Top 745 Quotes & Sayings by Stephen Covey - Page 5

Principles don't die. They aren't here one day and gone the next. They can't be destroyed by fire, earthquake or theft. Principles are deep, fundamental truths, classic truths.

Don't get buried in the thick of thin things.

You can buy a person's hands but you can't buy his heart. His heart is where his enthusiasm, his loyalty is.

You can't be successful with other people if you haven't paid the price of success with yourself.

If you don't have confidence in the diagnosis, you won't have confidence in the prescription.

Efficient management without effective leadership is, as one individual phrased, it, "like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic".

There is so much we can do to render service, to make a difference in the world - no matter how large or small our circle of influence.

It's better to be humbled by the word than by the force of circumstances.

The deepest hunger of [a child's] human heart is to be understood, for understanding implicitly affirms, validates, recognizes and appreciates the intrinsic worth of another.

Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment.

Building and repairing relationships are long-term investments.

Nothing is as fast as the speed of trust. Nothing is as fulfilling as a relationship of trust. Nothing is as inspiring as an offering of trust. Nothing is as profitable as the economics of trust. Nothing has more influence than a reputation of trust.

But until a person can say deeply and honestly, "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday," that person cannot say, "I choose otherwise.

When the trust is high, you get the trust dividend. Investors invest in brands people trust. Consumers buy more from companies they trust, they spend more with companies they trust, they recommend companies they trust, and they give companies they trust the benefit of the doubt when things go wrong.

You have two ears and one mouth. Use them accordingly.

Being is seeing in the human dimension.

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.

When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.

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.

As you care less about what people think of you, you will care more about what others think of themselves.

Love is a verb. Love – the feeling – is the fruit of love, the verb. So love her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate. Affirm her.

Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic

We hear a lot about identity theft when someone takes your wallet and pretends to be you and uses your credit cards. But the more serious identity theft is to get swallowed up in other people's definition of you.

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.

We must not let the actions or words of others determine our responses. Magnanimous people make the choice to respond to the indignities of others based upon their own principles and their own value system rather than their moods or anger.

In the absence of wake-up calls, many of us never really confront the critical issues of life.

Whenever you experience stress of any kind, look into yourself and ask, In what way am I compromising my innermost values in this situation?

Communication is the most important single activity of man.

We don't invent our missions, we detect them.

Peace of mind comes when your life is in harmony with true principles and values and in no other way.

Management is formal authority given from above. Leadership is moral authority given from below and all around.

Leaders are not born or made - they are self made

Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation of good relationships with others.

When you engage in a work that taps your talent and fuels your passion-that rises out of a great need in the world that you feel drawn by conscience to meet-therein lies your voice, your calling, your soul's code.

The environment you fashion out of your thoughts, your beliefs, your ideals, your philosophy is the only climate you will ever live in. The key is in not spending time, but in investing it.

Integrity is conforming reality to our words - in other words, keeping promises and fulfilling expectations.

The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement or philosophy or creed. It focused on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.

The key to growth is to learn to make promises and to keep them.

The key to creating passion in your life is to find your unique talents, and your special role and purpose in the world.

Don't argue for other people's weaknesses. Don't argue for your own. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it / immediately.

Common sense is not always common practice.

Sacrifice really means giving up something good for something better.

People are your most valuable asset. Only people can be made to appreciate in value.

All things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation of all things. You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind.

He who has a why can deal with any what or how.

Empathy takes time, and efficiency is for things, not people.

To Retain those who are present, be loyal to those who are absent.

How you treat the one reveals how you regard the many, because everyone is ultimately a one.

Taking initiative is a form of self-empowerment.

Happen to things, don't let things happen to you

Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant.

To be successful we must live from our imaginations, not from our memories.

Perform anonymous service. Whenever we do good for others anonymously, our sense of intrinsic worth and self-respect increases. ... Selfless service has always been one of the most powerful methods of influence.

Lose/Win people bury a lot of feelings. And unexpressed feelings come forth later in uglier ways. Psychosomatic illnesses often are the reincarnation of cumulative resentment, deep disappointment and disillusionment repressed by the Lose/Win mentality. Disproportionate rage or anger, overreaction to minor provocation, and cynicism are other embodiments of suppressed emotion. People who are constantly repressing, not transcending feelings toward a higher meaning find that it affects the quality of their relationships with others.

The greatest thing you can do for your children is love your spouse.

Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions.

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.

Win-win is a belief in the Third Alternative. It's not your way or my way; it's a better way, a higher way.

Organize and execute around priorities.

The only person I know, is the person I want to be