The 7 Habbits of Highly Effective People - A Summary

Here's one very nice book from Steven Covey, The 7 Habbits of Highly Effective People.

Just listed here a bullet format as reminder. You can buy the book as companion during coffee breaks! ;)

1. Be Proactive

2. Begin With The End in Mind

3. Put First Things First

4. Think Win-Win

5. Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

6. Synergize

7. Sharpen The Saw

That's where the seven habits of highly effective people come in:

Habits 1, 2, and 3 are focused on self-mastery and moving from dependence to independence.
Habits 4, 5, and 6 are focused on developing teamwork, collaboration, and communication skills, and moving from independence to interdependence.
Habit 7 is focused on continuous growth and improvement, and embodies all the other habits.

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Twenty

Your 20′s are the building blocks of your championship, so build toward greatness. Don’t fall into a trap of holding a weak mentality, and living your life without passion, purpose, and dedication. The phrase “If Only” is for those who hold fear more than faith, and who put more weight on excuses, than present blessings.

10 choices that carry significant weight. Learn to be conscious of the decisions you make so you can do your best to live like a champion:

1. Wearing a mask to impress others.

If the face you always show the world is a mask, someday there will be nothing beneath it. Because when you spend too much time concentrating on everyone else’s perception of you, or who everyone else wants you to be, you eventually forget who you really are. So don’t fear the judgments of others; you know in your heart who you are and what’s true to you. You don’t have to be perfect to impress and inspire people. Let them be impressed and inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.

2. Letting someone else create your dreams for you.

The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you are; the second greatest is being happy with what you find. A big part of this is your decision to stay true to your own goals and dreams. Do you have people who disagree with you? Good. It means you’re standing your ground and walking your own path. Sometimes you’ll do things considered crazy by others, but when you catch yourself excitedly losing track of time, that’s when you’ll know you’re doing the right thing.

3. Keeping negative company.

Don’t let someone who has a bad attitude give it to you. Don’t let them get to you. They can’t pull the trigger if you don’t hand them the gun. When you remember that keeping the company of negative people is a choice, instead of an obligation, you free yourself to keep the company of compassion instead of anger, generosity instead of greed, and patience instead of anxiety.

4. Being selfish and egotistical.

A life filled with loving deeds and good character is the best tombstone. Those who you inspired and shared your love with will remember how you made them feel long after your time has expired. So carve your name on hearts, not stone. What you have done for yourself alone dies with you; what you have done for others and the world remains.

5. Avoiding change and growth.

If you want to know your past look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future look into your present actions. You must let go of the old to make way for the new; the old way is gone, never to come back. If you acknowledge this right now and take steps to address it, you will position yourself for lasting success.

6. Giving up when the going gets tough.

There are no failures, just results. Even if things don’t unfold the way you had expected, don’t be disheartened or give up. Learn what you can and move on. The one who continues to advance one step at a time will win in the end. Because the battle is always won far away and long before the final victory. It’s a process that occurs with small steps, decisions, and actions that gradually build upon each other and eventually lead to that glorious moment of triumph.

7. Trying to micromanage every little thing.

Life should be touched, not strangled. Sometimes you’ve got to relax and let life happen without incessant worry and micromanagement. Learn to let go a little before you squeeze too tight. Take a deep breath. When the dust settles and you can once again see the forest for the trees, take the next step forward. You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going to be headed somewhere great. Everything in life is in perfect order whether you understand it yet or not. It just takes some time to connect all the dots.

8. Settling for less than you deserve.

Be strong enough to let go and wise enough to wait for what you deserve. Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you have ever been to stand up taller than you ever were before. Sometimes your eyes need to be washed by your tears so you can see the possibilities in front of you with a clearer vision again. Don’t settle.

9. Endlessly waiting until tomorrow.

The trouble is, you always think you have more time than you do. But one day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to work on the things you’ve always wanted to do. And at that point you either will have achieved the goals you set for yourself, or you will have a list of excuses for why you haven’t. Read Randy Pausch’s The Last
Lecture.

