If the big rocks don't go in first, they aren't going to fit in later. Stephen Covey More Quotes by Stephen Covey More Quotes From Stephen Covey Will we act upon life, or will we merely be acted upon? Stephen Covey Communication is the most important skill in life. We spend most of our waking hours communicating. But consider this: You've spent years learning how to read and write, years learning how to speak. But what about listening? Stephen Covey communicationwritingyears Perform anonymous service. Whenever we do good for others anonymously, our sense of intrinsic worth and self-respect increases. ... Selfless service has always been one of the most powerful methods of influence. Stephen Covey influencepowerfulself Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. You can buy a person's hand, but you can't buy his heart; his heart is where his enthusiasm is. You can buy his back, but you can't buy his brain. That's where his creativity is. Treat employees as volunteers just as you treat customers as volunteers, because that's what they are. They volunteer the best parts - their hearts and minds. Stephen Covey creativityhearthands All things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. Stephen Covey empoweringdreampeople "If I make deposits into an Emotional Bank Account with you through courtesy, kindness, honesty, and keeping my commitments to you, I build up a reserve. Your trust toward me becomes higher, and I can call upon that trust many times if I need to. I can even make mistakes and that trust level, that emotional reserve, will compensate for it. My communication may not be clear, but you'll get my meaning anyway. You won't make me "an offender for a word." When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective." Stephen Covey honestychangelife Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation of good relationships with others. Stephen Covey good-relationshipdisciplineself 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. Stephen Covey independentfreedomintegrity You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good. Stephen Covey changemotivationalinspirational We must never be too busy to take time to sharpen the saw. Stephen Covey sawsbusytime 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. Stephen Covey effectivenessspacelying Free your heart from hatred - forgive. Free your mind from worries - most never happen. Live simply and appreciate what you have. Give more. Expect less. Stephen Covey free-your-mindbusinessheart Integrity is conforming reality to our words - in other words, keeping promises and fulfilling expectations. Stephen Covey keeping-promisesintegrityreality 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. Stephen Covey focuscharacterphilosophy The key to growth is to learn to make promises and to keep them. Stephen Covey accountabilitygrowthkeys The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Stephen Covey perseverancebasketballinspirational Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us. Stephen Covey freedomattitudeinspirational The first job of a leader-at work or at home-is to inspire trust. It's to bring out the best in people by entrusting them with meaningful stewardships, and to create an environment in which high-trust interaction inspires creativity and possibility. Stephen Covey homemeaningfuljobs If we want to make a change in our lives, we should first focus on our personal attitudes and behaviors. Stephen Covey focusattitudefirsts The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. Stephen Covey impulse-controlself-controlessence
