The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

This book was a DNF. I firmly believe that this book could be summarized in a 5 page article. There is so much useless text that the author added to hit a quota. There was nothing groundbreaking, or overly informative. Anything that is helpful, has been smothered or buried in unnecessary text.

Some great points to think about. Great insight why it's important to figure out what you stand for and stick to it.

Parts of this book that I love, and parts that I detest. Not sure where it places it as a whole.

As a whole, I would avoid reading, and would recommend Nathaniel Branden isntead.

The parts I like: It is to look at things at their core, to realise that any outward manifestation is only meaningful only insofar as it is a genuine expression of inwards. So when you celebrate those things - you can enjoy your achievements, and that's not a paradox, that's not vanity. Because you're enjoying that you have acted in accordance with your own essence. And this is what helps you withstand the consequences when they are negative, too. But all these quick “tools” - behavioural tactics - ultimately are doomed to failure, insofar as this expression isn't the downstream manifestation of this inner source.

Problems:
This book was written on the train of the sneering Viktor Frankl Western Buddhism thing
Alongside it not being supported by the neuroscience (can expand on this later).
Is that it doesn't give any weight to the role of suffering
We didn't evolve to suffer and feel sadness for no reason. These aren't just parts of ourselves that we should try to meditate ourselves out of. We are not just these plain people who can subjectively ascribe any meaning to our experiences. Moreover, nor should we want to do so. We were not given pain so that we can simply look for some meditative tool to avoid it. No, instead we have to experience the pain, lean it into it.

I bought this, so I felt obligated to read it.

It just made me feel like an awful person for not living up to the 7 Habits.

Great ideas here. Some of them are part of my life now, adapted to my mindset one by one throughout the years. There is still much to learn though. All these ideas contained in this book are described in a straightforward way, in a few words and pages. In reality, the assimilation, interiorization and daily practice of each one of those take years, sometimes decades. Personal growth is a long and bumpy road indeed.

3.5 stars

7 Habits is one of those books you hear about from people from all industries and all ages. I'm always skeptical of books that fit that description as I find it very rare that people agree on things.

This book was so thought-provoking and inspiring for me. I'm currently taking a look at my life, health, and career as I get older. And this book came into my view at the perfect time.

Covey offers actionable, clear advice on how to be a better leader, but also a better person. His examples are from different viewpoints, including different ones than his (he admits he's very religious towards the end and how he approached writing the book with that in mind). However, I don't think one should discount it just because of the religious lens. I'm not a religious person and I find all of the habits to be actionable for me.

I'd recommend this to anyone who is confused in a job or career, as a new manager, or just looking to improve their life.

Audiobook - DNF

I listened to about 30% before stopping. The audiobook was too mundane and dreary and the book was hard to follow. I know it is a highly recommended book, so I will try to read a physical copy of it at a later date.

I really liked this book in parts. Part of it is focused on business prospective and so I had a hard time relating to that. I did finish the whole book and now I plan to go back through more slowly and concentrate on each section and how it applies to me.

It's a bit boring. It could be summarized in 200 pages or less. Some of the examples are unrealistic. I don't recommend

I'm giving up at 30% and this has officially become my first DNF. I've put down some books for later for not being the right time. I can't say the same with this one. This is more like a “I don't wanna see you again ever” kind of book.

Amazon kept recommending me this damn book for some reason, always the first on the list. It felt like someone trying to sell me Herbalife. This is not for me, hell no.

This book is the most life-changing book I have read till date!! It makes you think, reflect, and gives an actionable plan to make a lasting positive change in yourself.

1/5 stars

I despise this book. I had zero problems with it before because we read it casually in school. Then they decided to make it part of the curriculum, making it mandatory. I believe people need to be reminded that this does not work for everyone. Still, they decided to make it mandatory for teachers to read this to us and make us do assignments related to the habits mentioned in this book. This was given to us along with a planner. As a person who wasn't aware they had ADHD at the time, this made it almost impossible for me to pass the class. Most of the habits were useless, and after some research, some of them have been debunked. I wouldn't recommend this book if you need help being effective.

Why did I read this?
I think it can be said that this book belongs on many people's ‘everyone should read this book at least once in their lives'-list. Therefore, of course it was also on mine. Combined with an interest in becoming more effective/successful I thought it time to start this book.

My view
There already exist great reviews and summaries of this book, so I want to focus on what I found unique about this book compared to the little literature I've read on this subject.

