Quotes from Stephen Covey

If our sense of emotional worth comes primarily from our marriage, then we become highly dependent upon that relationship.

But people who end up with the good jobs are the proactive ones who are solutions to problems, not problems themselves, who seize the initiative to do whatever is necessary, consistent with correct principles, to get the job done.

By making and keeping promises to ourselves and others, little by little, our honor becomes greater than our moods.

It's not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts

As long as you feel you are serving others, you do the job well. When you are concerned only with helping yourself, you do it less well—a law as inexorable as gravity.

We have conscience—a deep inner awareness of right and wrong, of the principles that govern our behavior, and a sense of the degree to which our thoughts and actions are in harmony with them. And we have independent will—the ability to act based on our self-awareness, free of all other influences.

Effective interdependence can only be built on a foundation of true independence.

Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny," the maxim goes. Habits are powerful factors

Frustration is a function of our expectations, and our expectations are often a reflection of the social mirror rather than our own values and priorities.

Never compromise with honesty.

When we really, deeply understand each other, we open the door to creative solutions and third alternatives. Our differences are no longer stumbling blocks to communication and progress. Instead, they become the stepping stones to synergy.

Before a performance, a sales presentation, a difficult confrontation, or the daily challenge of meeting a goal, see it clearly, vividly, relentlessly, over and over again. Create an internal "comfort zone." Then, when you get into the situation, it isn't foreign. It doesn't scare you. Your creative, visual right brain is one of your most important assets, both in creating your personal mission statement and in integrating it into your life.