, our words, our actions; we can choose our values and live by principles. It is the choice of acting or being acted upon.”

HumansMayHappensActionLyingValuesChoicesHuman BeingsSpaceActingEmotionPrinciplesMoodLive ByEfficiencyOur ThoughtsOur ActionsEffectivenessStimulusOur WordsSpace BetweenFreedom To Choose
Author:Stephen Covey
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“The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. Reactive people are driven by feelings, by circumstances, by conditions, by their environment. Proactive people are driven by values - carefully thought about, selected and internalized values.”

PeoplePersonsFeelingsValuesAbilityVisionEnvironmentConditionsCircumstancesEssenceDrivenImpulseSubordinatesSelectedProactive7 Habits
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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“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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“Our struggle to put first things first can be characterized by the contrast between two powerful tools that direct us: the clock and the compass. The clock represents our commitments, appointments, schedules, goals, activities - what we do with, and how we manage our time. The compass represents our vision, values, principles, mission, conscience, direction - what we feel is important and how we lead our lives. In an effort to close the gap between the clock and the compass in our lives, many of us turn to the field of "time management."”

FeelsFirstsTwoImportantValuesTurnsGoalPowerfulEffortVisionPrinciplesStruggleOur LivesFieldsActivityConscienceCommitmentToolsDirectManagementMissionsManageClockOur TimeGapsTime ManagementContrastSchedulesCompassAppointmentsLife StruggleFirst Things FirstPut First Things First
Author:Stephen Covey
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“If you are an effective manager of your self, your discipline comes from within; it is a function of your independent will. You are a disciple, a follower, of your own deep values and their source. And you have the will, the integrity, to subordinate your feelings, your impulses, your moods to those values.”

IfsSelfFeelingsValuesFreedomSourceDisciplineIntegrityEmpowermentFunctionIndependentMoodManagersImpulseFollowersDiscipleSubordinates
Book:Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People: Living THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE Every Day
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“As human beings, we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values.”

HumansFeelingsValuesHuman BeingsDecisionConditionsBehaviorFunctionResponsiblePersonal DevelopmentSubordinates
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Interactive Edition
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“Humility is the mother of all virtues. Humility says we are not in control, principles are in control, therefore we submit ourselves to principles. Pride says that we are in control, and since our values govern our behavior, we can simply do life our way.”

WayMotherValuesPrinciplesVirtueHumilityPrideBehaviorPersonal DevelopmentSubmit
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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“Principles are natural laws that are external to us and that ultimately control the consequences of our actions. Values are internal and subjective and represent that which we feel strongest about in guiding our behavior.”

FeelsActionLawValuesNaturalPrinciplesBehaviorConsequenceInternalsStrongestSubjectiveOur ActionsNatural LawConsequences Of Our Actions
Book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
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“All things are created twice, but not all first creations are by conscious design. In our personal lives, if we do not develop our own self-awareness and become responsible for first creations, we empower other people and circumstances outside our Circle of Influence to shape much of our lives by default. We reactively live the scripts handed to us by family, associates, other people's agendas, the pressures of circumstance - scripts from our earlier years, from our training, our conditioning.”

PeopleIfsYearsFirstsSelfValuesVisionOur LivesInfluenceAwarenessDesignCreationCircumstancesShapesTrainingConsciousAll ThingsPressureResponsibleSelf AwarenessScriptsCirclesEmpoweringAgendasLive ByAssociatesPersonal LifeConditioningDefaultCircle Of Influence
Author:Stephen Covey
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“What difference would a clear vision of my principles, values, and ultimate objectives make in the way I spend my time?”

WayValuesDifferencesVisionPrinciplesClearUltimateObjectivesMy TimeClear Vision
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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