CONSTANTS.
- whatshesaid2020
- Apr 16, 2021
- 2 min read
This quote by Stephen R. Covey is very revealing about knowing ourselves from the inside-out.
He states, "There are three constants in life..."
...of which I believed those constants were death & taxes...
...however, the author of the highly popular book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote it was Change, Choice, & Principles.
Now if you haven't read his book or don't know who he is it's either because you are way too young or you are not a reader of leadership or self-help books.
Stephen Richards Covey was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker who died tragically in 2012 from injuries of a bicycle accident at the age of 79 years old. He was a former business professor whose 1989 leadership manifesto "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" sold more than 20 million copies on the way to becoming one of the most highly effective volumes in the history of self-help publishing. He was also co-founder of FranklinCovey, a business and leadership consulting firm (Washingtonpost.com)
In his book, Covey believes that habits are based on internalized principles and patterns of behavior.
In a synopsis the seven habits included:
Habit One - Be proactive
Habit Two - Begin with the end in mind
Habit Three - Put first things first
Habit Four - Think win/win
Habit Five - Seek first to understand, then to be understood
Habit Six - Synergize
Habit Seven - Sharpen the saw
When I started my doctoral journey, my first day of class was spent outdoors putting on borrowed, oversized regalia complete with gown, hood and tam representing Olivet Nazarene University. The idea was to visualize ourselves wearing this and walking the stage on graduation day. Dr. Kelly Brown, one of my professors, kept saying, "Begin with the end in mind."
While it wasn't an easy journey, as I had thoughts of quitting especially after my dad died and I was conducting his funeral instead of attending my first statistics class, I persevered and was able to complete my doctorate degree and my dissertation by the grace of God.
At times I didn't care for the process because I didn't trust it. What I had to do was make a choice based on the principle that I committed my time and finances to this program for the next three years.
I had to lean on my adviser to be the calm in my storm (Dr. Jeff Williamson). I had to lean on my husband, Doug, to run our household. I had to lean on my friends and colleagues to listen to me talk about my assignments endlessly, and to assist in reading and re-reading my dissertation (all 120 pages of it). I had to lean on the support of my organizational leadership who supported me with encouragement and prayer. I had to lean on my family, especially my grandchildren, to be patient with my limited time together.
From the journey, I learned the three constants...change, choice, and principle.
I encourage you to read (or re-read) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. It will help you change your perspective on leadership development. If not, its a great self-help.
What She Said ~ Beverly
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