Summary of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People By Stephen Covey

This is a summary and not the original book.

In 1989, Steven Covey published a business book, or was it a self-help book? Actually, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a hybrid. Like a Toyota Prius or a Ford Focus blends electricity and gasoline to maximize efficiency, one can blend the way he or she conducts business and leads their personal lives to benefit both. The two are intertwined and when you lead life with poise, astuteness, dignity, and a sense of purpose, success can be achieved. The paradigm or way to think about things is changed.

A habit is a pattern derived from frequent repetition. It becomes an unconscious choice to act a certain way with oneself or with others. A habit can be as simple as waking up at dawn or saying thank you when a person lends you a favor. Covey puts forth that all successful people share these seven habits, which become an integral part of a person's character. By striving to implement these character traits into our own lives, we can be effective and successful too.

Changing our habit's to mirror those in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is not simple. A process may require baby steps when our instincts tell us to take giant leaps. Fortitude is required but the payoff is enormous.