Thanks...My Pleasure

Key Points: Habit 7 is taking the time to sharpen the saw. It surrounds the other habits on the Seven Habits paradigm because it is the habit that makes all the others possible.  Four Dimensions of Renewal Habit 7 is preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have- you. It's renewing the four dimensions of your nature- physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional.  This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life- invest in ourselves, in the only investment we have with which to deal with life and to contribute. We are the instruments of our own performance, and to be effective, we need to recognize the importance of taking time regularly to sharpen the saw in all four ways. Physical Dimension Caring for our physical body either in endurance, flexibility, and strength. Spiritual Dimension Immersion in great literature or great music can provide a similar renewal of the spirit for some. If one's motives are wrong, ...

Key Points: When properly understood, synergy is the highest activity in all life- the true test and manifestation of all of the other habits put together. It catalyzes, unifies, and unleashes the greatest powers within people. Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It means that the relationship which the parts have to each other is a part in and of itself.  Ineffective people live day after day with unused potential. They experience synergy only in small ways in their lives. Synergy is almost as if a group collectively agrees to subordinate old scripts and to write a new one. The more authentic you become, the more genuine in your expression, particularly regarding personal experiences and even self-doubts, the more people can relate to your expression and the safer it makes them feel to express themselves. "We seek not to imitate the masters, rather we seek what they sought." The person who is truly effective has the humili...

Key Points: There are four ways developmental stages to listening and understanding people: Mimic Content=Mimicking content is easy. You just listen to the words that come out of someone's mouth and you repeat them. You're hardly even using your brain. Rephrase the Content=This time, you have put the meaning into your own words. Reflect Feeling=Now you're not paying as much attention to what they're saying as you are to the way they feel about what they are saying. Rephrase the Content and Reflect the Feeling= Include both the second and the third stage. People want to be understood. And whatever investment of time it takes to do that will bring much greater returns of time as you work from an accurate understanding of the problems and issues and from the high Emotional Bank Account that results when a person feels deeply understood. Then Seek To Be Understood: The early Greeks used these three words to contain the essence of seeking to first understa...

Key Points: We have such a tendency to rush in, to fix things up with good advice. But we often fail to take the time to diagnose, to really, deeply understand the problem first. If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication. Communication is the most important skill in life. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. They're either speaking or preparing to speak. When someone speaks we are usually listening one of four ways: We may be ignoring another person, not really listening at all.  We may be pretending to listen. We may be practicing selective listening, hearing only certain parts of the conversation.  We may be practicing attentive listening, paying attention and focusing energy ...

Key Points: As you read this book try to stand apart from yourself.  There is something called the social mirror. Basically saying there are three determinants.  Genetic determinism which says your grandparents gave it to you. Psychic determinism says your parents gave it to you. Environmental determinism says that your environment around you gave it to you. What did they give you?  They gave you your social maps or your paradigms. Your grandparents had a temper so it is in your DNA to have a temper. Or, your parents did it to you through your upbringing led you to your personality tendencies. Or, something or someone in your environment is responsible for your situation. These basic social maps all absorb around a stimulus and a response. Between stimulus and response, man has the freedom to choose. You have the ability to respond positively to your situation or you can react to your situation. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our cond...

Key Points: It begins with character and moves toward relationships, out of which flow agreements. It is nurtured in an environment where structure and systems are based on Win/Win. And it involves process; we cannot achieve Win/Win ends with Win/Lose or Lose/Win means. Character There are three character traits essential to the Win/Win paradigm. Integrity, Maturity, Abundance Mentality.  Integrity is the values we place ourselves into. Maturity is the balance between courage and consideration.  Abundance Mentality is the paradigm that there is plenty out there for everybody. A character rich in integrity, maturity, and the Abundance Mentality has a genuineness that goes far beyond technique, or lack of it, in human interaction. If we search deeply enough within ourselves-beyond the scripting, beyond the learned attitudes and behaviors- the real validation of Win/Win, as well as every other correct principle, is in our lives.  Relationshi...

