Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ya!
TLDR: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey is the foundational source for countless leadership and coaching principles – a principle-based book that provides the backend operating system for making effective choices and decisions in life, family, and business.
One of the best books I’ve read is The Bible. But as a coach, one of the best books I’ve read – and I didn’t realize it was one of the best until I came back and read it maybe the fifth or sixth time – completely transformed my understanding of where good principles come from.
What?
I had read this book early in my career as a ski racing coach, then got away from it for years. I’ve always been kind of a self-help junkie, digging into books about how to be better, serve better, coach better – sports psychology, teaching seminars, best practices, all those things.
I even got certified by this book at one point, then did all that other stuff in between. When I came back to reread it, something amazing happened. Every couple of pages I kept thinking, “Oh wow, that’s in here… ___ is from this book… That is from this book!”
Over and over again, little hints, tips, and principles of life, coaching, and high performance that I’d found in other resources, other books I’d explored and studied – I realized that other book got it from THIS book, because this book was definitely older–foundational.
Why?
I kept hearing these hints and tips thinking, “Oh my gosh, this is the source of that, or the first printed version of my access to this bit of knowledge that was so wonderful.”
The author talks at the beginning about principles and how principles are the basis for everything. They’re like the center point of our values and direction, what we stand for, what we really honor and believe about life and living on this planet and interacting with these human beings.
What are our principles? What do we stand for and follow? What’s our backend operating system for our choices and decisions?
Lesson
That’s the foundation of why this book is so powerful – because it talks about having principles, but it IS built upon principles. It’s built upon truth.
The book provides lifelong principles and values to apply to life. It’s not just techniques or tips that might work in certain situations – it’s foundational truth that creates the framework for effectiveness in every area of life.
When you have solid principles as your foundation, all your decisions, relationships, and actions flow from that stable center. Without that foundation, you’re constantly shifting based on circumstances or emotions.
Apply
The book is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Have you read it yet?
If your answer is no, when are you going to start? This book is so profound that if you’re not going to start reading it on your own, consider joining me for coaching where you can learn it through a live action approach instead of just the reading approach.
Get it, reread it if you’ve already read it, and apply those principles to your life, your journey, your story, your family, your business, and your service.
The principles in this book have influenced virtually every leadership and personal development resource that followed. Why not go to the source and build your life on these timeless foundations?
You be blessed!
The Book That Changed Everything: Why Principles Matter Most
