Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®, continues to be a best seller for the simple reason that it ignores trends and pop psychology and focuses on timeless principles of fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity.

We’ve gathered 50 Most Popular quotes by Stephen Covey in this piece of content.

1. “There are three constants in life – change, choice and principles.” Stephen Covey

2. “Make time for planning; Wars are won in the general’s tent.” Stephen Covey

3. “Be proactive.” Stephen Covey

4. “Begin with the end in mind.” Stephen Covey

5. “You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smiling, nonapoloegetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside.” Stephen Covey

6. “Put first things first.” Stephen Covey

7. “Think win-win.” Stephen Covey

8. “Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.” Stephen Covey

9. “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. Most people listen with the intent to reply.” Stephen Covey

10. “If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.” Stephen Covey

11. “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” Stephen Covey

12. “Treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” Stephen Covey

13. “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.” Stephen Covey

14. “Leadership is a choice, not a position.” Stephen Covey

15. “I am not a product of my circumstances, I am a product of my decisions.” Stephen Covey

16. “Strength lies in differences not in similarities.” Stephen Covey

17. “Listen with your eyes for feelings.” Stephen Covey

18. “The way we see the problem is the problem.” Stephen Covey

19. “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” Stephen Covey

20. “Accountability breeds response-ability.” Stephen Covey

21. “Highly proactive people don’t blame circumstances, conditions or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior of their own conscious choice.” Stephen Covey

22. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Stephen Covey

23. “Be a light not a judge. Be a model not a choice. be part of the solution not part of the problem.” Stephen Covey

24. “He who has a why can deal with any what or how.” Stephen Covey

25. “Our ultimate freedom is the right and power anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.” Stephen Covey

26. “The only thing that endures over time is the Law of the Farm. You must prepare the ground, plant the seed, cultivate, and water it if you expect to reap the harvest.” Stephen Covey

27. “A personal mission statement becomes the DNA for every other decision we make.” Stephen Covey

28. “Courage is not the absence of fear but the awareness that something else is more important.” Stephen Covey

29. “To achieve goals you’ve never achieved before you need to start doing things you’ve never done before.” Stephen Covey

30. “Live out of your imagination, not your history.” Stephen Covey

31. “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 Covey

32. “Every human has four endowments – self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom. The power to choose, to respond, to change.” Stephen Covey

33. “I teach people how to treat me by what I will allow.” Stephen Covey

34. “Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else trie to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.” Stephen Covey

35. “You can change the fruit without changing the root.” Stephen Covey

36. “Our character is basically a composite of our habits because they are consistent. Often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” Stephen Covey

37. “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” Stephen Covey

38. “If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control – myself.” Stephen Covey

39. “Once you have a clear picture of your priorities that is values, goals, and high leverage activities, organize your life around them.” Stephen Covey

40. “What you do has greater impact than what you say.” Stephen Covey

41. The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.

42. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

43. Live out of your imagination, not your history.

44. Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.

45. Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.

46. I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.

47. You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non apologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.”

48. I teach people how to treat me by what I will allow.

49. Love is a verb. Love – the feeling – is the fruit of love the verb or our loving actions. So love her.

50. Live, love, laugh, leave a legacy.

If you appreciate Stephen Covey’s quotes, you might also find James Clear quotes inspiring.”

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