I really enjoyed the read, as Covey carefully constructs and explains a whole system of evaluating successfulness, effectiveness and a clear way of talking about Personal Change. It not only answers the question of which habits to develop to become more effective, but starts with why you should develop those habits and how to measure a new habits effectiveness.
As Covey states in the introduction, this book really focuses on deep-rooted, long lasting character traits, rather than short, quick-fix personality changes and having a concise way of describing this is essential in my view.
I loved this book more than Brendon Burchard's more recent book ‘High Performance Habits', of which I've listened to some chapters and a podcast interview. I think the Habits mostly overlap, but have slightly different names. I think Habit 6 (synergize) in Covey's book was not really actionable, and is something which (magically) might come about, but can not be formed by habit. I think a Habit like Get Energize from Burchard's book would be better.
I also enjoyed Covey's way of writing better. I feel Burchard starts from a point of view where the reader is currently in a negative effectiveness level and needs powerful and much coaching to address his/her problems. Covey's book on the other hand already talks to the reader like they are capable people and just want to slightly but consistently want to improve their behavior.

I would be interested to follow this book up with ‘The power of habit'. Covey's book has given me the tools to address what character traits I want to change, but I think The Power of Habit might give some practical examples of daily habits which might help me achieve higher effectiveness.

After receiving numerous recommendations to read this and hearing countless references to it, I finally set about reading The Seven Habits when asked to serve as a mentor to a doctoral student at my university. I took my time, really wanting to understand the basis of the habits and to determine their utility in my own development as a leader, father, husband, business owner, etc.

What first struck me was the breadth of each chapter. Not that I expected a quick-read self-help book, but I now understand why people return to this one again and again. There's simply no way to absorb it all upon one reading.

As expected, it's well-written and connects across several dimensions. Self-help? Check. Leadership development? Check. Living faithfully in the world? Yep.

My version included commentary from Sean Covey with each chapter. I enjoyed those writings, as they show how The Seven Habits evolve and how they play for others.

Overall, I wouldn't label myself a Covey disciple, and from what I gather in the reading, that's good because it wasn't the author's intent. I've gained another tool for questioning things and for framing my relationships with others.

About the book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People introduces the habits which single out people who deal particularly effectively with the world around them. Covey believes that people who lead successful and fulfilling lives do not pursue the state of individual independence as their ultimate goal, but instead align themselves internally with universal principles such as honesty and integrity.

About the author: Stephen Covey was an American author, advisor and lecturer. Aside from books on the subject of motivational skills and self-help, Covey also wrote religious texts. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is his best-known work.

My highlights:

What's in it for me? Adopt the habits that distinguish highly effective people from the herd.

Sharpen the saw: Don't work yourself to death. Strive for a sustainable lifestyle that affords you time to recuperate and recharge, so that you can stay effective in the long-term.
Be proactive: You have a natural need to wield influence on the world around you, so don't spend your time just reacting to external events and circumstances. Take charge and assume responsibility for your life.
Begin with an end in mind: Don't spend your life working aimlessly, tackling whatever job is at hand. Have a vision for the future and align your actions accordingly to make it into a reality.
Put first things first: To prioritize your work, focus on what's important, meaning the things that bring you closer to your vision of the future. Don't get distracted by urgent but unimportant tasks.
Think win-win: When negotiating with others, don't try to get the biggest slice of the cake, but rather find a division that is acceptable to all parties. You will still get your fair share, and build strong positive relationships in the process.
Seek first to understand, then to be understood: When someone presents us with a problem, we often jump right to prescribing a solution. This is a mistake. We should first take time to really listen to the other person and only then make recommendations.
Synergize: Adopt the guiding principle that in a group, the contributions of many will far exceed those of any individual. This will help you to achieve goals you could never have reached on your own.

