2. 1-BE RESPONSIBLE:
BE PROACTIVE. THE HABIT OF PERSONAL VISION. I
have the ability to choose my own response. I carry my own
weather – whether it rains or shines makes no difference to me.
BY GROUNDING my emotional life not on the moods or
weaknesses of others, but upon my self-chosen values, my
behavior is a product of my own conscious choices based on
principles, rather than a product of my conditions, based on
feelings. Focus time and energy on things I can control (circle
of influence) in lieu of reacting to or worrying about conditions
over which I have little or no control (circle of concern). In so
doing, I become RESPONSE-ABLE.
3. 2. BEGIN WITH THE END IN
MIND.
THE HABIT OF PERSONAL LEADERSHIP. Without
VISION, I diminish. All things are created twice: the mental or
first creation, and the physical or second creation. If I fail to
develop my own SELF-AWARENESS and become responsible
for first creations, I empower other people and circumstances
to shape my life by default. Lead a life centered on the
principles of QUALITY, patience, authenticity, WONDER,
mindfulness, self-knowledge
4. 3. PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
THE HABIT OF PERSONAL MANAGEMENT. The key is to
schedule my priorities, not to prioritize my schedule.
Therefore, do the important things first – because where you
are headed is more important than how fast you are going. SAY
NO TO THE UNIMPORTANT, Remember that frustration is a
function of our expectations, not our realizations. So trade
crises for progress by focusing on things that are truly
important. When I put first things first, I don't just do things
differently – I do DIFFERENT THINGS.
5. 4. THINK WIN-WIN.
THE HABIT OF INTERPERSONAL LEADERSHIP.
[Relationships start here.] Win-Win is a belief in the Third
Alternative springing from an abundance mentality. It's not
your way or my way; it's a better way; a higher way. Character
is the foundation of win-win which is comprised of
integrity, ABUNDANCE mentality, and maturity. Win- Win is
the attitude of seeking either mutual benefit or being able to say
no deal. Life is best lived cooperatively, not competitively.
Everyone I meet is my mirror, thus it is easier to be caring than
hostile. My friends are all around me; I just haven't met them
all yet. Difficult people can be my greatest teachers for what I
need most at that moment.
6. 5. SEEK FIRST TO
UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE
UNDERSTOOD.
THE HABIT OF COMMUNICATION. [Relationships succeed
here.] To fully, deeply understand another is to listen with the
eyes and the heart, which inspires openness and trust. Empathic
listening within the other's frame of reference opens me to be
influenced. The paradox is that in order to have influence, I
must first be influenced. HUMBLE myself by acknowledging
that I can be
unenthusiastic, impulsive, undisciplined, pessimistic, and an
impatient listener. Then strive to transform those same
weaknesses into strengths. Always be loyal to the absent –
always. Like food, less talk is actually more.
7. 6. SYNERGIZE.
THE HABIT OF CREATIVE COOPERATION/TEAMWORK.
POTENTIAL. [Relationships flourish here.] Synergy is the
culmination of all the previous habits. Synergy uses differences
to build unforeseen strengths. Left to our own experiences, we
constantly suffer from insufficient data. Compromise, which
seeks only an end, is 1+1=1½, whereas synergy, which seeks a
new beginning, makes 1+1=3, 4, or more. This is done by
realizing that people see the world not as it is, but as they are
[conditioned to see it]. Be sensitive to others' mental maps
(paradigms) which have been constructed to this point in their
life with their own experiences.
8. 7. SHARPEN THE SAW.
THE HABIT OF SELF-RENEWAL. Spend one hour each day
renewing and enhancing the greatest asset I have – myself –
through the physical, spiritual, mental and social/emotional
dimensions of my nature. Success has two sides: production
capability (PC), and production (P). Without the renewal of
PC, P begins to diminish, and eventually perishes.
RECOGNIZE my strengths daily, reaching for new ones.
REMEMBER what is important in life is
learning, health, purpose, conformity to my own
uniqueness, temperance, and inner peace. Learning will always
return meaning and energy to my effort, so I'm never alone
with a great book.
9. In Brief:
1. BE PROACTIVE
I am responsible for my choices and have the freedom to choose.
I am responsible of my behavior and the choices I make.
I can expand my personal freedom and influence through being response-able.
Recognize reactive triggers, increase my circle of influence, become a transition
person and exercise the four human endowments.
2. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
Mental creation precedes physical creation.
I can choose my future and create a vision of it.
I will create results mentally before beginning any activity.
3. FIRST THINGS FIRST
Effectiveness requires balancing important relationships, roles, and activities.
Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
Focus on Quadrant II and plan weekly; implement daily, based on my mission.
10. 4. THINK WIN-WIN
Effective relationships require mutual benefit.
I seek the benefit of others, as well as my own.
I get better results by cooperating interdependently than competing independently.
Balance courage with consideration and persist in looking for win-win outcomes.
5. SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD
Diagnosis must precede prescription, and understanding comes through listening.
Assume I don't fully understand and by listening first, I'll be better understood.
Use empathic listening… from the other's frame of reference.
6. SYNERGIZE
The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
I value the differences in others and seek the Third Alternative (a cooperative
solution
reached in a win-win spirit that all parties feel good about).
Working together cooperatively takes time but produces better long-term results.
Use the synergy ground rules (win-win mentality; open mind; value differences)
and apply habits 4 &
11. 7. SHARPEN THE SAW
Production (results) require the development of Production
Capability (resources).
I will continuously improve and renew in the four dimensions
of life.
Set and achieve goals for personal P/PC balance.
FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
P/PC Balance
Paradigms; See Do Get
Maturity Continuum
Work from the Inside Out
Trust is a balance of character and competence
All systems are perfectly aligned to get the exact results they
deliver.
12. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People provide a
holistic, integrated approach to personal and interpersonal
effectiveness. Habits are patterns of behavior that involve three
overlapping components: knowledge, desire, and skill. Because
these three components are learned rather than inherited, our
habits are our second nature, not our first. Thus, we are not our
current habits. We can make or break our habits.
14. Principles
Principles are guidelines for human conduct that are
proven to have enduring, permanent value. They're
fundamental. They're essentially unarguable because
they are self-evident. Just as there are natural laws
such as gravity which govern the physical
dimension, principles are natural laws which govern
the human dimension.
15. The Two Sides of Success
Aesop's fable "The Goose and the Golden Egg" is the
story of a poor farmer who one day visits the nest of his
goose and finds at her side a glittering golden egg. Though
he suspects it to be a trick, he decides to take it
home, where he learns, to his delight, that the egg is
actually pure gold. Every morning thereafter the fanner
gathers one golden egg from the nest of the goose and
soon
16. becomes fabulously wealthy. As he grows
rich, however, he also grows greedy and impatient with
the output of the goose. Finally, in an attempt to get at
once all the gold in the goose, he kills and opens it, only to
find nothing.
Effectiveness lies in the balance – what we call the P/PC
Balance: "P" stands for production of desired results, the
golden eggs. "PC" stands for production capability, the
ability or asset that produces the golden eggs. Excessive
focus on P results in ruined health, worn-out
machines, depleted bank accounts, and broken
relationships. Too much focus on PC is like people who
run three or four hours a day, bragging about the extra ten
years of life it creates, unaware they are spending them
running. Or a person endlessly going to school, never
producing, living on other people's golden eggs – the
eternal student syndrome.
18. Before we can really understand the 7 Habits, we need to
understand our own paradigms and how to make a Paradigm
Shift. The word paradigm was originally a scientific term, and
is more commonly used today to mean a
model, theory, perception, assumption, or frame of reference.
A simple way to understand paradigms is to see them as maps.
Assume you wanted to arrive at a specific location in central
London. But suppose you were given the wrong map. Through
a printing error, the map labeled London was actually a map of
Wolverhampton. Can you imagine the frustration and
ineffectiveness of trying to reach your destination?
20. The more we are aware of our basic paradigms, maps, or
assumptions, and the extent to which we have been
influenced by our experiences, the more we can take
responsibility for those paradigms, examine them, test
them against reality, change them if necessary, and listen
to others and be open to their perceptions, thereby getting
a larger picture and a far more objective view.
It becomes obvious that if we want to make relatively
minor changes in our lives, we can focus on our attitudes
and behaviors. But if we want to make significant
quantum changes, we need to work on our basic
paradigms – the way we view ourselves and the world
around us.
21. Emotional Bank Account
With each new relationship we make, we open what could be termed an
Emotional Bank Account. Much like a financial bank account, deposits are
made in and withdrawals are taken from an Emotional Bank Account. When
withdrawals exceed deposits, the account is overdrawn. One important
difference between the two kinds of accounts is that the human relationship
requires continual small deposits in order to maintain its balance. The
following are common deposits and withdrawals we make into the
Emotional Bank Accounts of others
Our motives for making deposits should be sincere or others will feel
manipulated and grow cynical and distrustful. By maintaining a large
Emotional Bank Account, you will operate from a high level of trust with
your family, friends, and associates. In relationships the little things are the
big things.
23. The Law of the Harvest
In all of life, there are sequential stages of growth and
development. A child learns to turn over, to sit up, to
crawl, and then to walk and run. Each step is important
and each takes time. No step can be skipped.
24. The Maturity Continuum
The 7 Habits are not a set of separate or piecemeal
psyche-up formulas. In harmony with natural laws of
growth, they provide a sequential approach to move us
progressively on a Maturity Continuum from dependence
to independence to interdependence.
Dependence is the paradigm of you – you take care of me.
Independence is the paradigm of I – I am self-reliant.
Interdependence is the paradigm of we – we can do it; we
can combine our talents and abilities to create something
greater together.