7 Habits of Highly Effective People [Summary & Takeaways]

Reactive people believe the world is happening to them. They focus on things that are in their circle of concern, but not in their circle of influence.

Proactive people recognize that they are able to choose how they will respond to a given situation. They focus on the things they can do something about. 

Start with a clear destination to determine your steps. Identify your values and live by them.

• Visualize in detail your own funeral. What are they saying about how you lived your life, and your relationships? What do you want them to say? Change your priorities accordingly.
• Break down different roles in your life - whether professional, personal or in a community. List 3-5 goals you want to achieve for each. 
• Define what scares you and write down exactly how you'll handle it.

Prioritize your day-to-day actions based on what is most important, not what is most urgent.

Be disciplined to follow these actions regardless of how you feel at any given moment. Maintain a primary focus on relationships and results, and a secondary focus on time.

In order to establish effective interdependent relationships, create a win-win situation that is mutually beneficial and satisfying to each party.

To achieve Win-Win, keep the focus on results, not methods; on problems, not people.

... then to be understood.

We need to learn to listen first and try to understand the other person's needs and concerns. When you are able to do that, you increase the credibility of your ideas.

Understanding and valuing the differences in other people will allow you as a group to uncover new possibilities. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

To be effective, we must spend time renewing ourselves spiritually, physically, mentally and socially. This must be done regularly and in balanced ways. 

Seek also to inspire others, by listening to them empathically and encouraging them to be proactive.