7 habits of highly effective people - how this book changed my life

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the most inspiring and influential book I have ever read. The reason why this book had such a profound effect on me is because I was looking for direction in life, I felt that I was stuck and despite my productivity I knew deep down that I wasn’t really make any real progress in life. To really demonstrate how this book is changing my life I need to share my past with everyone.

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How My Life Was Going

Since a very early age I wanted flexibility in my life I just never realized it, I hated school and I remember being sent home on the first day for crying for four hours in a row. I eventually came to terms with school and bit the bullet and started attending regularly as I knew it was a matter of time before I would finish and getting good grades would help my life to get better.

After graduating in Mathematics I thought my high paying job would bring satisfaction to my life however needless to say it did the opposite. I was progressing through promotions however I felt that the nine to five life or more accurately the 9 to 8 life was not something I could continue to do. The thought of working in an office between the hours of 9 to 8 until the age of 65 only with 20 days of holidays to appease really sickened me despite working for a progressive company with great workers who are now some of my great friends.

The Epiphany – A Sudden Realization of the Truth

Working late one night I realized it was important to really start to listen to my innermost thoughts and really get to know myself if I had any chance of leading a happy life. I knew deep down that however many promotions or pay rise I received I would never be happy. I started looking on the internet for a better way and stumbled across the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People written by the motivational writer Steven Covey and bought the book through Amazon and started reading the concepts of how people really live a fulfilling and happy life.

The book explained how you must really look inside yourself and find out what’s really important and then write a personal mission statement around it and then work proactively to reach your ultimate goal. I started to think really hard and made my inward journey, it was scary at first but eventually as I uncovered my innermost thoughts I felt peace and tranquillity, it was a great feeling.

My Personal Mission Statement

I want the opportunity and time to think and not be confined by the need to earn a wage or salary; I don’t want to be a slave to money and want to eventually become financially independent. As I become more financially independent I want to invest my time in the areas that really matter to me, I want to become more spiritually involved and practice my religion more proactively.

I want to spend quality time with my family and encourage them to use their minds; I want to raise my son to be a responsible free thinking adult. I also want to help less fortunate people with my time and wealth as the feeling I get from helping people in need really unleashes inner peace, tranquillity and content.

How the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Changed my Life

After writing my personal mission statement I really felt purpose in my life, for the first time ever I had real direction in my life. Most of the time when I lacked direction or purpose in my life I indulged in some retail therapy but this was just a quick fix, I would be happy for a while however the discontent would continue and come back with even more power, the personal mission statement seemed to overcome this. I can’t tell you how good it feels when you have true purpose and direction in your life, having the vision and conviction to make the inward journey and then having the courage to really relentlessly pursue the goal.

Not only did this great book give me the push I needed to sort my life out it also gave me the tools to achieve my ultimate initial goal which was financial freedom. The book discussed in detail how there are 7 habits that when done repeatedly will help you to achieve your goals eventually, the more time and money you invest into the habits the quicker you reach your ultimate goal, these habits included:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin With an End in Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win Win
5. Seek to understand then be understood
6. Synergize –Creative Cooperation
7. Sharpen All 6 Habits

How My Life Has Now Changed

I’ve met my first goal which was to leave my job and become financially independent, I am earning enough online now to meet my monthly expenditures, every day I do spend time building content online so that it continues to pay for the years to come, I am also continually trying to keep ahead by looking into more ways of generating passive income like trading in long term dividend stocks.

I now have much more free time which I spend with my family especially my son, I have also started to look after my health as well as my families and it seems as though everyone is much more happier now that we’re spending more time with each other.

At this moment in time I’m writing this article on half of my laptop screen while my son watches educational material on the other half, my wife is also practicing her theory test so that she can pass her driving test, something she’s been putting off for a long time.

It seems as though my liberation has also liberated the mind of others and were spending so much time together learning new things. Life is good at the moment and if I continue to be proactive towards my mission things should only get better with the help of god.