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You probably heard that Steven Covey died recently.
His 1990 book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, influenced many people, myself included.
In The Seven Habits, Steven Covey systematically describes how to we can successfully conduct a worthwhile, purposeful life.
In the last 20 years, he helped people apply that wisdom everywhere — in their business life as well as personal life. From this list, you’ll gather the scope of his vision and appreciate how people can use the seven habits.
- First, be proactive. “Act with initiative”
- Second, begin with the end in mind. “Personal leadership”
- Third, put first things first. “Personal management”
- Fourth, think win-win. “Interpersonal leadership”
- Fifth, seek first to understand and then to be understood “Diagnose before you prescribe”
- Sixth, synergize. “Creative cooperation”
- Seventh, sharpen the saw. “Self-renewal”
Steven Covey’s book has been widely popular, and he wrote several books afterward to expand on his original points. In fact, I’ve written here about another of Covey’s books, First Things First.
I recommend you read one of his books, take a course of his training, or watch some of his videos on YouTube. Chances are you’ve already benefitted from at least one of the seven habits, whether you learned directly from reading any of Covey’s books, or indirectly, from someone who demonstrated any of these habits.
I’ve taken all the seven habits to heart, and I re-read his books periodically. I consider each habit to be important, and my personal favorite is the seventh, “Sharpen the Saw”. I regularly pause to assess how I’m doing, where I’ve been, and where I’m heading.
It’s how I stay in the game. I look at the skills I rely on and improve them with some kind of training. I look at the skills I need to develop further and arrange how to get them.
Who couldn’t benefit from this habit?
I also use each habit as a guide as I help people plan the music for their weddings and parties. All of them count, of course, but the one I find most helpful most often is the second: “Begin with the end in mind”.
In other words, begin planning the music for your celebration with a clear vision of the mood you want — what it will look like, sound like, and feel like to be a guest there.
How about YOU? Do YOU practice any of The Seven Habits? Which is YOUR favorite?
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How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.
Great Post Robbie – he definitely was an insightful man and changed the way we look at life. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Donna, glad to share the message. I’m hoping it’ll help us all become more “highly successful”.
I agree with the philosophy of continual learning as you’ve described. Read, learn, apply then repeat over and over – that way we keep growing and developing ourselves. I love self-development and read widely but Steven Covey is up there amongst the greats. I’m reading the Slight Edge by Jeff Olson just now and it is another great book that I find so helpful towards getting closer to achieving my success goals.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts,
Lynn
Thanks, Lynn. I’ll check out Jeff Olson’s book. I agree with you about continual learning, and I feel as long as we have experiences, we’ll continue learning SOMETHING. The trick is to guide those experiences to make what we learn worthwhile. Effective coaching helps. But I’m convinced that early on we ought to learn how to learn.
One of the most important lessons I learned from Covey is that it’s never too late to try. His break out book was launched when he was in his mid-50s – that’s truly inspiring!
Thanks, Tor, Yes, he set a great example — many of them. BTW, it’s fascinating to look into the careers of other “late bloomers”.