Stephen Covey Quotes
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We are not animals. We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.
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Writing distills, crystallizes, and clarifies thought.
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Most of us think we don't have enough time to exercise. What a distorted paradigm! We don't have time not to. We're talking about three to six hours a week - or a minimum of thirty minutes a day, every other day. That hardly seems an inordinate amount of time considering the tremendous benefits in terms of the impact on the other 162 - 165 hours of the week.
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When we succumb to believing that we are victims of our circumstances and yield to the plight of determinism, we lose hope, we lose drive, and we settle into resignation and stagnation.
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..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.
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When air is charged with emotions, an attempt to teach is often perceived as a form of judgment and rejection.
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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.
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If you say to one flower, 'Grow,' but you water another, the first one won't grow.
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When you make a commitment to yourself, do so with the clear understanding that you're pledging your integrity.
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It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to admit it. People will forgive mistakes, because mistakes are usually of the mind, mistakes of judgment. But people will not easily forgive the mistakes of the heart, the ill intention, the bad motives, the prideful justifying cover-up of the first mistake.
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Our capacity for production and enjoyment is a function, in the last analysis, of our character, our integrity.
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People don't listen to understand. They listen to reply. The collective monologue is everyone talking and no one listening.
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Frustration is a function of our expectations, and our expectations are often a reflection of the social mirror rather than our own values and priorities.
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All things are created twice. All things. Vision is the first creation. For a house it's called the blueprint. For a life it's called a mission. For a day it's called a goal and a plan. For a parent it's called a belief in the unseen potential of a child. For all, it is the mental creation which always precedes the physical, or second, creation.
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We may find it convenient to live with the illusion that circumstances or other people are responsible for the quality of our lives, but the reality is that we are responsible-response-able-for our choices.
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The key to acting with integrity is to simply stop playing the game.
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To set and work toward any goal is an act of courage.
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Fundamentally, we are a product of choice, not nature (genes) or nurture (upbringing, environment).
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The struggle comes when we sense a gap between the clock and the compass - when what we do doesn't contribute to what is most important in our lives.
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Most people are basically a victim of the circumstances of their life. They have things like 9/11, they have terrorism threats, they have new war threats, they have economy problems, and they think, 'What can I do? I'm basically a victim.'