Quotes from Stephen R. Covey

The message sent to one is truly sent to all because everyone is a "one," and they know that if you treat one that way, all it takes is a change of circumstances and you'll treat them that way, too.

But the greatest opportunities and boundless accomplishments of the Knowledge Worker Age are reserved for those who master the art of "we.

The contrasting principle of growth and hope throughout history is the discovery that "I am the creative force of my life

Could synergy not create a new script for the next generation—one that is more geared to service and contribution, and is less protective, less adversarial, less selfish; one that is more open, more trusting, more giving, and is less defensive, protective, and political; one that is more loving, more caring, and is less possessive and judgmental?

Unless there are good feelings between people, reasoning intelligently is almost impossible.

He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn't reserve a plot for weeds.

Principles are guidelines for human conduct that are proven to have enduring, permanent value. They're fundamental.

It has everything to do with having a wrong map. If you have the right map of Chicago, then diligence becomes important, and when you encounter frustrating obstacles along the way, then attitude can make a real difference. But the first and most important requirement is the accuracy of the map.

If you don't let a teacher know at what level you are—by asking a question, or revealing your ignorance—you will not learn or grow. You cannot pretend for long, for you will eventually be found out. Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education. Thoreau taught, "How can we remember our ignorance, which our growth requires, when we are using our knowledge all the time?

The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing

Just listen and seek to understand.

Empathic listening is also risky. It takes a great deal of security to go into a deep listening experience because you open yourself up to be influenced. You become vulnerable. It's a paradox, in a sense, because in order to have influence, you have to be influenced. That means you have to really understand.

Often, people with a Scarcity Mentality harbor secret hopes that others might suffer misfortune—not terrible misfortune, but acceptable misfortune that would keep them "in their place." They're always comparing, always competing. They give their energies to possessing things or other people in order to increase their sense of worth.

You see your competition as a learning source, as friends who can keep you sharp and teach you where your weaknesses are.

Empathy is not sympathy. A sympathy is a form of agreement. Empathy is not agreeing with someone; it is fully, deeply understanding that person, emotionally as well as intellectually.

to be trusted, it is said, is greater than to be loved. In the long run, I am convinced, to be trusted will be also to be loved.

5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood).

The inside-out approach says that private victories precede public victories, that making and keeping promises to ourselves precedes making and keeping promises to others. It says it is futile to put personality ahead of character, to try to improve relationships with others before improving ourselves

Satisfied needs do not motivate.

Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things… I am tempted to think… there are no little things.

Look at the word responsibility—"response-ability"—the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling.

Are You Paying Trust Taxes, or Earning Trust Dividends?

Only basic goodness gives life to technique.

It is the weak who are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.