10. Being lazy and wishy-washy.

The world doesn’t owe you anything, you owe the world something. So stop daydreaming and start DOING. Develop a backbone, not a wishbone. Take full responsibility for your life – take control. You are important and you are needed. It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now; the somebody the world needs is YOU.

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Everything I know about life, I've learned in Noah's Ark

1. Don't miss the boat.

2. Remember that we are all in the same boat.

3. Plan ahead! It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

4. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

5. Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

6. Build your future on high ground.

7. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

8. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

9.  When you're stressed, float a while.

10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

11. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

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Tips on How to Wake-Up to a Productive Day

Don't ever check your email

Checking your email, facebook, twitter, etc even before you stand up

will frame your headspace for the rest of day. By not entertaining them

you gain control of prioritizing your goals and not just reacting to errands

Stretch

Stretching help warm up the body

and improves circulation by increasing

blood flow to your muscles which

heightens your energy level and concentration

Hydrate! HYDRATE! HyDRaTE!

The body becomes dehydrated overnight.

Drinking atleast 2 glasses in the morning

will help your body re-hydrate effectively

Eat Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

Morning meals will provide you with more energy,

reduces hunger pains and helps you make even

better food choices throughout the day

Treat Yourself

Allow yourself of 20 minutes me time. Read a chapter,

listen to the podcast, check your go to good vibes blog (like this, ahem!);

Get your headspace ready and discipline for the day ahead.

Take your time. Attach the day with focus, not panic

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The Scorpion and the Frog

One day, a scorpion looked around at the mountain where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So he set out on a journey through the forests and hills. He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going until he reached a river.
The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped to reconsider the situation. He couldn't see any way across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver, all the while thinking that he might have to turn back.

Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He decided to ask the frog for help getting across the stream.

"Hellooo Mr. Frog!" called the scorpion across the water, "Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on your back across the river?"

"Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try to help you, you wont try to kill me?" asked the frog hesitantly.

"Because," the scorpion replied, "If I try to kill you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!"

Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he asked. "What about when I get close to the bank? You could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!"

"This is true," agreed the scorpion, "But then I wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the river!"
"Alright then...how do I know you wont just wait till we get to the other side and THEN kill me?" said the frog.

"Ahh...," crooned the scorpion, "Because you see, once you've taken me to the other side of this river, I will be so grateful for your help, that it would hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would it?!"

So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion crawled onto the frog's back, his sharp claws prickling into the frog's soft hide, and the frog slid into the river. The muddy water swirled around them, but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly against the current.

Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs.

"You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?"

The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drownings frog's back.

"I could not help myself. It is my nature."

Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the swiftly flowing river.

Self destruction - "Its my Nature", said the Scorpion...

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12 Steps for Self Care

1. If it feels wrong, don't do it

2. Say exactly what you mean

3. Don't be a people pleaser

4. Trust your instincts

5. Never speak bad about yourself

6. Never give up on your dreams

7. Don't be afraid to say "No"

8. Don't be afraid to say "Yes"

9. Be kind to yourself

10. Let go of what you can control

11. Stay away from drama and negativity

12. LOVE

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Frog in a boiling water

Put a frog in a cold water heat it slowly.. what will happen?

A frog as a cold blooded animal and can easily adopt to it's environment. The frog is able to adjust its body temperature easily and effortlessly.

It keeps on adjusting with increasing temperature.

Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore.

At that point the frog decides to jump out.

The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it has lost all its strength in adjusting with the rising water temperature...

Very soon the frog dies.

What killed the frog?

Many of us would say the boiling water.

But the truth is.. what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.

We all need to adjust with people, relationships, occasions, situations.. There are even instances that staying is a matter of testing how long one can persevere and endure. However there are also instances.. sad.. that what we used to.. we need to leave them.. and jumped out.

We have to decide when to jump.

.. And jump while we still have the strength.

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