30

Life Quotes

Stephen Covey
Stephen R. Covey is the author of the best-
selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People. Other books he has written
include First Things First, 
Principle-Centered Leadership, and
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
Families. In 2004, Covey released The 8th
Habit. In 2008, Covey released The Leader In
Me—How Schools and Parents Around the
World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a
Time. He is currently a professor at the Jon M.
Huntsman School of Business at Utah State
University. Here are 30 Life Quotes collected
and learned From Stephen R. Covey.
“Paradigms are powerful because they create
the lens through which we see the world.”
 “Each of us tends to think we see things as
they are, that we are objective. But this is not
the case. We see the world, not as it is, but as
we are – or as we are conditioned to see it.”
“Don’t argue for other people’s weaknesses. Don’t
argue for your own. When you make a mistake,
admit it, correct it, and learn from it–immediately.”
“Every human has four endowments- self awareness,
conscience, independent will and creative imagination.
These give us the ultimate human freedom…
The power to choose, to respond, to change.”
 We are not animals. We are not a product of what has
happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.
"I am not a product of my circumstances.
I am a product of my decisions." 
“Between stimulus and response,
one has the freedom to choose.”
 “Our character is basically a composite of our habits.
Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns,
they constantly, daily, express our character.”
“If you’re proactive, you don’t have to wait for circumstances
or other people to create perspective expanding experiences.
You can consciously create your own.”
“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”
“Begin with the end in mind.”
“Happiness can be defined, in part at least, as the
fruit of the desire and ability to sacrifice what we
want now for what we want eventually.”
"As long as you think the problem is out
there, that very thought is the problem" 
"Words are like eggs dropped from great heights.
You could no more call them back then ignore the
mess they left when they fell." 
“Many people seem to think that success in one area can
compensate for failure in other areas. But can it really?…
True effectiveness requires balance.”
“Without involvement, there is no commitment.
Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it.
No involvement, no commitment.”
“Management works in the system.
Leadership works on the system.”
 “Effective people are not problem-minded;
they’re opportunity minded. 
They feed opportunities and starve problems.”
"Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent
and not enough time on what is important." 
 Effective leadership is putting first things first.
Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.
Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of
success; leadership determines whether the ladder
is leaning against the right wall.
"...to learn and not to do is really not to learn.
To know and not to do is really not to know." 
The main thing is to keep the main thing
the main thing.
The key is not to prioritize what's on your
schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
 “One of the best ways to educate our hearts is to
look at our interaction with other people, because
our relationships with others are fundamentally a
reflection of our relationship with ourselves.”
 We are the creative force of our life, and through our own
decisions rather than our conditions, if we carefully learn to
do certain things, we can accomplish those goals.
 "Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential
ingredient in effective communication. It's the
foundational principle that holds all relationships." 
 "How different our lives are when we really know
what is deeply important to us, and keeping that
picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to
be and to do what really matters most." 
"I think the most significant work we'll do in
our whole life, in our whole world is done
within the four walls of our home." 
"Live, love, laugh, leave a legacy." 
"There are three constants in life...
change, choice and principles."

Thank You Very Much

Sompong Yusoontorn