Quotes from Stephen Covey

The clock represents our commitments, appointments, schedules, goals, activities—what we do with, and how we manage our time.

compass represents our vision, values, principles, mission, conscience, direction—what we feel is important and how we lead our lives.

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.

It is possible to be busy—very busy—without being very effective.

love is a verb. Reactive people make it a feeling. They're driven by feelings.

Search your own heart with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life.

Did you ever consider how ridiculous it would be to try to cram on a farm—to forget to plant in the spring, play all summer and then cram in the fall to bring in the harvest? The farm is a natural system. The price must be paid and the process followed. You always reap what you sow; there is no shortcut.

Whatever you can do, or dream, begin it! For boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

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.

For those filled with regret, perhaps the most needful exercise of proactivity is to realize that past mistakes are also out there in the Circle of Concern. We can't recall them, we can't undo them, we can't control the consequences that came as a result.

Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible." Personal responsibility, or proactivity, is fundamental to the first creation. Returning to the computer metaphor, Habit 1 says, "You are the programmer." Habit 2, then, says, "Write the program.

God was at the center of your life, everything else would find its proper place.