Key Points: You can't change the fruit without changing the root. Whether you are the president of a company or the janitor, the moment you step from independence into interdependence in any capacity, you step into a leadership role. You are in a position of influencing other people. And the habit of effective interpersonal leadership is Think Win/Win. There are 6 paradigms (lens in which we view the world) of human interaction Win/Win With a Win/Win solution, all parties feel good about the decision and feel committed to the action plan. Win/Win sees life as a cooperative, not a competitive arena. Win/Lose Win/Lose people are prone to use position, power, credentials, possessions, or personality to get their way. The academic world reinforces Win/Lose scripting. The "normal distributive curve" basically says that you got an "A" because someone else got a "C." It interprets an individual's value by comparing him or her to everyone...

Key Points: We should remember that effective interdependence can only be built on a foundation of true independence. Private Victory precedes Public Victory. Algebra comes before calculus. You can't be successful with other people if you haven't paid the price of success with yourself. You can't talk your way out of problems you behave yourself into. An Emotional Bank Account is a metaphor that describes the amount of trust that's been built up in a relationship. It's the feeling of safeness you have with another human being. Your accounts that you interact with on a regular basis require more constant investment. There are sometimes automatic withdrawals in your daily interactions or in their perception of you that you don't even know about. There are six major deposits that build the Emotional Bank Account: Understanding the Individual : Really seeking to understand another person is probably one of the most important deposits you can make, and...

Going forward Stephen Covey, the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, gives us all a guide on how to interpret his and other books that we read. Similar to my guide on how to look inside a book Covey says two important things in his text. Here are two paradigm shifts to get the true value out of this book and this blog. I would recommend that you not "see" this material as a book or blog, in a sense that it is something to read and then put on a shelf. The material is designed to be a companion in the continual process of growth and change.  I would suggest that you shift your paradigm of your own involvement in this material from the role of a learner to that of a teacher. It is an inside out approach, and read with a purpose in mind of sharing or discussing what you learned with someone else within 48 hours after you learn it. P.S. Also, in my personal opinion you would greatly impact from reading these blogs in succession. The points are given in ord...

Key Points: A glitter of the Personality Ethic is the "get rich quick" scheme promising "wealth without work." In all areas of life, there are sequential stages of growth and development. A child learns to turn over, to sit up, to crawl, and then to walk and run. Each step is important and each one takes time. No step can be skipped. This can be true in all phases of life, in all areas of development, whether it be learning to play the piano or communicate effectively with a working associate.  It is true with individuals, with marriages, with families, and with organizations. Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education. Thoreau taught, "How can we remember our ignorance, which our growth requires, when we are using our knowledge all the time?" The way we see the problem is the problem. Many people want the quick fix and do not want to endure the process, the process is where you find the answer to the problem, but you first have t...

Key Points:  A paradigm shift is an Aha! moment when someone finally sees the composite picture in another way. An example is Ptolemy, the great Egyptian astronomer, said the earth was the center of the universe. But Copernicus created a paradigm shift, and a great deal of resistance and persecution as well, by placing the sun at the center of the universe. Suddenly, everything took on a different interpretation. In the words of Thoreau, "For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root." We can only achieve quantum improvements in our lives as we quit hacking at the leaves of attitude and behavior and get to work on the root, the paradigms from which our attitudes and behaviors flow.

Key Points: A paradigm is a model, theory, perception, assumption, or frame of reference. It is the way we "see" the world- not in terms of our visual sense of sight, but in terms of perceiving, understanding and interpreting. Suppose you wanted to arrive at a specific location in central Chicago. A street map of the city would be a great help to you in reaching your destination. But suppose you were given the wrong map. Through a printing error, the map labeled "Chicago" was actually a map of Detroit.  You might work on your behavior -- you could try harder, be more diligent, double your speed. But your efforts would only succeed in getting you to the wrong place.  You might work on your attitude -- you could think more positively. You still wouldn't get to the right place, but perhaps you wouldn't care. Your attitude would be so positive, you'd be happy wherever you were. The point is, you'd still be lost. The fundamental problem has nothi...

