The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Paperback – Special Edition, November 19, 2013

This is, hands down, one of the best and most powerful books I've ever read in my life. I have recommended it to countless people. The fact that you're seeking it out says volumes about your level of self-awareness as it is and this book builds on that. Very seldom do books really make me get involved when I read them, but this book made me break out my highlighter and notepad. There was so much good stuff I just had to take notes I could quickly reference. You know how some books make you say things out loud? You'll read something and say, "YES! EXACTLY!" or read something profound and just sit dumbfounded, going "Wow," and you have to take a moment to reflect on it? This book is full of moments like that.There is a lot of practical stuff in here, too. Challenges for you. Ways you can start to shift your thinking by taking an emotional inventory of your life and what you're doing/feeling every day. Just writing about it makes me want to go back and read it again. If you're here looking for a book that will help you harness that little spark inside of you that's saying, "You can be better" then this book is it. You're not an animal. Life doesn't condition you like a dog. This book is about the untouchable part of your human spirit that no one besides you controls. This book is about carrying sunny weather with you where ever you go, learning how much a proactive attitude benefits you, and really how sad and wasteful it is to walk through life allowing things to ruin your day. Things don't ruin your day. YOU ruin your day. You are always in control.Seriously, read this book. You won't regret it.

I bought this book because I was tired of being awake at 4am working all night on papers due at 9am. 7 habits takes very general habits to learn ,but then breaks them down in ways that are easy to understand and very relatable. For example, when he mentions the 2nd habit as "Begin with the end in mind," he tells you to live your life as if you can attend your own funeral and have people say great things about you.You don’t have to be the CEO of a business to appreciate the values found in here; he applies them to relationships with family members and spouses as well. Although, I sometimes wish there were case studies or something to back up the principles instead of purely anecdotal evidence, I still really enjoyed the read. Everyone could read 7 Habits and take something home with them that would benefit the rest of their life and even Covey mentions this book as more of a refresher that we should occasionally read a part of to continue our progression with the habits.This book has overwhelming positive reviews, like one Amazon reviewer who thought the most important thing to bring home from the book is that “Things don't ruin your day. YOU ruin your day. You are always in control,” but other Amazon reviewers were disappointed with the “empty self-help clichés.” Considering myself unlucky and bucking responsibility for things “outside of my control”, this book reminded me that we our lucky to be able to make our own luck. Just for that important reminder alone I give it a 5/5.

One of my all time favorites. No matter your stage in life or what your focus is, this book has great advice without being checklist oriented. Covey’s philosophy on how to prioritize and communicate with others are just a couple examples that relate to family, business, and any meaningful relationship. I purchased the audio book for easy listening, and the hard copy for a deep-dive and note taking on important sections such as his four quadrants. While the book has been out for a while, it is absolutely not outdated - Covey has compiled a timeless book in an easy-to-read style that’s great for personal reflection or a book group.

I thought that The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was a pretty useful book. A number of discussions in the book were helpful. Dr. Covey based his system on what he refers to as “correct” principles. Why are the principles correct? The main evidence he offers is circumstantial: Namely that we see them as central principles for behavior throughout the world. Why should we center ourselves around these principles? Again, Dr. Covey seems to imply that the reason is largely empirical.I thought that his discussions of empathy and synergy were very good. I was also very impressed with his idea of "quadrant 2" issues, that are not urgent, but important. However, the book is very rich in its discussion, and one is likely to find that, in thinking about what he writes, there is much of great value, even if much of it seems to be just ordinary common sense.He discusses many important points about our individual lives, especially with respect to interactions with others or business negotiations. On the other hand, he sees the "personal victory" of acting as a free agent between "stimulus" and "response". Many of the harsh and deep problems of people are unrelated to taking charge and taking responsibility. Thus, when one first reads the book it may seem to be superficial. But I have recognized much wisdom in it as I have thought about the principles he espouses.