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Summary: COVEY IS AMERICAN SOCRATES, REALLY!
Review: The title of this book suggest another how-to-be-happy light book...it is not. Covey has developed a philosophical approach to life in this book. They make justice when they say Covey is the American Socrates. What he presents is a very profound guideline to reach equilibria in life, through having a life oriented to principles, and not to things or circumstances. The result of this equilibria is character development and capacity to reach goals in a systematic way as well as maturity to see things. The key for developing this can be found in practicing seven habits. Four of them having an internal, personal aproach and the other three an external approach. He suggest that all of us can develop a circle of influence in these things, which will directly depend on the practice of these habits. He also defines and introduces the well known term proactivity, as the hability to assume complete responsability of our acts and things that happen to us.
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Summary: Highly Effective Listening
Review: If you believe that all "self help" training/literature is the same - think again. Stephen Covey in this training can make you contemplate many things you have never considered before. He motivates and challenges you to be better at communication in practical and real terms. He will make you laugh, but the examples and principles are potentially life changing - the rest is up to you.
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Summary: Hardcover=Miniature - Buy Paperback instead
Review: Being of Yankee-descent I usually buy the cheaper of the two: paperback or hardcover. Mistake this time! The Hardcover is actually a miniature version of the book - paraphrased in a minimal amount of pages - suitable only for perhaps reading it on the sly in church. See dimensions in the fine print. Buy the 300+page paperback instead!
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Summary: Listen to the cassettes first
Review: If you're a busy person, you're likely to be attracted to this book. But if you're a busy person, it's difficult to appreciate this book because it takes quite a bit of concentration. What worked for me: Listen to the tapes first--while you're doing chores at home or cleaning up your office space. The tapes will win you over, and you will be ready for the book. I love reading portions of this book over and over again. I apply these principles at work, as well as in the classroom when I teach. Covey is a gifted teacher, and this book will provide you the guidelines and tools to succeed at what is truly important to you.
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Summary: Not What It Seems.
Review: This is a minature edition that could fit into your frontpocket. Those of you looking to by this great book cheap; don't befooled. This should be listed as a novelty item. Not as an hardboundbook...
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Summary: This is the BEST book I've ever read!
Review: This is a book for EVERYONE to read! If everyone would read this book and live by its' principles, the world would be a better place! Every page is full of so much truth-- eternal truths which are applicable to everyone. This book can be helpful to any and every problem in life. I plan to read this book over and over again. It definately isn't a book to be read once and put on a shelf to collect dust. This book isn't a thriller or a gripping novel, yet I find it hard to put the book down. I am so thankful that someone introduced me to this book. It's changed the way I see the world. It's helping me to realize my potential, and the potential of all around me. It's amazing! I can't reccommend this book highly enough. Read it! Then read it again and again!
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Summary: This book has improved my life!
Review: I, like almost every human being in the world, have a hard time prioritizing and improving my weakest points. I have also been given advice on how to juggle school, work and a personal life without feeling as though I'm about to explode. But as that old cliche goes, it's easier said than done. Having read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, however, my personal problems have somehow subsided. This is definitely a book that could change your life. That is if you follow what it says. It teaches you how to be proactive and how to take time to do the things that one might take for granted, like your physical and mental health and social and spiritual life. Also, it helps you figure out if you have a win/win mentality. This is a great and extremely helpful book. It is -- without a doubt -- the best self-help book I have purchased in years. I applaud Stephen R. Covey for having written such an honest and informative book. I strongly urge to read it. And I also strongly urge you to reflect on it and follow the instructions on how to be a better and more proactive person.
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Summary: This book changed my life!
Review: I read this book several years ago when it was first published and attended one of Stephen Covey's workshops a few months later. Both were fantastic and have dramatically changed my personal life and the way in which I have approached my professional career. I had been hired to help turnaround a small company that had been struggling for some time. After reading the book, I wanted to see if we could apply the concepts presented in Mr. Covey's book to our business challenge. I purchased copies of the book for each employee, and over the next couple of months, we spent an hour each week reviewing and discussing the approach outlined in Stephen Covey's book. Staff members became discussion leaders for different sections of the book. Our company began to experience dramatic improvements in revenues and customer service, and I am convinced that Mr. Covey's book had much to do with our success. As Mr. Covey recommended, I also prepared a Personal Mission Statement and have attemped to remain focused on it and my personal goals each and every day. I have also tried my best to apply the '7 Habits' concepts to every aspect of my family life and my interactions with others. One of the '7 Habits' has probably impacted my life more than anything else that I have ever read..."seek first to understand and then to be understood." Prior to reading this book, I was much more interested in communicating what I thought than in understanding the rationale that might exist behind the views of others. Now, I try very hard to understand why others are saying something before I worry about expressing my views. I would highly recommend this book anyone who might be interested in gaining a better understanding of how he/she can have a more successful and fulfilling life.
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Summary: Most important book I've read.
Review: This book put balance in my life. A must read for everyone.
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Summary: Great book, but trying is dying...
Review: This book is very effective in communicating Covey's concepts and ideas to the reader. Covey has masterfully dissected the essential qualities of the "ideal person" as we, in Western Society, have defined him(her). And oh how the masses thirst for this idealized template that they can apply to their lives. Unfortunately, it caters to our Western obsession with self-berating behavior, lack of self-knowledge and externalization of one's life-compass. It doesn't work. It is far better to learn to increase one's awareness and tap into the ebb and flow of the spiritual world. Covey's ideas are oh-so tempting - dangling the ultimate control of your life in front of your eyes. Control is an illusion. Analysis is paralysis. You may, by force of will, be able to live his program for a few weeks or even a few months, but ultimately you will fail because you are forcing an external system onto the fabric of your life. You will be trying to live according to a mental model created by the book. The only thing that saps your effectiveness is your lack of awareness. Live according to the spiritual laws that you know to be true...increase your AWARENESS of your actions and their effects on you and others...with heightened awareness you will become effective without even trying. And, it will happen naturally.
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