Key Points: We detect rather than invent our missions in life. "Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life... Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone's task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it." A computer metaphor says, Habit 1, "You are the programmer." Habit 2, then, says, "Write the program." Until you accept the idea that you are responsible, that you are the programmer, you won't really invest in the writing the program. The process is as important as the product. There are two unique human endowments that enable us to practice Habit 2- imagination and conscience- they are primary functions of the right side of the brain. Understanding how to tap into that right brain capacity greatly increases our first creation ability. A great deal of research has been conducted for decades on what has come to be called brain dominance theory.  The left hemisphere is the ...

Key Points: By centering our lives on correct principles, we create a solid foundation for development of the four life-support factors. Our security comes from knowing that, unlike other centers based on people or things which are subject to frequent and immediate change, correct principles do not change. We can depend on them. The wisdom and guidance that accompany principle-centered living come from correct maps, from the way things really are, have been and will be. The personal power that comes from principle-centered living is the power of a self-aware, knowledgeable, proactive individual, unrestricted by the attitudes, behaviors, and actions of others or by many circumstances and environmental influences that limit other people.  Principles are deep, fundamental truths, classic truths, generic common denominators. They are tightly interwoven threads running with exactness, consistency, beauty, and strength through the fabric of life. Remember that your paradig...

Key Points: Each of us has a center, though we usually don't recognize it as such. Neither do we recognize the all-encompassing effects of that center on every aspect of our lives. There are nine centers that we are going to at look: Spouse, Family, Money, Work, Possession, Pleasure, Church, and Self.  We will be going over what each of these centers and their qualities are in relation to our security, guidance, wisdom, and power. Spouse Centeredness = If our sense of emotional worth comes primarily from our marriage, then we become highly dependent upon that relationship. We become vulnerable to the moods and feelings, the behavior and treatment of our spouse, or to any external event that may impinge on the relationship--a new child, in-laws, economic setbacks, social successes, and so forth.  Family Centeredness = People who are family-centered get their sense of security or personal worth from the family tradition and culture or the family reputation. Thus...

Key Points: Proactivity is based on the unique human endowment of self-awareness. Through imagination, we can visualize the uncreated worlds of potential that lie within us. Through conscience, we can come into contact with the universal laws or principles with our own singular talents and avenues of contribution, and with the personal guidelines within which we can most effectively develop them.  It also means to begin each day with values firmly in mind. As the challenges come, I can make my decisions based on those values. I don't have to react to the emotion, the circumstance. I can be truly proactive, value-driven because my values are clear. We should develop a personal mission statement or philosophy or creed to focus on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.  People can't live with change if there's not a changeless core inside them. The key to...

Key Points: What it means to begin with the end in mind is to begin today with the image, picture, or paradigm of the end of your life as your frame of reference or the criterion by which everything else is examined. To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination.  It first stems on the principle that "all things are created twice." There's a mental or first creation, and physical or second creation, to all things. Take construction of a home, for example. You create it in every detail before you ever hammer the first nail into place. You try to get a very clear sense of what kind of house you want. You work with ideas. You work with your mind until you get a clear image of what you want to build. By design or default, if we do not develop our own self-awareness and do not become responsible for our first creations, we empower other people and circumstances outside our Circle of Influence to shape much of our lives by...

Key Points: Our character, basically, is a composition of our habits. A habit is an intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire.  Knowledge- the what to do and why Skill- how to do Desire- want to do Effective habits internalize principles and patterns of behavior. The Maturity Continuum- Is going from dependence to independence to interdependence. When we begin life we are dependent children who rely upon our parents. Over the months and years, we move to independent into more self-reliant and inner-directed. Most individuals stop at being independent while others move on into interdependent, which is discovering that the higher reaches of our nature have to do with our relationships with others. Dependence is the paradigm of you Independence is the paradigm if I Interdependence is the paradigm of we Habits 1,2, and 3 all deal with self-mastery. They move from dependence to independence. They are Private Victories, the essence of character growth. Priv...

