7 Habits of Highly Effective People

I was in my Public Speaking class yesterday, and my teacher went through these "7 Habits of Highly Effective People." Researchers took what Rockefeller, Carnegie, Bill Gates and other successful people had done, and found these commonalities. To me, it makes sense.

1. Be Proactive. Plan ahead of what you want to do in life, so you don't REact in a way you'll regret.
2. Begin With The End In Mind. Set goals. Know where you're headed.
3. Put First Things First. Prioritize your life. Decide what's most important and focus your time towards that.
4. Think Win-Win. Value other people's opinions and ideas...and you'll make yourself a better person too.
5. Seek First To Understand, Then Be Understood. If you strive to be understanding of others, they'll try to understand you too when you're in need.
6. Synergize. Combine the strengths of those around you, and work together in a unified way.
7. Sharpen The Saw. Develop and strengthen your traits and talents, and find your true self.

My teacher also compared these to a maturity cycle (it's a circle, we are always going around it). Depending on the instance and stage of our life we cycle through these stages.
The first 3 show dependence --> independence. By NOT doing the first 3, we are letting the actions of other's control ourselves too much. For instance, while giving a presentation (example given in class) and the students aren't paying much attention..the first thought is "I messed up" "No one likes me" etc. By following the steps, it's taking personal responsibility for it "I'll try harder next time to keep their attention" "I'll put more time into my work from now on."
The next 3 have to do with actually working with others and building relationships. Life isn't all about you, ya know!! ;) Interaction is necessary in life, and building yourself a good reputation will help you be successful in the long run.
The last one, #7, is self-renewal. It's taking all the previously learned traits and applying them personally to become a better person.

Now, I hope I didn't bore you with all of these, but I really enjoyed them and found them interesting!! Seems like "common sense" if you ask me! ;) It's all about self-mastery in this life, and performing these steps would definitely lead you there. After learning these, I decided I would try harder to do all of them, and hopefully make myself a better person :)

Just to see you smile... I'd do anything.

-Tim McGraw