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At The Core, There Is One Simple, Overarching Reason Why So Many People Remain Unsatisfied In Their Work And Why Most Organisations Fail To Draw Out The Greatest Talent, Ingenuity, And Creativity Of Their People And Never Become Truly Great, Enduring Organisations. It Stems From An Incomplete Paradigm Of Who We Are - Our Fundamental View Of Human Nature. The Fundamental Reality Is, Human Beings Are Not Things Needing To Be Motivated And Controlled; They Are Four-dimensional - Body, Mind, Heart, And Spirit.

-Stephen Covey

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At The Core, There

Stephen Covey

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At The Core, There Is One Simple, Overarching Reason Why So Many People Remain Unsatisfied In Their Work And Why Most Organisations Fail To Draw Out The Greatest Talent, Ingenuity, And Creativity Of Their People And Never Become Truly Great, Enduring Organisations. It Stems From An Incomplete Paradigm Of Who We Are - Our Fundamental View Of Human Nature. The Fundamental Reality Is, Human Beings Are Not Things Needing To Be Motivated And Controlled; They Are Four-dimensional - Body, Mind, Heart, And Spirit.

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Effective Communication Is Built On The Cement Of Trust. And Trust Is Based On Trustworthiness, Not Politics.

Trustworthiness

Our Behavior Is Governed By Principles. Living In Harmony With Them Brings Positive Consequences; Violating Them Brings Negative Consequences.

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Paradigms Are Powerful Because They Create The Lens Through Which We See The World.

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Most People Say Their Main Fault Is A Lack Of Discipline. On Deeper Thought, I Believe This Is Not The Case. The Basic Problem Is That Their Priorities Have Not Become Deeply Planted In Their Hearts And Minds.

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True Leadership Is Moral Authority, Not Formal Authority. Leadership Is A Choice, Not A Position. The Choice Is To Follow Universal Timeless Principles, Which Will Build Trust And Respect From The Entire Organization. Those With Formal Authority Alone Will Lose This Trust And Respect.

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As You Care Less About What People Think Of You, You Will Care More About What Others Think Of Themselves.

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To Know And Not To Do Is Not To Know.

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The Key To Creating Passion In Your Life Is To Find Your Unique Talents, And Your Special Role And Purpose In The World.

The More People Train Their Counsciousness, The More Sensitivie They Are To It. It's Like You Had Your Own Voice Coming To You.

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As We Create Synergy Among The Roles Of Our Lives, There's More Of Us To Put Into The Time We Have.

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Balance Isn't Either/or; It's 'and'.

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If You Are An Effective Manager Of Your Self, Your Discipline Comes From Within; It Is A Function Of Your Independent Will.

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...people Have Character Strength But They Lack Communication Skills, And That Undoubtedly Affects The Quality Of Relationships As Well.

The Key To Motivation Is Motive.

Remember That Our Reactions Are A Product Of Our Perceptions, And Our Perceptions Are A Result Of What Is At The Center Of Our Life.

Principles Are The Basis For Developing A Vision And Value System For All.

To Change Ourselves Effectively, We First Had To Change Our Perceptions.

Courage Isn't Absenct Of Fear, It Is The Awareness That Something Else Is Important

Do What Is Important, Not What Is Urgent.

If I Really Want To Improve My Situation, I Can Work On The One Thing Over Which I Have Control-myself. I Can Stop Trying To Shape Up My Wife And Can Work On My Own Weaknesses. I Can Focus An Being A Great Marriage Partner, A Source Of Unconditional Love And Support. Hopefully, My Wife Will Feel The Power Of Proactive Example And Respond In Kind. But, Whether She Does Or Doesn't, The Most Positive Way I Can Influence My Situation Is To Work On Myself, On My Being.

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Humility Is The Mother Of All Virtues. Humility Says We Are Not In Control, Principles Are In Control, Therefore We Submit Ourselves To Principles. Pride Says That We Are In Control, And Since Our Values Govern Our Behavior, We Can Simply Do Life Our Way.

Historically, The Family Has Played The Primary Role In Educating Children For Life, With The School Providing Supplemental Scaffolding To The Family.

