Covey - The 7 habits of highly effective people

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Part Four -- RENEWAL Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw TM Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things.... I am tempted to think...there are no little things. -- Bruce Barton * * Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree. "What are you doing?" you ask. "Can't you see?" comes the impatient reply. "I'm sawing down this tree." "You look exhausted!" you exclaim. "How long have you been at it?" "Over five hours," he returns, "and I'm beat! This is hard work." "Well, why don't you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen the saw?" you inquire. "I'm sure it would go a lot faster." "I don't have time to sharpen the saw," the man says emphatically. "I'm too busy sawing!" Habit 7 is taking time to Sharpen the Saw. It surrounds the other habits on the Seven Habits paradigm because it is the habit that makes all the others possible. Four Dimensions of Renewal Habit 7 is personal PC. It's preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have -- you. It's renewing the four dimensions of your nature -- physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional. Although different words are used, most philosophies of life deal either explicitly or implicitly with these four dimensions. Philosopher Herb Shepherd describes the healthy balanced life around four values: perspective (spiritual), autonomy (mental), connectedness (social), and tone (physical). George Sheehan, the running guru, describes four roles: being a good animal (physical), a good craftsman (mental), a good friend (social), and a saint (spiritual). Sound motivation and organization theory embrace these four dimensions or motivations -- the economic (physical); how people are treated (social); how people are developed and used (mental); and the service, the job, the contribution the organization gives (spiritual). 187
"Sharpen the Saw" basically means expressing all four motivations. It means exercising all four dimensions of our nature, regularly and consistently, in wise and balanced ways. To do this, we must be proactive. Taking time to sharpen the saw is a definite Quadrant II activity, and Quadrant II must be acted on. Quadrant I, because of its urgency, acts on us; it presses upon us constantly. Personal PC must be pressed upon until it becomes second nature, until it becomes a kind of healthy addiction. Because it's at the center of our Circle of Influence, no one else can do it for us. We must do it for ourselves. This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life -- investment in ourselves, in the only instrument we have with which to deal with life and to contribute. We are the instruments of our own performance, and to be effective, we need to recognize the importance of taking time regularly to sharpen the saw in all four ways. The Physical Dimension The physical dimension involves caring effectively for our physical body -- eating the right kinds of foods, getting sufficient rest and relaxation, and exercising on a regular basis. Exercise is one of those Quadrant II, high-leverage activities that most of us don't do consistently because it isn't urgent. And because we don't do it, sooner or later we find ourselves in Quadrant I, dealing with the health problems and crises that come as a natural result of our neglect. 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. And you don't need any special equipment to do it. If you want to go to a gym or a spa to use the equipment or enjoy some skill sports such as tennis or racquetball, that's an added opportunity. But it isn't necessary to sharpen the saw. A good exercise program is one that you can do in your own home and one that will build your body in three areas: endurance, flexibility, and strength. Endurance comes from aerobic exercise, from cardiovascular efficiency -- the ability of your heart to pump blood through your body. Although the heart is a muscle, it cannot be exercised directly. It can only be exercised through the large muscle groups, particularly the leg muscles. That's why exercises like rapid walking, running, biking, swimming, cross-country skiing, and jogging are so beneficial. You are considered minimally fit if you can increase your heart rate to at least 100 beats per minute and keep it at that level for 30 minutes. Ideally you should try to raise your heart rate to at least 60 percent of your maximum pulse rate, the top speed your heart can beat and still pump blood through your body. Your maximum heart rate is generally accepted to be 220 less your age. So, if you are 40, you should aim for an exercise heart rate of 108 (220 - 40 = 180 x .6 = 108). The "training 188
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THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIV
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These principles, however, are like
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Stephen Covey adds great value to a
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I have a forceful personality. I kn
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This personality ethic, I began to
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long-term relationship they have, w
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The professor then asked one studen
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ingenuity, and creating a standard
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Shortly after dark, the lookout on
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The more closely our maps or paradi
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So I first tried a simple request.
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There's so much to do. And there's
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But from my own experience -- both
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interdependent, that there is an ec
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Understanding the sequence will hel
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training, the communicating, the re
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trust, and lost the asset of custom
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disappear. Those you teach will see
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"You're never on time." "Why can't
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instincts and conditioning and cond
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such personal freedom and the effec
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you to act. If you wait to be acted
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"Think hard. What do you think woul
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Because of position, wealth, role,
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So these executives focused on find
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We can decide to be dishonest in ou
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Knowing that we are responsible --
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When I look upon the tombs of the g
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Whether we are aware of it or not,
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Because we already live with many s
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Succeed at home first. Seek and mer
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so-called mental and emotional illn
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When we are dependent on the person
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Innocent pleasures in moderation ca
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Because the church is a formal orga
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If you are Money Centered... SECURI
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WISDOM You see the world through a
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We can depend on them Principles do
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POWER Your power is limited only by
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Fourth, you can communicate to your
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many different kinds of thought pro
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We would try to get him in a very r
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I inspire: I teach by example that
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When we plan our family goals and a
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"Everybody," he replied. "Everybody
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Application Suggestions 1. Take the
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Management, remember, is clearly di
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with the bath water," reverting to
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was to enforce the contract -- to c
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There are many people who recognize
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Coherence: Coherence suggests that
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mission statement, you may want to
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all day. Remember, frustration is a
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it! -- Don't take it!" I was afraid
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"You, Dad?" "No, not me. You're the
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I bit my tongue and waited until af
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Application Suggestions: 1. Identif
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"Well, you'd like to take a screwdr
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And this is in the most intimate, t
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Our tendency is to project out of o
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"I thought you meant that the quali
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you are honest and open and kind wi
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When we violate the primary laws of
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deep personal affection which added
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Habit 4: Think Win-Win TM -- Princi
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"My parents don't love me as much a
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I know of a divorce in which the hu
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"In other words, you lost." "That's
Page 137 and 138: worked to set up a Win-Win Agreemen
Page 139 and 140: High courage and consideration are
Page 141 and 142: communication process. You listen m
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Page 145 and 146: guidelines, and resources to make s
Page 147 and 148: 40. The spirit of win-win had signi
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Page 151 and 152: Habit 5: Seek First to Understand,
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Page 155 and 156: You're listening to understand. You
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Page 159 and 160: esults in communication. To many, s
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Page 163 and 164: What a difference real understandin
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Page 167 and 168: trust of another person's communica
Page 169 and 170: Habit 5 is something you can practi
Page 171 and 172: Habit 6: Synergize TM Principles of
Page 173 and 174: hit-or-miss, trial and error. And u
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Page 177 and 178: Synergy means that 1 + 1 may equal
Page 179 and 180: arrange for some help at the first
Page 181 and 182: "I know," he replied with a forced
Page 183 and 184: He also developed charley horses fr
Page 185 and 186: scheduled payments were met. It was
Page 187: Application Suggestions 1. Think ab
Page 191 and 192: If you haven't been exercising, you
Page 193 and 194: This is why I believe a personal mi
Page 195 and 196: centered on the principles of perso
Page 197 and 198: diminishes us. It increases us beca
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Page 203 and 204: The children looked forward to the
Page 205 and 206: Sandra and I were amazed at what we
Page 207 and 208: Becoming a Transition Person Among
Page 209 and 210: Again, T. S. Eliot expresses so bea
Page 211 and 212: * * If your center is Pleasure... S
Page 213 and 214: This is the way you may tend to per
Page 215 and 216: Many third-generation time managers
Page 217 and 218: Preparing the media budget. Regardi
Page 219: produce interesting and creative wa
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Covey - The 7 habits of highly effective people

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