Seven Habits for Life & Business Success

Adapted from Steven Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

1. Be proactive! Determine what you need to work on, identify your desired results and create a plan to accomplish them. Constantly be evaluating yourself: have a firm grasp of your current situation, a clear picture of your desired future situation and work to get there by making forward-thinking improvements.

2. Begin with the end in mind. Always understand the end goal and be willing to do what it takes to get there. Remember why you are here and that you may have to make short term sacrifices to achieve long term gains. Ultimately, if you are not ready and willing to go up, then you're in the wrong spot.

3. Keep first things first. Prioritize your life! Identify what aspects of your life are most important; structure your days (and actions!) around keeping these in items in order and in balance.

4. Think win-win. Feedback is worth both giving and taking. Keep in mind that by giving criticism, people are showing that they care about you and your success. Furthermore, by giving others criticism, you are showing that you care about them. Reward yourself by helping people and ensure that you are giving criticism wisely.

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. In business as in life, the reality of a situation is not always apparent upon first glance. Always identify the truth behind the reality by investigating the facts driving the situation. Try approaching the situation like a child, always seeing it for the first time and focusing on listening, not reacting. When appropriate, ensure you are "attacking" with professional, not personal, gains in mind.

6. Synergize. See your life as a series of many small pieces, like the motor of a car, that all must effectively work together in order to do anything. When you personally are balanced and your relationships with others are also in order, it is like all 4 cylinders are rockin' and rollin'. Focus daily on making sure all pieces to your life puzzle are fit together as one, cohesive unit.

7. Sharpen the saw. TAKE TIME FOR YOU! To be effective, you must ensure that not only your physical needs are taken care of, but that you are emotionally, psychologically and spiritually well. Just like a saw can't cut wood when it is dull, you can't expect to get the most out of each day if you are dull in any of these areas.