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The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

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The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

Stephen Covey is the author of the best selling book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Like his books that have inspired many people, his quotes continue to inspire many more. I have noticed myself going back to his quotes again and again. 

The wisdom he imparted continues to help and will continue to do so in the future. Here are some of his quotes that I am sure will inspire you to take charge of your life.

Life and Habits

The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

Our life is the byproduct of the habits we inculcate. This is why people stress on creating good habits and getting rid of your bad habits. Identifying the habits that are causing harm to you is the first step in getting rid of them.

“Our ultimate freedom is the right and power anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.”

-Stephen Covey

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” -Stephen Covey

“Every human has four endowments – self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom. The power to choose, to respond, to change.” -Stephen Covey

“Our character is basically a composite of our habits because they are consistent. Often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” -Stephen Covey

“Courage is not the absence of fear but the awareness that something else is more important.” -Stephen Covey

“Habit is the intersection of knowledge (what to do), skill (how to do), and desire (want to do).” -Stephen Covey

Goals

The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

Our goals are what give our lives purpose. We spend a good part of our lives trying to achieve goals. Goals are as important for survival as our basic necessities are. We might not realize it but our goals are what keeps driving us forward in our lives.

Having goals isn’t enough, you need to find ways to achieve them and doing so needs a lot more than the decision to have them. They are like children – everyone can have them but nurturing them is what makes it all worthwhile.

“To achieve goals you’ve never achieved before you need to start doing things you’ve never done before.”

-Stephen Covey

“If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.” -Stephen Covey

“Make time for planning; Wars are won in the general’s tent.” -Stephen Covey

“Stop setting goals. Goals are pure fantasy unless you have a specific plan to achieve them.” -Stephen Covey

Priorities

The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

We often have a lot of things that we would like to do – some short term and some part of our long term goals. There are only so many hours in the day. Knowing how to dedicate those hours to goals that actually matter is very important to achieve success.

Everyone has the same hours given to them in a day and how we spend those hours defines what we are going to achieve. You see many people working non-stop yet some of them succeed while others don’t. 

“Once you have a clear picture of your priorities that is values, goals, and high leverage activities, organize your life around them.”

-Stephen Covey

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” -Stephen Covey

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.” -Stephen Covey

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smiling, nonapoloegetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside.” -Stephen Covey

Integrity

The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

Living life on integrity is important to lead a life with no regrets. It is the practice of being honest, being honest leaves no chance for guilt to seep in. Having strong moral and ethical principles and values and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to them is what makes the society – we live in – what it is!

“To the degree people recognize and live in harmony with such basic principles as fairness, equity, justice, integrity, honesty, and trust, they move toward either survival and stability on the one hand or disintegration and destruction on the other.”

-Stephen Covey

“When you make a commitment to yourself, do so with the clear understanding that you’re pledging your integrity.” -Stephen Covey

“Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, treating people with respect.” -Stephen Covey

“We judge ourselves by our intentions. And others by their actions.” -Stephen Covey

“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.” -Stephen Covey

Learning

The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

Though there are many qualities that contribute to a person’s success, one thing that stands out is that successful people are always hungry for new and deeper knowledge. And to this end, they will always make time to learn, whether it is a new skill, discovery, ideology, or anything that satiates their never-ending curiosity.

“Listen with the intent to understand, not the intent to reply.”

-Stephen Covey

“The proactive approach to a mistake is to acknowledge it instantly, correct and learn from it.” -Stephen Covey

“We develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and obstacles.” -Stephen Covey

“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.” -Stephen Covey

“Unless you’re continually improving your skills, you’re quickly becoming irrelevant.” -Stephen Covey

Synergy and Relationships

The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

How we deal with people – in personal as well as profession capacity – sets the tone for our relationships with them. Not caring about other people isn’t exactly the way to lead a well-rounded life. Personal life is as important as professional life. In our hunger for success, we often seem to forget that.

“Synergy is not only the answer to human conflict; it is also the principle that underlies the creation of every truly new thing in the world.”

-Stephen Covey

“In relationships, the little things are the big things” -Stephen Covey

“Synergy is what happens when one plus one equals ten or a hundred or even a thousand! It’s the mighty result when two or more respectful human beings determine together to go beyond their preconceived ideas to meet a great challenge.” -Stephen Covey

“If you put good people in bad systems you get bad results. You have to water the flowers you want to grow.” -Stephen Covey

“Synergy is the very essence of the family. Every family member contributes a different flavor to the mix.” -Stephen Covey

“You and I together are far greater than we are alone.” -Stephen Covey

Attitude

The Best Stephen Covey Quotes to Inspire You

Our attitude toward different aspects of our lives is a clear representation of what holds the most importance to us. Our way of thinking dictates how we go about something. Having a good attitude is half the battle won as far as going far in something is considered.

“What you do has far greater impact than what you say.”

-Stephen Covey

“We GET results based on what we DO, and what we DO depends on how we SEE the world around us.” -Stephen Covey

“A disciplined person follows values stemming from their source — the self.” -Stephen Covey

“Seek to understand before you seek to be understood.” -Stephen Covey

“To think we’re in control is an illusion. It puts us in the position of trying to manage consequences.” -Stephen Covey

Final Thoughts

When stuck in life, going back to quotes that have earlier stuck a cord with you is a good idea. I hope Stephen Covey’s words move you as much as they did me.

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