Length: 13 Hours 7 Minutes
Published by Simon and Schuster on November 19th 2013
Genres: Business & Economics, Skills, Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Personal Success, Self-Help, Motivational & Inspirational, Personal Growth, Success
Pages: 391
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRING BOOKS EVER WRITTEN, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has guided generations of readers for the last 25 years. Presidents and CEOs have kept it by their bedsides, students have underlined and studied passages from it, educators and parents have drawn from it, and individuals of all ages and occupations have used its step-by-step pathway to adapt to change and to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.
Why Did I Listen To This Audiobook?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey was available for free on Audible awhile ago, and so, because I love things that are free, I downloaded it. (PS — Audible does this from time to time — offer free audiobooks in addition to your membership credits) I began to listen to The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People because I have been OBSESSED with Pinterest lately and with personal development and self improvement. Judge away, I am really honestly, okay with that. I just have a lot of motivation as of late, and reading books about being a better, more productive, more effective person helps to keep me on track with that motivation. Now, I know people like to make fun of this book — especially synergy. That’s fine. That happens when a book becomes part of the cultural lexicon.
What Are The 7 Habits?
If you are not interested in listening to or buying the book – the 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People are comprised of:
1 – Be Proactive
2 – Begin with the End in Mind
3 – Put First Things First
4 – Think Win-Win
5 – Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
6 – Synergize
7 – Sharpen the Saw
So, okay, I think that these habits do make sense. They go from things that are independent, to things that deal with working with other people to working to improve consistently.
Was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey As Ridiculous As Expected?
Honestly, I was expecting to find this whole book a bit overrated and maybe not all that useful. However, it was not totally ridiculous. I liked that it really does provide a paradigm shift and a new framework to work from. I loved the example of win-win and how with things like contests and signaling people out – by default – someone loses. While the bump in competition and hard work is great – what Covey shows is that people are reluctant to work with those they see as competition because that might give those people an edge over themselves. It’s interesting and that is something that I will take with me and apply to blogging about books. Sometimes I view people as competition, but in reality, that’s not the case and it does turn out that you can do much better with collaboration.
Will I Use Any Of The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People?
Actually, I honestly will use these habits. I struggle with things like active listening and putting first things first. However, I find that they are important. I want to definitely be “sharpening the saw” when it comes to Good Books & Good Wine which I will do by learning as much as I can about professional blogging and implementing it here. There’s a lot of great tips and ideas out there and if you don’t stop improving, you stagnate. I want to be proactive and set high goals. I want be able to roadmap my way to success and well, this book has a great roadmap for putting those things into action.
How Is The Narration?
The narration of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey is kind of ratchet to be honest. I mean, it is narrated by the author. The audiobook production quality is quite poor. There’s feedback noise and you can hear the swallowing of saliva. It’s just not very well produced. This audiobook is quick though. I thought Covey’s voice sounded well informed and obviously, he knows the material given that he wrote the material. Still, this is not at all the best non-fiction, self improvement audiobook I’ve listened to, not by a long shot. However, if you want to be productive during wasted time (like while you drive), this audiobook is a start.
Other Reviews Of The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey:
Literary Nachos – “This will be a book you may want to read slowly.”
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I’m so glad that this wasn’t as ridiculous as you were expecting and that you got some things out of it. I definitely agree about win-win. For me, personally, I don’t do well with competition and I just shut down.
I read this when it first came out. I have forgotten it, though. I am at a place now in my life where I can actually implement stuff so I have checked it out of the library to read again.
I agree with you that not everything in the book applies to everyone. I still think it’s one of the best books on personal development I ever read. The habit #1 about proactivity is something I still think about regularly, same for the time management tips. The reader just needs to keep in mind they can pick the ones that are the most relevant to them.