We Can Never Really Change Someone; People Must Change Themselves.

..people Are Working Harder Than Ever, But Because They Lack Clarity And Vision, They Aren’t Getting Very Far. They, In Essence, Are Pushing A Rope...with All Of Their Might.

When It Comes To Developing Character Strength, Inner Security And Unique Personal And Interpersonal Talents And Skills In A Child, No Institution Can Or Ever Will Compare With, Or Effectively Substitute For, The Home's Potential For Positive Influence.

The Human Will Is An Amazing Thing. Time After Time, It Has Triumphed Against Unbelievable Odds.

You Don't See The World As It Is, You See It According To Who You Are.

I Can Change. I Can Live Out Of My Imagination Instead Of My Memory. I Can Tie Myself To My Limitless Potential Instead Of My Limiting Past

The Essence Of The Best Thinking In The Area Of Time Management (practice Planning) Can Be Captured In A Single Phrase: Organize And Execute Around Priorities

It Is Possible To Be Busy-very Busy-without Being Very Effective.

Climbing The Ladder

Ladder Of Success

Principles Are Guidelines For Human Conduct That Are Proven To Have Enduring, Permanent Value.

Every Time I See High-trust Cultures, I See A Lessening Of Adversarialism.

Begin With The End In Mind.

As People Enable Themselves To Achieve One Or Two Goals For The Year That Are Most Meaningful, They Will Find Power, Peace Of Mind, And Confidence In Their Abilities Because They Have Achieved What They Set Out To Accomplish. Your Commitment To Achieving What Matters Most Will Become The Foundation For Tremendous Accomplishments And Contributions. You Will Become The Change You Seek To Make.

Creating And Integrating An Empowering Personal Mission Statement Is One Of The Most Important Investments We Can Make.

When You Make A Commitment To Yourself, Do So With The Clear Understanding That You're Pledging Your Integrity.

I Believe That God Is The Source Of All The Universal, Timeless Principles. And To Him, I Give All The Credit And The Glory. However, To A Person Who Is Not Religious, I Believe They Can Live To The Highest Level Of Their Conscience And Develop Spiritual Intelligence That Surpasses Most People, Including Many Religious People, Who Profess But Do Not Practice.

Technology And Tools Are Useful And Powerful When They Are Your Servant And Not Your Master.

When You Listen With Empathy To Another Person, You Give That Person Psychological Air.

The Place To Begin Building Any Relationship Is Inside Ourselves, Inside Our Circle Of Influence, Our Own Character.

The Creative Process Is Also The Most Terrifying Part Because You Don't Know Exactly What's Going To Happen Or Where It Is Going To Lead. You Don't Know What New Dangers And Challenges You'll Find. It Takes An Enormous Amount Of Internal Security To Begin With The Spirit Of Adventure, Discovery, And Creativity. Without Doubt, You Have To Leave The Comfort Zone Of Base Camp And Confront An Entirely New And Unknown Wilderness.

When Our Honor Becomes Greater Than Our Moods, That Is Where Transformation Happens

Trust Is The Glue That Holds Everything Together. It Creates The Environment In Which All Of The Other Elements Win-win Stewardship Agreements, Self-directing Individuals And Teams, Aligned Structures And Systems, And Accountability Can Flourish.

Management Works In The System; Leadership Works On The System.

There's Strong Data That, Within Companies, The No. 1 Reason For Ethical Violations Is The Pressure To Meet Expectations, Sometimes Unrealistic Expectations.

You Can't Have The Fruits Without The Roots. It's The Principle Of Sequencing: Private Victories Proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery And Self-discipline Are The Foundation Of Good Relationships With Others.

As We Make And Keep Commitments, Even Small Commitments, We Begin To Establish An Inner Integrity That Gives Us The Awareness Of Self-control And The Courage And Strength To Accept More Of The Responsibility For Our Own Lives. By Making And Keeping Promises To Ourselves And Others, Little By Little, Our Honor Becomes Greater Than Our Moods.

Stop Setting Goals. Goals Are Pure Fantasy Unless You Have A Specific Plan To Achieve Them.