Primary and Secondary Greatness: Key Points: Perhaps, in utilizing our human capacity to build on the foundation of generations before us, we have inadvertently become so focused on our own building that we have forgotten the foundation that holds it up; or reaping for so long where we have not sown, perhaps we have forgotten the need to sow. There is no permanent foundation for success. To focus on your technique is like cramming your way through school. You sometimes get by, perhaps even get good grades, but if you don't pay the price day in and day out, you never achieve true mastery of the subjects you study or develop an educated mind.  This principle of the daily grind is also true, ultimately, in human behavior, in human relationships. Biggest Takeaway: If there isn't a deep integrity and fundamental character strength, the challenges of life will cause true motives to surface and human relationship failure will replace short term success.  ...

Key Points: Character Ethic To first understand how to change the situation you first must figure out what your perception is. It is interesting how our perceptions are formed, how they govern the way we see, and how the way we see governs how we behave. We must look at the lens through which we see the world, as well as at the world we see, and that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world. When analyzing the past 200 years of literature on success, popular psychology, and self-help, there was a realization that the past 50 years were superficial. The first 150 years all had the same pattern distinguished as the  Character Ethic, as the foundation of success. The Character Ethic are things like integrity, humility, courage, temperance, and patience to name a few. There are basic principles that go into effective living that people can exercise true success and enduring happiness as they integrate these habits into their daily character.

We have finished Chase The Lion, by Mark Batterson, and will be moving on to 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey.   This book is filled with lots of knowledge and powerful lessons in personal change. The chapters are a little longer so I will be breaking them down more intimately. This book is a great managerial tool on how to manage yourself as well as others. We will be exploring the 7 main habits to personal growth and personal gain.  Can't wait to start the next book! It begins tomorrow!!!

Application in your life: The dream you decide on should be acted upon quickly and be considered a long dream. The key to dreaming big is thinking long. And the bigger the dream the longer the timeline.  George Washington and Abraham Lincoln both had dreams that are still relevant today, hundreds of years later. George Washington when going into the Battle of Long Island he said, "The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army." Abraham Lincoln also stated when trying to abolish slavery only needing two votes said this, "The abolition of slavery by constitutional provisions settles the fate, for all...time, not only of the millions now in bondage but of unborn millions to come -- a measure of such importance that those two votes must be procured." What are you doing today that will make a difference one hundred years from now? Biggest Takeaway: Every dream, no matter how big, starts out as a seed. And ...

Application in your life: The 13th virtue is humility. My favorite subject and topic is humility. It is something all of us can do. There is a season to go after your dreams, but there is also a season to serve someones else's dream. The best way to learn leadership is to serve under a gifted leader. The best path to your dream isn't seeking a position of leadership; it's posturing yourself as a servant. There is a saying that the man on top of the mountain didn't just fall there. It took the process and the struggle to reach that point. It also probably took others around him to reach that point. It takes a team to reach the highest level possible. Biggest Takeaway: "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Matthew 23:12  Humble yourself each and every day and the process will take care of itself. Don't seek opportunity; seek God, and opportunity will seek you. Quotes:  Do not seek ...

Application in your life: We live in a culture that aims for 15 minutes of fame. Why don't we aim higher? To be at the top you must know what it's like to be at the bottom. Leadership stems from servanthood. Nothing is more impressive than a down-to-earth dreamer who understands that leadership is first and foremost a servanthood. Our life has a counter-narrative to us pursuing our own dreams. The other narrative we live is helping others pursue theirs. Servanthood is the quickest way to helping others discover their dreams. Biggest Takeaway: In a microwave society based on how many kills you get (Fortnite) and how many likes you get, it is hard to think of others. The best thing you can do for someone else is to include them in your story. A shared story of life is better than going solo. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. Quotes: Believe in something greater than yourself. Jealousy stems from anger and failure. 

Application in your life: As stated before, your dream requires others. You need others around you to fully experience your own dream. This is titled The Rabbit Room because it is focused on a certain room. The Eagle and Child, is a seventeenth-century pub located at 49 st. Giles Street, Oxford, England. In this room, together, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien discussed their ideas and thoughts to each other every Tuesday at lunch. They then both went to write novels that would sell in the millions.  Your potential will be determined by the people you surround yourself with. If you want to become better in a sport, you have to play someone better than you. If you want to succeed in business, school, or life you must surround yourself with others that know more than you and that can do more than you.  Biggest Takeaway: Bad company corrupts good character, but good company helps you go from good to great. The true test of greatness isn't measured by your accom...

