Post: #1

Author is Stephen R. Covey.

These are the quotes I wrote down while reading. These are the best gems of advice in the book so read my notes and you won't have to read the book in its entirety.

In summation, Covey heightens the need for you to be positive, proactive, disciplined and have your priorities straight as an individual. Once you have this mastered, you can command leadership through your own personal integrity, emotional empathy with others, and desire to see win/win outcomes that makes everyone within the team feel validated and respected.


From an individual standpoint

"Always be proactive"

"The problem is always inside us"


On people skills and personal presentation

"Trust is the highest form of human motivation"

"The greatest thing you can give to others is yourself"

"Perception is reality"

"Personal integrity generates trust"

"Be loyal to those who are not present"

"Abundance mentality stems from deep inner personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody".


On empathetic listening

"Only 10 per cent of our communication is represented by the words we say, 30 per cent by the sounds we make and 60 per cent by our body language"

"Listen to the person, not just their words"

"It's only the unsatisfied need that motivates. Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is psychological survival - to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, to be appreciated"

"Empathetic listening is risky. It takes a great deal of security to go into a deep listening experience because you open yourself up to being influenced"

"The paradox is that in order to have [emotional] influence, you have to be influenced"

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"


Covey's reflections in the years following the mainstream success of his book

"Put first things first - this is the habit most neglected"

"Interdependence is ten times more difficult than independence. To work with others in creative cooperative ways requires an enormous amount of independence, internal security and self-mastery"

"Integrity is a higher value than loyalty. Integrity means being integrated or centred on principles not on people, organisations or even family"

"Any airplane is off track much of the time but just keeps coming back to the flight plan"

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care"

Post: #2

7 Habits is an awesome book. I try to go through the audiobook once or twice a year.

Post: #3

Planning on getting this book very soon, surprised this is the first I hear about it on the forum, seems like one of the highest rated "personal growth" books on amazon.com

Post: #4

Many schools nowadays are adopting the 7 Habits as the school philosophy and value system. The Covey family has continued the legacy with books such as "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids."

I think someone could write The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Players and they would be identical.

Be proactive: Make your own luck. "Carry your own weather" (Don't give a fuck)

Begin with the end in mind: Always be Closing. Always work towards the long-term goal- not the number or kiss close, but the pull.

Put first things first: Pick your battles. Why bother winning an argument or persuading a girl to agree with you on some bullshit thing. What are you really trying to accomplish?

Think win-win: The seduction should not be thought of as you manipulating some outcome to your advantage. It is a win-win situation (or it should be) and it is healthy to think of it as such.

Seek first to understand, then to be understood: This is the reason to learn game theory, to understand women and also reasons for the outcomes you have had from your actions and dealings with women in the past. Understanding women, to the extent we can, will yield rich fruits. Having women understand you, not so much. They only need understand your limits, boundaries, and expectations.

Synergize: This is what we do here. Through the cumulative wisdom, experience, and creativity of the members, we make something greater than the sum of its parts.

Sharpen the saw: continuous self-improvement. Work out, read, develop your skills and talents, eat healthy.

Post: #5

I've always disliked this book but maybe I should give it another read.

Post: #6

The little kindnesses and courtesies are so important. Small discourtesies, little unkindnesses, little
forms of disrespect make large withdrawals. In relationships, the little things are the big things.

Keeping a commitment or a promise is a major deposit; breaking one is a major withdrawal. In fact,
there's probably not a more massive withdrawal than to make a promise that's important to someone
and then not to come through. The next time a promise is made, they won't believe it. People tend to
build their hopes around promises, particularly promises about their basic livelihood.

Personal integrity generates trust and is the basis of many different kinds of deposits.
Lack of integrity can undermine almost any other effort to create high trust accounts. People can
seek to understand, remember the little things, keep their promises, clarify and fulfill expectations, and
still fail to build reserves of trust if they are inwardly duplicitous.