Covey

When Steven Covey came out with his original "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" I didn't think there was much profound thought involved.  I mean, "begin with the end in mind"?  Duh.  But the reality is that there are a lot of people (most?) who don't really have a clue about managing and leading.  Many get thrust into positions that they either aren't ready or trained for or they just don't want the responsibility but do want the pay.  So they muddle through.  So over the years I've come to grudgingly admire his original list.  Everyone can take something from it and make themselves better leaders, better managers, better people.

A friend posted the list below on FB.  I'd never seen it before but I think it's got a lot of great points and is pretty relevant to anyone trying to figure out how to be better at work and in life.  There are no easy answers to any of it, and some list isn't going to offer a magical solution.  But perhaps someone will read these and glean something out of it that will help them be better.  Better at work, better at life, better in relationships...just better.  And that would be a good thing.

Twelve Thoughts from Stephen Covey--
1. The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. 
2. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. 
3. Live out of your imagination, not your history. 
4. Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships. 
5. Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important. 
6. I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. 
7. You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. The way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.” 
8. I teach people how to treat me by what I will allow. 
9. Love is a verb. Love – the feeling – is the fruit of love the verb or our loving actions. So love her. 
10. Live, Love, laugh, leave a legacy. 
11. There are three constants in life…change, choice, and principles. 
12. Life is not accumulation, it is about contribution.