Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is perfect if you think relationships are difficult, life’s hard, or successful people are lucky.
Do you want more time for what’s important?
Or do you want to attract people, opportunities, and ideas like a magnet?
These quotes will help you improve your relationships, career, and self-esteem. Or, if you’ve already read Stephen Covey’s book, these quotes will help you remember what you’ve learned.
I’ve included page numbers for reference. Keep reading, but only if you want more out of life.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Quotes With Page Numbers
“We must look at the lens through which we see the world, as well as at the world we see, and that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 17
“We began to realize that if we wanted to change the situation, we first had to change ourselves. And to change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 18
“The Psalmist expressed our conviction well: “Search your own heart with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 21
“Two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right. It’s not logical; it’s psychological.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 27
“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are──or, as we are conditioned to see it.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 28
“Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 37
“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 46
“As you care less about what people think of you, you will care more about what others think of themselves.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 61
“Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Pages 70-71
“But until a person can say deeply and honestly, ‘I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,’ that person cannot say, ‘I choose otherwise.’”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 72
“The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. Reactive people are driven by feelings, by circumstances, by conditions, by their environment. Proactive people are driven by values–carefully thought about, selected and internalized values.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 72
“It’s not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts us. Of course, things can hurt us physically or economically and cause sorrow. But our character, our basic identity, does not have to be hurt at all. In fact, our most difficult experiences become the crucibles that forge our character and develop the internal powers, the freedom to handle difficult circumstances in the future and to inspire others to do so as well.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 73
“By making and keeping promises to ourselves and others, little by little, our honor becomes greater than our moods.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 92
“It is in the ordinary events of every day that we developthe proactive capacity to handle the extraordinary pressures of life.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 92
“real success is success with self. It’s not in having things, but in having mastery, having victory over self.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 104
“Habit 2 says we don’t have to live with these scripts. We are response-able to use our imagination and creativity to write new ones that are more effective, more congruent with our deepest values and with the correct principles that give our values meaning.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 104
“People can’t live with change if there’s not a changeless core inside them. The key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you are, what you are about and what you value.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 108
“Too many vacations that last too long, too many movies, too much TV, too much video game playing–too much undisciplined leisure time in which a person continually takes the course of least resistance gradually wastes a life. It ensures that a person’s capacities stay dormant, that talents remain undeveloped, that the mind and spirit become lethargic and that the heart is unfulfilled. Where is the security, the guidance, the wisdom, and the power? At the end of the continuum, in the pleasure of a fleeting moment.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 115
“In the church-centered life, image or appearance can become a person’s dominant consideration, leading to hypocrisy that undermines personal security and intrinsic worth. Guidance comes from a social conscience, and the church-centered person tends to label others artificially in terms of ‘active,’’inactive,’’liberal,’’orthodox,’or ‘conservative.’”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 117
“The principles don’t change; our understanding of them does.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 123
“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 128
“A good affirmation has five basic ingredients: it’s personal, it’s positive, it’s present tense, it’s visual, and it’s emotional.
