7 Habits Of Highly Effective People

Steven Covey has written this above titled book, which focuses on self-development and personal improvement. This 14 minute video lists the 7 habits and explains them, along with examples (I have added related article links and scriptures).

1) Be Proactive Instead Of Reactive — Focus on things you can control, thus bringing more power into your life and widening your circle of influence (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 1).
2) Begin With The End In Mind — At your demise, what will people say when they stand around your coffin? What will their memories be of you? Think about the end of your life, and this will help you become a more effective person (Ecclesiastes 7:1; Philippians 1:20-26). Develop a personal mission statement as to how you can change the world for the better (the apostles did Romans 10:11-18; Colossians 1:21-23).
3) Put First Things FirstSet priorities (Matthew 6:33).
4) Think Win-Win — Not lose-win, win-lose, or lose-lose relationships. Don't focus on a win-win situation simply for yourself, but for others as well (Matthew 7:11-12).
5) Seek First To Understand, And Then To Be Understood — Consider the 5 levels of listening as presented in the above video. Empathic listening is the most important listening quality — the intent to understand another person (Acts 8:26-39).
6) Synergize — The interaction of two or more parts to produce an outcome that is greater than the sum of their individual parts (Ephesians 4:11-16).
7) Sharpen The Saw — A sharpened saw cuts a tree down faster. Similar to sharpening our bodies (eating healthy foods and exercising our body) and sharpening our minds by interacting with others. Also, developing our spiritual mind by learning, reading and teaching (Romans 2:17-29).

Beloved, as the above video indicates, leading a meaningful and effective life doesn't just happen, we have to make time to cultivate the areas of our life that will produce the most fruit (John 15:1-8; Galations 5:22-23).

Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets

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