To change, you have to address your character and not your behavior.
There are two routes to self-improvement and to changing your own life:One way is addressing the skills necessary for a certain desired behavior; that is, by studying communication skills or time-management techniques. Alternatively, you can take the long way round by digging a bit deeper and working on your character: the fundamental habits and belief systems which form your view of the world.
If you really want to change, you need to work from the inside out.
Working on character involves aligning personal paradigms with universal principles.
Align your personal paradigms with larger, universal principles – values such as fairness, honesty and integrity.
Paradigms are the building blocks of our character. They are our fundamental principles – the glasses through which we see the world.Our perception is not an objective reality, but rather a subjective interpretation tinted by the paradigm-glasses we wear.The habits which form a large part of our actions are direct results of those paradigms.Since they are the core of our character, paradigms are the key to making any change. If we want to change ourselves, we have to change our fundamental principles first. Only in this way can we change our subjective reality, and with it our behavior.You also need to be conscious of your own paradigms.
“Sharpen the saw” if you want to keep sawing.
Stay physically fit
7 October, 2017 15:47 Share
Stay mentally healthy
Take care of your social and emotional health
Spiritual health also contributes greatly to lasting effectiveness: this can mean praying or meditating, but it can also mean regularly confronting your own norms and values and reflecting actively upon them.
Consciously make time to recuperate and recharge
“Be proactive” and take control of your own fate.
Many people, by contrast, are not proactive in life, but rather reactive. They react to external circumstances and their behavior and emotions are dependent on what goes on around them. Hence, for example, they can be in a good mood only if the weather is also good.
People who are proactive, on the other hand, determine their own weather. They are propelled by their inner values and they assume responsibility for their own lives. Their personal decisions determine their behavior, and they do not allow it to be affected by external conditions.
“Begin with the end in mind” – if you want to achieve something, you need long-term goals and a mission statement.
Be clear about your long-term goals. To this end, it can be useful to ask yourself the Funeral Questions: What do I want people to say about me at my funeral?; As what sort of person do I want to be remembered?; For what do I want to be remembered?
A person who is clear about what their major, long-term goals are will be able to align them with everything they do.It can therefore be useful to come up with a personal mission statement and write it down. In this mission statement, you set down your personal creed: the basic values and principles you believe in, and the larger goals you want to achieve in your life.
To attain your goals, you need to visualize the outcome of every action as clearly as possible before doing it.
You should always be conscious of your long-term goals, your values and norms, so that you can align all your actions with them. You should always know for exactly which target you're aiming.
You should form as concrete a mental picture of what you're about to do as possible: one which sets out exactly what should be achieved.
If you want to be truly effective, always “put first things first.”
“First things first” means rigorously prioritizing: the important things are taken care of, the less important things are put to one side and then delegated or dealt with later.How can we tell which things are important? The things which are important are those which bring us closer to our final goals, and those which are consistent with our mission statement – our values and our norms.
“Think win-win” to get your share of the cake and build lasting relationships at the same time.
The majority of situations in life, however, don't need to be a competition. There is usually enough cake for everyone, and it is far better when all parties work towards a “win-win” solution.
The result, however, is a lasting positive relationship and the creation of mutual trust, from which all parties can profit.
Forming stable relationships with others means investing in emotional bank accounts.
Each relationship is like a kind of emotional bank account which records exactly how much each person has invested in it.The greater the balance, the greater trust exists between the parties.To this end, you should aim to make regular payments and withdraw money only rarely from the account.
If you want to be able to influence others, “seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
If you want to be good with people, and to be respected as a listener and as an imparter of advice, you need to develop the skill of empathetic listening.
Empathetic listening means active listening: repeating back to the person what they've said in your own words, mirroring their emotions and helping them to structure their own thought processes.
“Synergize” by treating others with openness and respect.
Synergy with others means valuing differences and being open with one another. Each of us sees the world through an individual perspective. Each of us has particular strengths. And it is possible, through the use of shared resources, to compensate for individual weaknesses.
When people really synergize, they listen to each other, they put themselves in each other's shoes and they use the contributions of others as a springboard to create something great.

Final summary
Being truly effective means being clear about what it is you want to achieve, and being proactive in putting your goals into action. This is best achieved by striving to synergize with others, to invest in lasting relationships and to maintain a balanced lifestyle.
How can you make lasting changes to yourself and stay productive on a long-term basis? To change, you have to address your character and not your behavior.
Working on character involves aligning personal paradigms with universal principles.
“Sharpen the saw” if you want to keep sawing.
How can you achieve great things and shape the world around you effectively?“Be proactive” and take control of your own fate.
“Begin with the end in mind” – if you want to achieve something, you need long-term goals and a mission statement.
To attain your goals, you need to visualize the outcome of every action as clearly as possible before doing it.
If you want to be truly effective, always “put first things first.”How can you integrate and synergize successfully with others?
“Think win-win” to get your share of the cake and build lasting relationships at the same time.
Forming stable relationships with others means investing in emotional bank accounts.
If you want to be able to influence others, “seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
“Synergize” by treating others with openness and respect.

Amazing and extremely helpful book that everyone should read.

I was originally misled by the title that I assumed it is focused to more work in shorter time, but that is totally not the case. Instead, the book helps you to find out what you want in life and how to achieve it.

I learnt a lot. Very happy to have read this clear book. I have summarised the book and my take-aways in this clip (15min):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_9Ckl8oASc2ZlFRN0FlQ1FQTWc/view?usp=sharing

First reaction: what a huge pile of pretentious c**p. Far fetched examples and theories delivered in an overly patronizing way without any basis. I'm sure some book has been influential, but given the explosion of self-help and self-improvement (good and bad) material now available, this book has not added anything. And the constant religious undertone does nothing to reduce the preachiness...