PART ONE: PARADIGMS AND PRINCIPLES

• two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right. It’s not logical; it’s psychological.
• Each of us tends to think we see things as they are, that we are objective. But this is not the case. We see the world, not as it is, but as we are—or, as we are conditioned to see it.
• If you don’t let a teacher know at what level you are—by asking a question, or revealing your ignorance—you will not learn or grow.
• Habits are powerful factors in our lives. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character and produce our effectiveness… or ineffectiveness.
• Independent people who do not have the maturity to think and act interdependently may be good individual producers, but they won’t be good leaders or team players.
• In our quest for short-term returns, or results, we often ruin a prized physical asset—a car, a computer, a washer or dryer, even our body or our environment.

PART TWO: PRIVATE VICTORY

• “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,”
• Taking initiative does not mean being pushy, obnoxious, or aggressive. It does mean recognizing our responsibility to make things happen.
• Chasing after the poisonous snake that bites us will only drive the poison through our entire system.
• Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation. It’s not what they’re not doing or should be doing that’s the issue. The issue is your own chosen response to the situation and what you should be doing.
• It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busyness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall. It is possible to be busy—very busy—without being very effective.
• People often find themselves achieving victories that are empty, successes that have come at the expense of things they suddenly realize were far more valuable to them.
• If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.
• If you carefully consider what you wanted to be said of you in the funeral experience, you will find your definition of success.
• The extent to which you begin with the end in mind often determines whether or not you are able to create a successful enterprise. Most business failures begin in the first creation, with problems such as undercapitalization, misunderstanding of the market, or lack of a business plan.
• “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”