“Often, people with a Scarcity Mentality harbor secret hopes that others might suffer misfortune – not terrible misfortune, but acceptable misfortune that would keep them “in their place.” They’re always comparing, always competing. They give their energies to possessing things or other people in order to increase their sense of worth. They want other people to be the way they want them to be. They often want to clone them, and they surround themselves with “yes” people – people who won’t challenge them, people who are weaker than they.” – Stephen R. Covey Daily Calendar for Highly Effective People (March 10^th)

“When two Win-Lose people get together – that is, when two determined, stubborn, ego-invested individuals interact – the result will be Lose-Lose. Both will lose. both will become vindictive and want to ‘get back’ or ‘get even’ blind to the fact that revenge is a two-edged sword.”

– Stephen R. Covey in his Daily Calendar for Highly Effective People (April 9th)

“If the only vision we have of ourselves comes from the social mirror – from the current social paradigm and from the opinions, perceptions and paradigms of the people around us – our view of ourselves is like the reflection in the crazy mirror room at the carnival.”

Stephen R. Covey – Daily Calendar for Highly Effective People (April 8th)

“The more authentic you become, the more genuine in your expression, particularly regarding personal experiences and even self-doubts, the more people can relate to your expression and the safer it makes them feel to express themselves. That expression in turn feeds back on the other person’s spirit, and genuine creative empathy takes place, producing new insights and learnings and a sense of excitement and adventure that keeps the process going.”

Stephen R. Covey – Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People (March 9^th)

“The difference between people who exercise initiative and those who don’t is literally the difference between night and day. I’m not talking about a 25 to 50 percent difference in effectiveness; I’m talking about a 5,000-plus percent difference, particularly if they are smart, aware and sensitive to others.”

– Stephen R. Covey Daily Calendar for Highly Effective People (March 23rd)

“I have found organizations whose only thrust is economic – to make money. They usually don’t publicize that purpose. They sometimes even publicize something else. But in their hearts, their only desire is to make money. Whenever I find this, I also find a great deal of negative synergy in the culture, generating such things as interdepartmental rivalries, defensive and protective communication, politicking, and masterminding. We can’t effectively thrive without making money, but that’s not sufficient reason for organizational existence. We can’t live without eating, but we don’t live to eat.” – Stephen R. Covey Daily Calendar for Highly Effective People (March 24th)

“The glitter of the Personality Ethic is that there is a quick and easy way to achieve quality of life – personal effectiveness and rich, deep relationships with other people – without going through the natural process of work and growth that makes it possible.

It’s symbol without substance. It’s the “get rich quick” scheme promising “wealth without work.” And it might even appear to succeed – but the schemer remains.

And trying to get high quality results with its techniques and quick fixes is just about as effective as trying to get someplace in Chicago using a map of Detroit.”

– Stephen R. Covey Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People, March 18th

I really like Stephen Covey and thought this complimented my post about “Who is in control?” nicely.

“It takes initiative to develop the Seven Habits. As you study the other six habits, you will see that each depends on the development of your proactive muscle. Each puts the responsibility on you to act. If you wait to be acted upon, you will be acted upon.”           – Stephen R. Covey Daily Calendar for Highly Effective People (March 6^th)