Happy Valentine's Day! What a day, where there will be an enormous amount of love being spread between individuals. Here is your little advice about love.  Love is the most powerful 4 letter word! There are three things every person wants: 1)to be valued. 2) to be appreciated. 3)to be respected. If you really want to change the world, value, appreciate and respect others. -Shane Adams Now on to the more important subject. So many people will be showing and experiencing love today because its valentines day, a singular day in the year. What about the other 364? Everyone will be talking about love today so I figured I would speak about Fear. Fear, a terrible 4 letter word, the opposite of love, and the destruction of many relationships, teams, and individuals. Or is it not as terrible as we dream it to be?  When we are born we have two innate fears, fear of falling and fear of loud noises. Every single other fear we have is learned and can also b...

DAILY DIME FOR YOU!!!

Application in your life: You have probably heard of the domino effect. The effect a single domino has is preposterous. It can knock over another domino double its size. If you start with a regular domino and it knocks over another domino double its size by the thirtieth multiplier it would have the ability to knock over the Eiffel Tower. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Every decision we make has a domino effect way beyond our ability to predit or control. Until you selfishly invest yourself in someone else's dream, you aren't ready for your own. Biggest Takeaway: Every decision we make, every risk we take, has a chain reaction. And those chain reactions set off a thousand chain reactions we aren't even aware of. You never know who you may influence, but remember that everything you say, think or do will greatly influence someone somewhere. Quotes: An inheritance is what you leave for someone. A legacy is what you leave in someone. They are...

Application in your life: In life, you will have moments where you wonder how that certain event or action fits in your life plan. It probably doesn't. Just because something isn't part of your life plan doesn't mean it is not part of God's plan. Everything in your past is preparation for something in your future. Just because it is irrelevant now doesn't mean it won't have a purpose later.  Destiny predates birth, destiny postdates death. You don't need a bigger paycheck you need a bigger why that will influence those who come after you.  Biggest Takeaway: We all live two destinies, one unique and one is universal. Just as we share common grace, we share a common destiny. Our universal destiny is to think, act, love, and be like Jesus. If you pursue that common destiny you will lead an uncommon life. Quotes: The best way to land your dream job is to do a good job at a bad job with a great attitude. Everything in your past is a learning op...

Application in your life: Whether you're afraid of it or not, your dream is contingent upon someone else having the courage to pursue his or her dream. And someone else's dream is contingent upon you pursuing yours. We live in a culture of individualism that celebrates lone rangers, but even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.  Your dreams will inspire many people, no doubt. But your dreams will also summon opposition. You are disrupting the status quo. Because of this, you will face a wide variety of reactions, including jealousy and anger. Biggest Takeaway: You have to be willing to pay the price to achieve your dream. Even though others will be jealous, angry, and weary of you-you must be able to pay the price to ever achieve your dream. The bigger your dream, the greater the investment of time, talent, and treasure it will take to accomplish it. Quotes: You have to come to terms with the fact that you can please all the people some of the time and some of the...

Application In Your Life: In this case, Benaiah chased a lion into a pit on a SNOWY DAY.  The snowy day is very essential here because it represents us, in modern times, as a bad or irrelevant day.  Alfred Alder believed that perceived disadvantages often proved to be well-disguised advantages because they force us to develop attitudes and abilities that would have otherwise gone undiscovered. 80% certainty: Many people wait for the perfect opportunity to leap out in faith and pursue something they want. There will never be a 100% certainty for any opportunity if you believe this you will miss many moments to savor. If you remember to act on 80% certainty or even less then your life will be full of valuable moments. When making a decision remember the opportunity cost.  The opportunity cost is the loss of potential gain. Blockbuster had the opportunity to buy Netflix but they were complacent and didn't seize an opportunity.  Biggest Takea...