THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE
Habit 2 -- Begin with the End in Mind
Principles of Personal Leadership
What it Means
- To begin with the end in mind is to begin with the image of the
end of your life as the frame of reference by which everything else is
measured.
- We may be busy, we may be efficient, but we will only be effective
if we begin with the end in mind.
All Things are Created Twice
- Habit 2 is based on the principle that all things are created
twice:
- a mental or first creation
- a physical or second creation
- Most endeavors that fail, fail with the first creation.
By Design or Default
There is a first creation to every part of our lives. We are either the
second creation of our own proactive creation, or we are the second
creation of other people's agendas, of circumstances, or of past
habits.
Leadership and Management
- Habit 2 is based on principles of personal leadership, which means
that leadership is the first creation. Management is the second
creation.
- Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right
things.
- Often people get into managing with efficiency, setting and
achieving goals before they have even clarified values.
Rescripting: Becoming Your Own First Creator
Proactivity is based on the endowment of self-awareness. Two additional
endowments enable us to expand our proactivity and to exercise personal
leadership in our lives:
- imagination allows to visualize our potential
- conscience allows us to develop our talents within the context of
principles and personal guidelines.
A Personal Mission Statement
- The most effective way to begin with the end in mind is to develop
a personal mission statement.
- The key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you
are, what you are about, and what you value.
- Once you have a sense of mission, you have the essence of your own
proactivity; the vision and values which direct your life, the basic
direction from which you set your goals.
At the Center
- Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our
security, guidance, wisdom, and power.
- What is at the center of your life?
Alternative Centers
- Spouse centeredness
- Family centeredness
- Money centeredness
- Work centeredness
- Possession centeredness
- Pleasure centeredness
- Friend/enemy centeredness
- Church centeredness
- Self centeredness
A Principle Center
- Our lives need to be centered on correct principles -- deep,
fundamental truths, classic truths, generic common denominators.
- As a principle centered person, you try stand apart from the
emotions of situations and from other factors to evaluate options.
Assignment
Write a mission statement for your life.
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