Paul M. > Paul's Quotes

“But until a person can say deeply and honestly, "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday," that person cannot say, "I choose otherwise.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“Start with the end in mind. ”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”
― Stephen R. Covey

“We are free to choose our actions, . . . but we are not free to choose the consequences of these actions.”
― Stephen R. Covey, First Things First

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”
― Stephen R. Covey

“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

“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities”
― Stephen R. Covey

“The way we see the problem is the problem.”
― Stephen R. Covey

“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.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“You can't talk your way out of a problem you behaved your way into!”
― Stephen R. Covey

“to learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic”
― Stephen Covey

“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“Two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right. It's not logical; it's psychological.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control - myself.”
― Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment.”
― Stephen Covey

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”
― Stephen Covey

“Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Habit 6: Synergize
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw”
― Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
― Stephen Covey

“[W]isdom is the child of integrity—being integrated around principles. And integrity is the child of humility and courage. In fact, you could say that humility is the mother of all virtues because humility acknowledges that there are natural laws or principles that govern the universe. They are in charge. Pride teaches us that we are in charge. Humility teaches us to understand and live by principles, because they ultimately govern the consequences of our actions. If humility is the mother, courage is the father of wisdom. Because to truly live by these principles when they are contrary to social mores, norms and values takes enormous courage.”
― Stephen R. Covey

“It's not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts us.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.”
― Stephen R. Covey

“Happiness, like unhappiness, is a proactive choice.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“People simply feel better about themselves when they’re good at something.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
― Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

“people are working harder than ever, but because they lack clarity and vision, they aren’t getting very far. They, in essence, are pushing a rope...with all of their might.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

“Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out”
― Stephen R. Covey