Journal Entry
Week 7: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”

This week we studied excerpts from one of my all-time favorite books! I will share the highlights:
The 7 Habits:
1-       Be proactive: To actively choose what our response will be in any situation rather than to react blindly.
·        “Each person has the ability to be either reactive or proactive in every situation that arises. This is the true meaning of ‘response-ability’ – the ability to choose our own response. Proactive people are highly responsible…Proactivity means to subordinate impulses to values. Reactive people are swept away by the heat of the moment. Proactive people are driven by values that are both well thought out and internalized.”
2-       Begin with the end in mind: using an image or paradigm of your character at the end of your life as a frame of reference or criterion by which everything is examined.
·        “It’s easy to get so caught up in climbing the ladder of success that you fail to make sure the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”
·        “We can create our own script or reactively live the scripts others create.”
·        “The ideal situation is to center our lives on correct principles. Correct principles do not change.”
3-       Put first things first: “The heart of effective personal time management is to spend the maximum time possible doing important jobs in a non-urgent atmosphere that increases your efficiency.”
·        Important and urgent activities – responding to a crisis
·        Important but not urgent activities – preventative maintenance: Maximize your time here
·        Not important but urgent activities – phone calls, mail, some meetings
·        Not important and non-urgent activities – trivia, some mail, time-wasters, pleasant, harmless activities
4-       Think win-win: The most effective way to work with other people is to structure a win/win relationship focused on results, not methods.
·        “A frame of mind and heart constantly seeking mutual benefit in business and personal transactions.
·        Scarcity mentality: when you think there is only one pie and they are fighting to get as large a slice as possible.
·        Abundance mentality: when you realize there are lots of opportunities, more than a person can take advantage of.
5-       Seek first to understand, then to be understood: avoid rushing in to give advice or try to fix things before taking the time to diagnose or try to understand why the other person feels the way they do.
·        “The amateur salesman sells products. The professional salesman sells solutions to needs and problems.
6-       Synergize: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
·        “If two people are of the same opinion, one is unnecessary.”
7-       Sharpen the saw: Don’t get so busy that you don’t realize you are using a blunt saw.
·        Physical exercise
·        Spiritual renewal
·        Mental development
·        Social & emotional development
(Source: Covey, S. R. 1989)

I read this book when it first came out and was so motivated by it. It was such a new and different approach to success in life than I had heard before. Having read this summary of the book again this week, I have made some new goals for myself to work on some of my weaknesses:

Ø Put first things first – I need to put the Lord first, then my husband, and then worry about school
Ø Sharpen the saw – I need to get more physical activity. Sitting at my computer doing schoolwork 14 hours a day is dulling the saw for me. I need more physical exercise to balance my mental development in school. I also need to reach out to other people so that I have more of a social life or I will graduate but find I have no friends to celebrate with.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Journal Entry – Week 14 Capstone Lecture: My Advice to You I think the main point I have learned and would want to pass on to anyone hoping to become an entrepreneur is to know yourself. You need to know your personality, your strengths and weaknesses, your interests as well as what does not interest you. You need to have a solid work ethic and a positive attitude to keep you going when times get tough, and a healthy dose of self-esteem and self-confidence to overcome any doubts that might arise as to whether you are cut out for the work you have before you. While some people accidentally fall into a business opportunity, others have to plan and prepare for years to make their dream happen. It is still imperative that they know who they are and what they are capable of. It would be foolish to start a business and then, with others relying on you for their income and welfare, decide it is too much work and you would rather be out playing golf. Going back to the beginning, rememb...
Read more

Journal Entry Week 2

Journal – Week 2 5 heresies:       1.       You might have a calling if you are lucky, or you might not. 2.       You have to find your one true calling in order to be fulfilled. 3.       When you find your calling, work will be bliss. 4.       Finding a calling means that the world will take notice. 5.       Meaningfulness in life is to be found at work. (Thompson, 2010) “I challenge you to look for examples of nobility among those who do the so-called menial tasks all around you. You will find many inspiring examples of people who use their spiritual gifts to serve in quiet but remarkable ways. We do great violence to the souls of those who offer their callings in less-glamorous ways when we consider them invisible or treat them as minor cast members in the great drama of our professional lives” (Thompson, 2010). I love this...
Read more
Image
Journal Entry Week 9 A Hero’s Journey Jeff Sanders tells the story of how he worked long, hard hours out in the unrelenting sun of West Texas as a teenager. Then her got this great idea that would allow him to remain in the air conditioning while others did the hard, manual labor in the sun and that summer he made $100,000. As I read that, it seemed like such a simple thing. It didn’t require a tone of planning, preparation, writing of business plans, finding of investors, etc. He had an idea, he convinced other people to work with him, and he made a lot of money. As I ponder on my gifts and talents, I wonder what it is that I could do to find that kind of success without gambling a lot of money or incurring a lot of debt. It is exciting to think that it might be possible to find something like that if I keep my eyes open to the needs in my community. But, my skillset is in baking and my education is in Marriage and Family Studies. So where does the community need intersect...
Read more