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35 Fantastic Stephen Covey Leadership Quotes

Stephen Covey, who sadly passed in 2012, was a businessmen and author from Salt Lake City. He wrote one of the most popular self help books, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which continues to sell thousand of copies to this day. He ended his career as a Professor at the Jon Huntsman School of Business. Below you will find a collection of some of his most notable quotes.

“A moment of choice is a moment of truth. It’s the testing point of our character and competence.”

“Accountability breeds responsibility.”

“An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational
success.”

“Begin with the end in mind.”

“Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.”

“Every human has four endowments – self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond,
to change.”

“Happiness, like unhappiness, is a proactive choice.”

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”

“I believe in this concept that you learn by teaching.”

“If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.”

“It’s amazing how confused and distracted and misdirected so many people are.”

“Leadership is a choice, not a position.”

“Life is not accumulation, it is about contribution.”

“Listen with the intent to understand, not the intent to reply.”

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”

“Love is a verb. Love – the feeling – is the fruit of love the verb or our loving actions. So love her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate. Affirm her.”

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”

“Quality of life depends on what happens in the space between stimulus and response.”

“Remember, to learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.”

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

“Self growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no higher investment.”

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

“Stop setting goals. Goals are pure fantasy unless you have a specific plan to achieve them.”

“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.”

“Synergy is better than my way or your way. It’s our way.”

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

“The way we see the problem is the problem.”

“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”

“We are free to choose our actions, . . . but we are not free to choose the consequences of these actions.”

“We become what we repeatedly do.”

“We don’t invent our missions, we detect them.”

“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”

“You can retire from a job, but don’t ever retire from making extremely meaningful contributions in life.”

“Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you.”


In this Youtube video, Stephen Covey talks about how success in life is a choice that we all must make if you want to be successful.

I hope you have enjoyed this collection of my 35 favorite Stephen Covey quotes!

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