Sean Covey > Quotes

“Isn't it kind of silly to think that tearing someone else down builds you up?”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“We are free to choose our paths, but we can't choose the consequences that come with them.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“If you decide to just go with the flow, you'll end up where the flow goes, which is usually downhill, often leading to a big pile of sludge and a life of unhappiness. You'll end up doing what everyone else is doing.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“We become what we repeatedly do.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“Instead of playing to win, I was playing not to lose. It reminds me of the story I once heard about two friends being chased by a bear, when one turned to the other and said, "I just realized that I don't need to outrun the bear; I only need to outrun you.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“Education must be a lifelong pursuit. The person who doesn't read is not better off than the person who can't.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“Honesty is always the best policy, even when it's not the trend.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“Don't wait until people are dead to give them flowers.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“Life is a mission, not a career. A career is a profession, a mission is a cause. A career asks, What's in it for me? A mission asks, How can I make a difference?”
― Sean Covey

“I like how Mother Teresa put it: "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile." If you approach life this way, always looking for ways to build instead of to tear down, you'll be amazed at how much happiness you can give to others and find for yourself”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“It's especially hard to admit that you made a mistake to your parents, because, of course, you know so much more than they do.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
― Sean Covey

“Small changes can make huge destination differences.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“A fruit salad is delicious precisely because each fruit maintains its own flavor.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“All the events of your past have formed a lens, or paradigm, through which you see the world. And since no one's past is exactly like anyone else's, no two people see alike.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“These problems are real, and you can't turn off real life. So I won't try. Instead, I'll give you a set of tools to help you deal with real life.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“Now think deeply.
What have you done with your life over the past year?
How do you feel inside?”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“It's hard, but sometimes it is better to have no friends for a time than to have the wrong friends. The wrong group can lead you down all kinds of paths you really don't want to be on. And retracing your steps can be a long and hard journey”
― Sean Covey

“The following is a list of statements made many years ago by experts in their fields. At the time they were said they sounded intelligent. With the passing of time, they sound idiotic.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“The primary purpose of going to college isn't to get a great job. The primary purpose of college is to build a strong mind, which leads to greater self-awareness, capability, fulfillment, and service opportunities, which, incidentally, should lead to a better job.”
― Sean Covey, The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens

“My dad told me that when I was born my cheeks were so fat the doctors didn't know which end to spank.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“You can usually tell when a couple becomes centered on each other because they are forever breaking up and getting back together.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

“Boyfriend/Girlfriend-Centered This may be the easiest trap of all to fall into. I mean, who hasn’t been centered on a boyfriend or girlfriend at one point? Let’s pretend Brady centers his life on his girlfriend, Tasha. Now, watch the instability it creates in Brady. TASHA’S ACTIONS BRADY’S REACTIONS Makes a rude comment: “My day is ruined.” Flirts with Brady’s best friend: “I’ve been betrayed.   I hate my friend.” “I think we should date other people”: “My life is over. You don’t love me anymore.” The ironic thing is that the more you center your life on someone, the more unattractive you become to that person. How’s that? Well, first of all, if you’re centered on someone, you’re no longer hard to get. Second, it’s irritating when someone builds their entire emotional life around you. Since their security comes from you and not from within themselves, they always need to have those sickening “where do we stand” talks. if who I am is what I have and what I have is lost, then who am I? ANONYMOUS When I began dating my wife, one of the things that attracted me most was that she didn’t center her life on me. I’ll never forget the time she turned me down (with a smile and no apology) for a very important date. I loved it! She was her own person and had her own inner strength. Her moods were independent of mine. You can usually tell when a couple becomes centered on each other because they are forever breaking up and getting back together. Although their relationship has deteriorated, their emotional lives and identities are so intertwined that they can never fully let go of each other. Believe me, you’ll be a better boyfriend or girlfriend if you’re not centered on your partner. Independence is more attractive than dependence. Besides, centering your life on another doesn’t show that you love them, only that you’re dependent on them. Have as many girlfriends or boyfriends as you’d like, just don’t get obsessed with or centered on them, because, although there are exceptions, these relationships are usually about as stable as a yo-yo.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

“If you could envision the type of person God intended you to be, you would rise up and never be the same again.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile. MOTHER TERESA”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

“We first make our habits, then our habits make us. ENGLISH POET.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

“The world is a book and those who stay at home read only a page.”
― Sean Covey, The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens

“if you base your identity on having friends, being accepted, and being popular, you may find yourself compromising your standards or changing them every weekend to accommodate your friends.”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teenagers

“Who am I? I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half the things you do you might just as well turn over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed—you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great individuals 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 all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a human. You may run me for a 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?”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

“If who I am is what I have and what I have is lost, then who am I?”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens