The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

byFunkydunc208

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Updated 9 years ago

Applying These Principles in our Online Business

Stephen Covey changed the way people conducted business through his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Even though he died in 2012 due to complications from an accident, his legacy still affects millions around the world. I had the privilege of hearing him speak at a business conference in 1997. That discussion, along with his books, gave me much to consider in the years since.

In this blog and the ones to follow, we are going to examine how these principles can be applied to our Wealthy Affiliate activity as well as our online niche market website. The 7 Habits are divided into three categories.

• Independence
• Interdependence
• Continuous Improvement.

• Independence

1. Be Proactive

I have often struggled to work on this key starting strategy. According to Mr Covey, being proactive is all about understanding the Circle of Influence and its relationship with the Circle of Concern. What are these?

The Circle of Concern contains all the things that worry us in life. They could include our relationships, making a living, war in the Middle East, terrorism, politics, and the list goes on. Some of these are key issues in our personal life while others are just what we worry about from time to time. The key to being proactive is the Circle of Influence. (note the graphic - Pic Credit: afineparent.com).

The Circle of Influence is just that - the issues that we have influence or control over. Realistically, few of us can influence the Syrian crisis, the wave of refugees arriving in Europe, etc. Worrying about them doesn’t help us in any way. Now of course, that doesn’t mean we are ambivalent to the suffering or pain these people are dealing with daily. But we can’t influence these topics any more than our next door neighbor can. (Unless we live next door to the White House)

So in light of that reality check, what can we influence? We have control of so much in our life. Here are just a few.

• What about how we treat our wife/husband/life partner? Are we kind and considerate to them?
• Do we make time for our children so that we are a positive influence on their lives?
• What are we putting into our online niche business? Are we stressing about why site traffic is slow, but we aren’t working on writing killer content and publishing regularly? We have influence over that.

These are just a few thought-provoking questions that warrant consideration. Being proactive means we don’t just sit and wait in a reactive mode, waiting for problems to happen. Rather, we need to work from the centre of our influence circle and continually look for ways to expand that circle. By focusing on this circle, we will surprise ourselves by how the Influence Circle will start to include many of the issues that live in the Circle of Concern.

For example, any of us who are parents hope that our children will grow up to be good citizens in the community and manifest a work ethic that will take them down the road to success. We can, of course, sit and worry about this, (Circle of Concern) or we can go out and live those principles and set a worthy example for them to follow, (Circle of Influence). As they watch our example, we have the opportunity to influence this area of concern.

So in view of the foregoing, let us be proactive. Let’s live by the principles that we want to reside in others. To help us achieve that, it would be ideal to do the following exercise:

Draw your own Circle of Concern and write in it the issues that greatly worry or concern you. Next, draw the Circle of Influence and note the areas you have control or influence over. Note what areas you can work on that relate to the Concern list and the Influence list and make them the goals to achieve in the next few months.

Be proactive, not reactive. Step out and make a difference in the parts of our life we can improve. We may see that others have come along for the ride and are following our example.

2. Begin With the End in Mind

Here is a reality check that we all need to face. We are busy and life can get ahead of us at times. Goals are being set for us by others and we seem to be constantly running to achieve those goals. For example, we get told that the extra degree will give us the job that leads to financial security. Or we have to buy a house in that neighborhood, have this many children, drive that model car, etc. But are these my goals? Are they my values?

These are two vital questions we need to face before we can achieve real success. Beginning with the end in mind basically means you know where you are going, why you are going there, and what steps you are taking to achieve that. It is, as Stephen Covey taught, knowing that you are climbing the ladder and it is not against the wrong wall. Pursuing goals selected by others, rather than ones we want to achieve, will leave us empty and unfulfilled. How do we Begin with the End in Mind?

• Write down the answers to questions such as “What matters most to me? What are my values in life? What do I love to do in life, whether that be at work or at play?”
• Analyze and note down what you want to contribute to your community, your family, your marriage.
• What are my roles in life and what can I do to improve my application of those roles? In other words, what can I do to improve as a husband, wife, employee, son, etc?

Writing down the answers to these questions, gives you the basis of the next important step in this Second Habit, writing out your own personal mission statement.

After I read Stephen Covey’s book, and then heard him speak, I developed my own mission statement. In addition, my wife, who is far more focused on this subject than me, suggested we design one for our marriage. So in 1998, after 15 years of marriage, we had our relationship statement ready to work in concert with our personal statements. Having these mission statements have proved invaluable during the years since. Revisiting our mission statements, refining them and recommitting ourselves to the principles stated in them, has helped us deal with trauma, illness and issues that we had little influence over. It recalibrated our focus; it gave us renewed energy for the road ahead. Why not try this for yourself?

3. Put First Things First

First Things First is about putting into practice Habit 2. Here are two questions that Stephen Covey asks his readers.

• “What is one thing you could do (that you aren’t doing now) that if you did it regularly, would make a tremendous difference in your personal life?”
• What is one thing in your business or professional life that would bring similar results?”

How could that apply to us here at Wealthy Affiliate Network? I know with my business life, I need to be more disciplined in my scheduling and time management so that I can make quality time for writing content for my website, interacting with the community at Wealthy Affiliate while I continue to work as an English tutor online. In my personal life, I have come to the realization that I need to return to my relaxed, happy nature that served me well in my 30s and really enjoy life’s moments, rather than carry the burden of the negativity I have experienced in recent years. That means I have to revisit my mission statement and reapply myself to the values that matter most to me.

In addition, having a clear vision about why we are in this community at Wealthy Affiliate and what our goals are for our niche marketplace, will help us to maintain focus when things don’t go as well as we had hoped or we are struggling with writing content for our website.

So Habit 3 is applying practically, the thoughts we had when considering Habit 2. Make your own mission statement and start working toward the goals YOU have set for yourself, not the goals that others have put in front of you.

Conclusion:

To achieve the above three habits will take some time. Habit 2 will take the longest since this is the habit you have to linger with. It is important to really internalize Habit 2, get your mission statement written and have its priorities deeply rooted in your heart and mind. Getting control of our independence, not relying on others to set our goals, will enable us to find purpose and meaning in our business and personal endeavors.

Next week, we will consider Habits 4 to 6, under the banner Interdependence.

4 - Think Win-Win

5 - Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

6 - Synergize

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