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 133
“In the name or professional success, they may neglect the most precious relationships in their lives.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Pages 135-36
“…every Goliath can be overcome.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 136
“time management’ is really a misnomer–the challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 150
“…If you were to fault yourself in one of these three areas, which would it be: (1) the ability to prioritize; (2) the inability or desire to organize around those priorities, or (3) the lack of discipline to execute around them, to stay with your priorities and organization?”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 157
“Externally imposed disciplines and schedules give people the feeling that they aren’t responsible for results.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 159
“Can success in your profession compensate for a broken marriage, ruined health, or weakness in personal character?”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 161
“Your planning tool should be your servant, never your master. Since it has to work for you, it should be tailored to your style, your needs, your particular ways.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 162
“Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience, and it doesn’t preclude the necessity to train and develop people so that their competency can rise to the level of that trust.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 178
“You can’t have the fruits without the roots. It’s the principle of sequencing. Private Victory precedes Public Victory. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation of good relationships with others.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 186
“When we defend those who are absent, you retain the trust of those present.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 196
“It takes a great deal of character strength to apologize quickly out of one’s heart rather than out of pity. A person must possess himself and have a deep sense of security in fundamental principles and values in order to genuinely apologize.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 197
“It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to admit it. People will forgive mistakes, because mistakes are usually of the mind, mistakes of judgment. But people will not easily forgive the mistakes of the heart, the ill intention, the bad motives, the prideful justifying cover-up of the first mistake.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 199
“…murder is suicide, …anger is a two-edged sword.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 210
“if we can’t make and keep commitments to ourselves as well as to others, our commitments become meaningless. We know it; others know it. They sense duplicity and become guarded.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 217
“Because Win/Win is a principle people can validate in their own lives, you will be able to bring most people to a realization that they will win more of what they want by doing for what you both want.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 222
“It is much more ennobling to the human spirit to let people judge themselves than to judge them. And in a high trust culture, it’s much more accurate.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 224
“I am always amazed at the results that happen, both to individuals and to organizations, when responsible, proactive, self-directing individuals are turned loose on a task.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Pages 226-27
Stephen Covey Love Quotes
“‘The feeling of love just isn’t there.’
Then love her. If the feeling isn’t there, that’s a good reason to love her.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 79
“Love is a verb. Love–the feeling–is a fruit of love, the verb. So love her. Serve her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate. Affirm her. Are you willing to do that?”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 80
“In the great literature of all progressive societies, love is a verb. Reactive people make it a feeling. They’re driven by feelings.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 80
“Hollywood has generally scripted us to believe that we are not responsible, that we are a product of our feelings. But the Hollywood script does not describe the reality. If our feelings control our actions, it is because we have abdicated our responsibility and empowered them to do so.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 80
“Proactive people make love a verb. Love is something you do: the sacrifices you make, the giving of self, like a mother bringing a newborn into the world.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 80
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Quadrants
Four Generations of Time Management
“Organize and execute around priorities.”~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 149
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. ”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 161
“While the third generation has made a significant contribution, people have begun to realize that ‘efficient’ scheduling and control of time are often counterproductive. The efficiency focus creates expectations that clash with the opportunities to develop rich relationships, to meet human needs, and to enjoy spontaneous moments on a daily basis.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 150
“There is an emerging fourth generation that is different in kind. It recognizes that ‘time management’ is really a misnomer–the challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves. Satisfaction is a function of expectations as well as realization. Expectation (and satisfaction) lie in our Circle of Influence.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 150
“Rather than focusing on things and time, fourth generation expectations focus on preserving and enhancing relationships and on accomplishing results–in short, on maintaining the P/PC Balance.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 150
“As well as empowering you to put first things first, Quadrant II weekly organizing gives you the freedom and the flexibility to handle unanticipated events, to shift appointments if you need to, to savor relationships and interactions with others, to deeply enjoy spontaneous experiences, knowing that you have proactively organized your week to accomplish key goals in every area of your life.”
~Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 165
How long does it take to read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
It takes about five hours for the average reader, reading at a speed of 300 words per minute, to read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
What are the 7 habits in order?
The-7-habits of Highly Effective People:
- Habit 1: Be Proactive
- Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind
- Habit 3: Put First Things First
- Habit 4: Think Win-Win
- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
- Habit 6: Synergize
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
How To Remember The 7 Habits For A Lifetime of Success
“When you share what you learn, you get to learn it twice.”
~Jim Kwik, author of “Limitless”
The more different ways you learn something, the better you understand it.
You can read the book, listen to the audio, read your favorite quotes, take notes, take action, and share what you learn.
Learn the seven Habits. Think about them until you take action. Take action until the seven habits become your habits. Then, people, opportunities, and success will seek you.
How can the 7 Habits improve your life?
Further Reading: