There are many books that when I think back on them, I have this lingering feeling that either due to reading quickly or not taking notes, I didn’t really take in the full essence of the book. There is more to be understood and when there is time, I need to get back to it. “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven Covey is one such book. My classmate from school, RR, was probably the first person to recommend the book to me. I have probably read the first chapter at least 5 or 6 times before I finally was able to finish reading the book around 2002 when I was working in Chennai. This is the second time I’ve read this book.
It is one of those books which the moment you finish reading, you will feel inspired, to do more, to yearn to lead a more fulfilling life. You will see the world in a new perspective with a feeling within you that things are more in your control than not.
PART 1 - Paradigms and principles
- Inside-out
”There is no real excellence in all this world which can be separated from right living."" ~ David Starr Jordan
- The Seven Habits : an overview
”We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle
PART 2 - Private victory
Habit 1 - Be Proactive - Principles of personal vision
”I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
Be proactive and have control over the outcomes rather than being reactive to everything around you.
Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind- Principles of personal leadership
”What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
Always visualize the end before starting something and this habit will help you focus better towards the goal.
Habit 3 - Put First Things First - Principles of personal management
”Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” ~ Goethe
Once you begin with end in mind and start implementing things, prioritize so that you always put most important things first.
PART 3 - Public victory - Paradigms on interdependence
Habit 4 - Think Win-Win - Principles of interpersonal leadership
”There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity.” ~ Samuel Johnson “We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life."" ~ Edwin Markha
Most things in life don’t have to be a zero sum game. Win-Win is based on the assumption that there is plenty for everyone, and that success follows a co-operative approach more naturally than the confrontation of win-or-lose.
Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand and then to be Understood - Principles of empathic communication
”The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of.” ~ Pascal
Habit 6 - Synergize - Principles of creative cooperation
”I take as my guide the hope of a saint
in crucial things, unity —
in important things, diversity —
in all things, generosity” ~ Inaugural Address of President George Bush
Synergy means that 1 + 1 may equal 8, 16, or even 1,600.
PART 4 - Renewal
Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw - Principles of balanced self-renewal
”Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things… I am tempted to think…there are no little things.” ~ Bruce Barton
- Inside-out again
”The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature. ~ Ezra Taft Benson