Quotes from Stephen R. Covey

the map is not the territory." A map is simply an explanation of certain aspects of the territory.

IBM stands for three things: the dignity of the individual, excellence, and service.

In time management jargon, this is called the Pareto Principle—80 percent of the results flow out of 20 percent of the activities.

Stand apart from your dreams. Look at them. Wrestle with them until you're convinced they're based on principles that will bring results. Then use your creative imagination to explore new applications, new ways of doing things that have the principle-based power to translate dreaming into doing.

Success became more a function of personality, of public image, of attitudes and behaviors, skills and techniques that lubricate the processes of human interaction.

success in any endeavor is always derived from acting in harmony with the principles to which the success is tied.

What difference would a clear vision of my principles, values, and ultimate objectives make in the way I spend my time? How would I feel about my life if I knew what was ultimately important for me? Would a written statement of my life's purpose be valuable to me? Would it affect the way I spend my time and energy? How would a weekly reconnection to such a statement affect the things I choose to do during the week?

hands the first step to the solution. Changing our habits, changing our methods of influence and changing the way we see our no control problems are all within our Circle of Influence.

Many people with secondary greatness—that is, social recognition for their talents—lack primary greatness or goodness in their character.

As humans, our tendency is to play the victim. And unless you're watchful, it will sneak up on you and you'll start blaming outside forces—parents, spouses, bosses, the weather, the government, circumstances, "the Man," whomever—for your problems. In reality, we are not victims. We're agents. We are the creative forces of our lives, and we are free to choose. But we have to be reminded of this all the time.

first encountered this exercise many years ago at the Harvard Business School. The instructor was using it to demonstrate clearly and eloquently that two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right. It's not logical; it's psychological.

ingenuity, his resourcefulness. PC work is treating employees as volunteers just as you treat customers as volunteers, because that's what they are. They volunteer the best part—their hearts and minds.

the more we know of correct principles, the greater is our personal freedom to act wisely.

If you want to have a more pleasant, cooperative teenager, be a more understanding, empathic, consistent, loving parent.

no exercise, poor nutrition, burning the candle at both ends—and when we have a problem, we expect the medical profession to pick up the pieces.

We need to move beyond time management to life leadership

The person who is truly effective has the humility and reverence to recognize his own perceptual limitations and to appreciate the rich resources available through interactions with the hearts and minds of other human beings. That person values the differences because those differences add to his knowledge, to his understanding of reality. When we're left to our own experiences, we constantly suffer from a shortage of data.

If you don't have a mission statement, spend a few moments connecting with your inner compass and thinking about what really matters most in your life.

give me the courage to change the things which can and ought to be changed, the serenity to accept the things which cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.

They are the "Private Victories," the essence of character growth. Private victories precede public victories.

It is inspiring to realize that in choosing our response to circumstance, we powerfully affect our circumstance. When we change one part of the chemical formula, we change the nature of the results. • •

We see the world, not as it is, but as we are—or, as we are conditioned to see it. When we open our mouths to describe what we see, we in effect describe ourselves, our perceptions, our paradigms. When other people disagree with us, we immediately think something is wrong with them.

Quality begins with me. And I need to make my own decisions based on carefully selected principles and values." Proactivity cultivates this freedom. It subordinates your feelings to your values. You accept your feelings: "I'm frustrated, I'm angry, I'm upset. I accept those feelings; I don't deny or repress them. Now I know what needs to be done. I am responsible." That's the principle "I am response-able.

But is there a chance that efficiency is not the answer? Is getting more things done in less time going to make a difference