“I have lived by one crucial principle since I was 24 years old. I don’t blame or complain about things like the economy, the government, taxes, employees, gas prices, or any of the external things that I don’t have control over. The only thing I have control over is my response to these things.”
– Jack Canfield

“Reactive People focus on circumstances over which they have not control. The negative energy generated by that focus, combined with neglect in areas they could do something about, causes their Circle of Influence to shrink. Proactive people focus their efforts on the things they can do something about. The nature of their energy is positive, enlarging, and magnifying, causing their Circle of Influence to increase.”
– Stephen R. Covey

“Highly Proactive People recognize their “response-ability” – the ability to choose their response. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling.”
– Stephen R. Covey

“Between Stimulus and Response, one has the freedom to choose. Within the freedom to choose are those endowments that make us uniquely human: self-awareness; imagination (the ability to create in our minds beyond our present reality); conscience (a deep inner awareness of the principles that govern our behavior, and a sense of the degree to which our thoughts and actions are in harmony with them); and independent will (the ability to act based on our self-awareness, free of all other influences.)”
– Stephen R. Covey

“It’s about scale. Pick a long enough one (or a short enough one) and you can see the edges.
In the short run, there’s never enough time.
In the long run, constrained resources become available.
In the short run, you can fool anyone.
In the long run, trust wins.
In the short run, we’ve got a vacancy, hire the next person you find.
In the long run, we spend most of our time with the people we’ve chosen in the short run.
In the short run, decisions feel more urgent and less important at the same time.
In the long run, most decisions are obvious and easy to make.
In the short run, it’s better to panic and obsess on emergencies and urgencies.
In the long run, spending time with people you love, doing work that matters, is all that counts.
In the short run, trade it all for attention.
In the long run, it’s good to own it (the means of production, the copyrights, the process).
In the short run, burn it down, someone else will clean up the problem.
In the long run, the environment in which we live is what we need to live.
In the short run, better to cut class.
In the long run, education pays off.
In the short run, tearing people down is a great way to get ahead.
In the long run, building things of value makes sense.
Add up the short runs, though, and you’re left with the long run. It’s going to be the long run a lot longer than the short run will last.

Act accordingly.”
– Seth Godin

“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” – Wayne Gretzky

“The Personality Ethic tells me there must be something out there –some new planner or seminar that will help me handle pressures in a more efficient way.

But is there a chance that efficiency is not the answer? Is getting more things done in less time going to make a difference – or will it just increase the pace at which I react to the people and circumstances that seem to control my life?

Could there be something I need to see in a deeper, more fundamental way – some paradigm within myself that affects the way I see my time, my life, and my own nature?”

Character Ethic, which I believe to be the foundation of success, teaches that there are basic principles of effective living, and that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these principles into their basic character.”
– Stephen A. Covey

“How strong and healthy is the culture – the goose that lays the golden eggs? Is the trust level high enough to permit people to be empowered so that they can provide consistent quality service to the customer in fast, flexible, focused and friendly ways?” – Stephen R. Covey

“When we sharpen the saw in a balanced, consistent way, we vaccinate ourselves. Slowly, gradually, even imperceptibly, an immune system develops within so that no matter what problem we face, we are able to tap into our deep inner resources and reserves. It also cultivates the awareness and humility to tap into outer resources when needed. We never really get the disease resulting from unsolved problems because our immune system is sufficiently strong to solve them early on.” – Stephen R. Covey

“The reason that so few people are financially independent today is that they place many negative roadblocks in their heads. Becoming wealthy is, in fact, a mind game.”
– Thomas J. Stanley