If You Want To Have A More Pleasant, Cooperative Teenager, Be A More Understanding, Empathic, Consistent, Loving Parent. If You Want To Have More Freedom, More Latitude In Your Job, Be A More Responsible, A More Helpful, A More Contributing Employee.

People Who Exercise Their Embryonic Freedom Day After Day, Little By Little, Expand That Freedom. People Who Do Not Will Find That It Withers Until They Are Literally 'being Lived.' They Are Acting Out Scripts Written By Parents, Associates, And Society.

Start Small, Make A Promise And Keep It. Then, Make Larger Promises And Keep Them. Eventually, Your Honor Will Become Greater Than Your Moods Or Your Circumstances, Which Includes Your Medical Condition And Other People's Stereotypic Observations. Once You Overcome This Comparison Based Mentality, Your Confidence Will Soar.

Patience Is Emotional Diligence.

If We Can't Make And Keep Commitments To Ourselves As Well As To Others, Our Commitments Become Meaningless.

Trust Is The Highest Form Of Human Motivation.

Each Of Us Tends To Think We See Things As They Are, That We Are Objective. But This Is Not The Case. We See The World, Not As It Is, But As We Are - Or As We Are Conditioned To See It.

Self-mastery And Self-discipline Are The Foundation Of Good Relationships With Others.

Good Relationship

Almost All Of The World-class Athletes And Other Peak Performers Are Visualizers. They See It; They Feel It; They Experience It Before Hey Actually Do It. They Begin With The End In Mind.

What One Thing Could You Do In Your Personal And Professional Life That, If You Did On A Regular Basis, Would Make A Tremendous Positive Difference In Your Life? Quadrant Ii Activities Have That Kind Of Impact. Our Effectiveness Takes Quantum Leaps When We Do Them.

If We Overcome The Pull And "get Up And Get At It," We Will Have Won A Victory. We Have Kept Our Own Resolve. We Can Then Move To Other Things, For By Small Means Great Things Are Accomplished. Thus, Even This One Small Step Is Also In Another Sense A Giant Leap.

When You Show Deep Empathy Toward Others, Their Defensive Energy Goes Down, And Positive Energy Replaces It. That's When You Can Get More Creative In Solving Problems.

Your Economic Security Does Not Lie In Your Job; It Lies In Your Own Power To Produce - To Think, To Learn, To Create, To Adapt. That's True Financial Independence. It's Not Having Wealth; It's Having The Power To Produce Wealth.

It's Not What People Do To Us That Hurts Us. In The Most Fundamental Sense, It Is Our Chosen Response To What They Do To Us That Hurts Us.

When We Pick Up One End Of The Stick, We Pick Up The Other.

Intrinsic Security Doesn't Come From What Other People Think Of Us Or How They Treat Us. It Doesn't Come From Our Circumstance Or Out Position. It Comes From Within. It Comes From Accurate Paradigms And Correct Principles Deep In Our Own Mind And Heart. It Comes From Inside-out Congruence, From Living A Life Of Integrity In Which Our Daily Habits Reflect Our Deepest Values.

The Key Is Not To Prioritize What's On Your Schedule, But To Schedule Your Priorities.

One Of The Most Important Ways To Manifest Integrity Is To Be Loyal To Those Who Are Not Present. In Doing So, We Build The Trust Of Those Who Are Present.

...to Learn And Not To Do Is Really Not To Learn. To Know And Not To Do Is Really Not To Know.

It's Better To Be Trusted Than To Be Liked.

It's Easy To Say ''no!'' When There's A Deeper ''yes!'' Burning Inside.

Our Problems And Pain Are Universal And Increasing, And The Solutions To The Problems Are And Always Will Be Based Upon Universal, Timeless, Self-evident Principles Common To Every Enduring, Prospering Society Throughout History.

To Retain Those Who Are Present, Be Loyal To Those Who Are Absent.

Interpersonal Skills

To Set And Work Toward Any Goal Is An Act Of Courage.

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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.

We Can Act Instead Of Being Acted Upon.

Peace Of Counscious Is Greater Than Peace Of Mind. Peace Of Mind Is More Externally Oriented. Peace Of Consciousness Is When You Know You Have Been Honest In All Your Business Dealings.

Being Humble Does Not Mean Being Weak, Reticent, Or Self-effacing. It Means Recognizing Principle And Putting It Ahead Of Self. It Means Standing Firmly For Principle, Even In The Fact Of Opposition.

If You Don't Let A Teacher Know What Level You Are -- By Asking A Question, Or Revealing Your Ignorance -- You Will Not Learn Or Grow

The Universal Elements Are Integrity, Vision, Discipline, Passion, Governed By Conscience. Conscience Has Been Educated Through Studying And Pondering The Universal, Timeless Principles Of All Six Major World Religions.

World Religions

Interdependency Follows Independence.

You Always Reap What You Sow; There Is No Shortcut.

We Do Make A Difference - One Way Or The Other. We Are Responsible For The Impact Of Our Lives. Whatever We Do With Whatever We Have, We Leave Behind Us A Legacy For Those Who Follow.

Making A Difference

If The Big Rocks Don't Go In First, They Aren't Going To Fit In Later.

In Order To Have Influence, You Have To Be Influenced.

Self Improvement

A Long, Healthy, And Happy Life Is The Result Of Making Contributions, Of Having Meaningful Projects That Are Personally Exciting And Contribute To And Bless The Lives Of Others.

Admission Of Ignorance Is Often The First Step In Our Education.

Priority Is A Function Of Context.

Time Management

The Core Of Any Family Is What Is Changeless, What Is Going To Be There──shared Vision And Values.

Ineffective People Live Day After Day With Unused Potential. They Experience Synergy Only In Small, Peripheral Ways In Their Lives. But Creative Experiences Can Be Produced Regularly, Consistently, Almost Daily In People's Lives. It Requires Enormous Personal Security And Openness And A Spirit Of Adventure.

Empathic Listening Is So Powerful Because It Gives You Accurate Data To Work With. Instead Of Projecting Your Own Autobiography And Assuming Thoughts, Feelings, Motives And Interpretation, You're Dealing With The Reality Inside Another Person's Head And Heart. You're Listening To Understand. You're Focused On Receiving The Deep Communication Of Another Human Soul.

The Average Family Spends 30 Hours In Front Of A Television, And They Say They Don't Have The Time To Have A Balanced, Integrated Life.

Consequences Are Governed By Principles, And Behavior Is Governed By Values; Therefore, Value Principles!

The Role Of The Leader Is To Foster Mutual Respect And Build A Complementary Team Where Each Strength Is Made Productive And Each Weakness Irrelevant.

The Worldly Fountain Does Not Breed Spiritual Depth.

Always Surround Yourself With People Who Are Even More Talented And Competent Than You.

Surround Yourself

Be A Light, Not A Judge. Be A Model, Not A Critic

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.

The Ability To Establish, Grow, Extend, And Restore Trust Is The Key Professional And Personal Competency Of Our Time.

Management Is Efficiency In Climbing The Ladder Of Success

The Power To Distinguish Between Person And Performance And To Communicate Intrinsic Worth Flows Naturally Out Of Our Own Sense Of Intrinsic Worth.

By Centering Our Lives On Timeless, Unchanging Principles, We Create A Fundamental Paradigm Of Effective Living. It Is The Center That Puts All Other Centers In Perspective.

The More Authentic You Become, The More Genuine In Your Expression, Particularly Regarding Personal Experiences And Even Self-doubts, The More People Can Relate To Your Expression And The Safer It Makes Them Feel To Express Themselves. That Expression, In Turn, Feeds On The Other Person's Spirit, And Genuine Creative Empathy Takes Place, Producing New Insights And Learnings And A Sense Of Excitement And Adventure That Keeps The Process Going.

If The Only Vision We Have Of Ourselves Comes From The Social Mirror - From The Current Social Paradigm And From The Opinions, Perceptions, And Paradigms Of The People Around Us - Our View Of Ourselves Is Like The Reflection In A Crazy Mirror Room At The Carnival.

I See Myself Living By Correct Principles And Accomplishing Worthy Purposes. One Of My Favorite Quotes Is, "the Greatest Battles Of Life Are Fought Out Every Day In The Silent Chambers Of One's Own Soul." (david O. Mckay).

