Stephen Covey Shares 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People That Are Time-Tested

"I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to
failure."

There were some long discussions in our editorial room about when this page should be added to the website. The subject matter involved specifics of many of the pages we had in mind and are now in our page directory. Habits of highly effective people are based on integrity, character, morality and ethics, and a desire to serve.

In this page we will share some of the best teaching from an expert on habits. Many of our younger generation haven't heard of these experts. We don't want anyone to miss their wisdom.

Consider this statement. Nothing drives personal growth and leadership development more than the power of habit. That sentence could be easily dismissed and ignored. Accepting or rejecting is a choice. Everyone gets to make that choice.

Habits come down to the perception of success and the definition of ethics. On one hand we define ethics in the form of character traits. Honesty, integrity, sense of fairness, humility, and courage are a few of those traits.

The other side of the coin depicts purely personal motives. Public image, individual skills, behavior that is more "me-first" and how will it help me. Both are the result of habits.

"I am completely at your command. Half of the things you do you might as well turn over to me and I will do them - quickly and correctly."

The Power of Habit

All of the pages on our website are the result of habits. Some tell you about how past selfish habits led us down paths to emptiness and wasted effort. We write these to show you how to quit bad habits.

We recognize that the power of habit is so strong, this effort could be easily dismissed by anyone who has accepted that second version of success and ethics. If someone is satisfied with only looking out for themselves, has no interest in personal growth or in leaving things better than they found them, habit will drive them to click out of our pages and never return.

But maybe something will happen that just might get them to join the folks whose habits guide them to grow in character, to embrace the ethics of fair play and honesty. Changing bad habits is pretty simple. Replace them with empowering habits. What follows are the time-tested 7 habits of highly effective people. They work every time they are put into practice.

We're also including a fairly short video for visual learners that will compliment what we're describing in this page.


"I am easily managed - you must be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically."

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

These seven habits came from the mind of Stephen Covey who was one of the best teachers of personal development and relationship building in both one on one, and organizational situations. His book of the same name is a classic and has inspired millions of people, including the editors of this website. We highly recommend it. In this page we'll give you a brief overview of those habits of highly effective people.

You'll notice how they build upon each other. This is where we got the idea to build our pages in a planned order. When we have expert guidance, it's foolish to ignore that guidance.

7 Habits

1.) Be Proactive: This habit is all about being accountable. Take responsibility for your actions and the end results of those actions. It's about respond, rather than react. We don't blame the world for our problems. We don't cover ourselves in victim mentality. Our actions are based on strong character traits and on sound ethics of fair play and honesty. We work on what we can control. We don't waste time on things we can't control. 

2.) Begin With The End in Mind: Think about cemeteries and headstones. They have the born date, a dash, and then the death date. This second habit is all about that dash. What do you want your life to mean when it is over? What did you do with that dash? Did your actions reflect strong character values based on a mission statement of service? Or was it all "me-first?"

3.) Put First Things First: What can you do today, in this moment to act on those first two habits? Your decision is also a habit. Will your choice be based on integrity and humility? Number three allows you to prioritize your time with things that line up with your core values. This important habit will also illustrate your integrity in keeping the commitments you made to yourself and others. What will you do right now, today, to move those important goals forward?

4.) Think Win/Win: This isn't really a learned skill and it isn't really a technique. It is critical in the overall effectiveness of these habits of highly effective people. The habit centers on strong moral character, a willingness to involve other people and a desire to make a positive difference. This habit is a sort of mindset that one person's success doesn't diminish another person. We want to build relationships and make decisions based on the idea of a rising tide lifts all boats.

5.) Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood: Regular readers have seen this in several of our pages. All four previous habits are taking us to this place. Better listening, courageous compassion and a desire to make a difference are part of this habit. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person first. Then you will be able to speak to them in a way that lines up with how they perceive things. So many of the hot-button issues in our nation could be solved by utilizing this habit. But that would require embracing all of the other habits on this list and that begins with the last two paragraphs in the first section of this page.

6.) Synergize: Achieving synergy is the most powerful habit of a win/win mindset. It involves a collection of different personalities all working toward an end goal that makes a positive difference. This habit requires humility, a degree of vulnerability that allows for openness, and acceptance of different personality types. All of the previous habits are combined to promote teamwork and accountability for the end results of our actions.

7.) Sharpen The Saw: Stephen Covey always stressed balance in life. Take care of your physical health including nutrition, rest, and exercise. Take care of your emotional and social health through personal relationships, service to others, compassion for people in need, and leaving a positive example in that dash in the headstone.

Take care of your spiritual life by creating time for quiet thought, for establishing your core values that will guide your life, and for relaxation. Take care of your mental life by continuing to learn new skills, to read, to write, to plan how you will make a positive difference.

"I am the servant of great people, and alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine though I work with the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a person."

The End Result of These Habits of Highly Effective People

When it all comes together, as you focus on one part of sharpening the saw, you'll find the other parts get better at the same time. Your attention to taking care of physical health will improve your mental health. Your own personal synergy will take shape.

The same is true in the big picture of life. Put all these seven habits from Stephen Covey together and you will create a synergy of combined effort that will help change our world.

Habits are powerful. They can keep you dependent on hand outs and lock you into a "woe is me" scenario of wallowing in self pity. Or we can change habits to take us out of dependence, right on past independence, which is good, but good is the enemy of best.

We want to fill in that dash with a synergy level that strives for a sort of interdependence that involves team-building and leadership development that changes lives. We get to decide where we stand on habits.

"You may run me for profit or run me for ruin -it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am Habit."

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