Quotes from Stephen Covey

In fact, unless I possess something, can I ever really give it?

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind®. Another Quadrant II activity is to take the time and initiative to develop a mission statement based on principles. A good mission statement is the key that effective people use to discern which things are important—

Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people.

Knowledge is the theoretical paradigm, the what to do and the why. Skill is the how to do. And desire is the motivation, the want to do.

To change the situation, you must first change yourself. To change yourself, you must first change your perceptions.

You can't have the fruits without the roots.

But we are responsible—"response-able"—to control our lives and to powerfully influence our circumstances by working on be, on what we are.

A "PEOPLE" DIMENSION. You also need a tool that deals with people, not just schedules. While you can think in terms of efficiency in dealing with time, a principle-centered person thinks in terms of effectiveness in dealing with people. There are times when principle-centered Quadrant II living requires the subordination of schedules to people.

Conscience is the endowment that senses our congruence or disparity with correct principles and lifts us toward them—when it's in shape.

While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of those actions. Consequences are governed by natural law.

The great reformer Martin Luther is quoted as saying, "I have so much to do today, I'll need to spend another hour on my knees.

A good affirmation has five basic ingredients: it's personal, it's positive, it's present tense, it's visual, and it's emotional. So I might write something like this: "It is deeply satisfying (emotional) that I (personal) respond (present tense) with wisdom, love, firmness, and self-control (positive) when my children misbehave.