Frustration Is A Function Of Our Expectations.

Our Greatest Joy And Our Greatest Pain Comes In Our Relationships With Others.

Highly Proactive People Don't Blame Circumstances, Conditions, Or Conditioning For Their Behavior. Their Behavior Is A Product Of Their Own Conscious Choice.

Our Character Is Basically A Composite Of Our Habits. Because They Are Consistent, Often Unconcious Patterns, They Constantly, Daily, Express Our Character.

Seek To Understand Before You Seek To Be Understood.

Make Small Commitments And Keep Them. Be A Light, Not A Judge. Be A Model, Not A Critic. Be A Part Of The Solution, Not The Problem.

Synergy Is Everywhere In Nature. If You Plant Two Plants Close Together, The Roots Commingle And Improve The Quality Of The Soil So That Both Plants Will Grow Better Than If They Were Separated. If You Put Two Pieces Of Wood Together, They Will Hold Much More Than The Total Weight Held By Each Separately. The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts. One Plus One Equals Three Or More.

Inevitably, Anytime We Are Too Vulnerable We Feel The Need To Protect Ourselves From Further Wounds. So We Resort To Sarcasm, Cutting Humor, Criticism - Anything That Will Keep From Exposing The Tenderness Within. Each Partner Tends To Wait On The Initiative Of The Other For Love, Only To Be Disappointed But Also Confirmed As To The Rightness Of The Accusations Made.

When Two People In A Marriage Are More Concerned About Getting The Golden Eggs, The Benefits, Than They Are In Preserving The Relationship That Makes Them Possible, They Often Become Insensitive And Inconsiderate, Neglecting The Little Kindnesses And Courtesies So Important To A Deep Relationship. They Begin To Use Control Levers To Manipulate Each Other, To Focus On Their Own Needs, To Justify Their Own Position And Look For Evidence To Show The Wrongness Of The Other Person. The Love, The Richness, The Softness And Spontaneity Begin To Deteriorate.

Success In One Role Can't Justify Failure In Another.

When We Say That Leadership Is A Choice, It Basically Means You Can Choose The Level Of Initiative You Want To Exercise In Response To The Question, ‘what Is The Best I Can Do Under The Given Circumstances?’

Compliance Does Not Foster Innovation, Trust Does. You Can't Sustain Long-term Innovation, For Example, In A Climate Of Distrust.

Two People Can See The Same Thing, Disagree, And Yet Both Be Right. It's Not Logical; It's Psychological.

Organize And Execute Around Priorities.

Put First Things First

I Think That [respect For People] Is Of Profound Importance Because It Means You Are Caring And You Trust Them To Do The Right Thing.

Each Of Us Guard A Gate Of Change That Can Only Be Opened From The Inside.

Emotional Appeal

Don't Get Buried In The Thick Of Thin Things.

As A Principle-centered Person You Try To Stand Apart From The Emotion Of The Situation And From Other Factors That Would Act On You, And Evaluate The Options. Looking At The Balanced Whole-the Work Needs, The Family Needs, The Other Needs That May Be Involved, And The Possible Implications Of The Various Alternatives - You'll Try To Come Up With The Best Solution Taking All Factors Into Consideration. We Are Limited But We Can Push Back The Borders Of Our Limitations.

The Fire Inside People Is Like A Match; The Way To Ignite That Flame Is Initially Through Friction, Then Other Matches Are Lit Through Warmth.

You Basically Get What You Reward. If You Want To Achieve The Goals And Reflect The Values In Your Mission Statement, Then You Need To Align The Reward System With These Goals And Values.

The Only Person Over Whom You Have Direct And Immediate Control Is Yourself. The Most Important Assets To Develop, Preserve And Enhance, Therefore, Are Your Own Capabilities. And No One Can Do It For You. You Must Cultivate The Habit Of Leadership Effectiveness For Yourself - And Doing So Will Be The Single Best Investment You Will Ever Make.

I Keep My Phone Number Unlisted And Rely On My Associates To Handle All Voice Mail, E-mail, Faxes.

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