...in praise of Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

Have you ever read a book and you wondered what your life could have been if you had read that book at a younger age?

I recently had that WOW moment.

I was on my way to Akure to do a surprise birthday for my mum last week. Out of boredom, I opened the "Books to Read" folder on my tablet and selected Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" which happened to be the first book on the list.

I finished reading the book yesterday afternoon and

wow; did I have an enriching experience? You can say that again.

I will relate my experience in a bit.

I have always heard folks talk about Stephen Covey's book; I had seen it in so many book shelves and bookstores; read authors refer to the book in their own writings but I had not had the impetus to pick it up to read perhaps because of my growing repugnance towards 'Motivationals' which I surmise as mere words without substance. I reckon myself an avid reader but not even the glowing endorsement that my good friend Koye Gbeke gives this book had been enough to gravitate my interest towards the book.

It took me a whole 9 days to finish reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" because I just couldn't consume such magnitude of wisdom at a go. I needed to take it in sips to prolong the utility.

Of a greater import is the fact that not a little above 50% of the thoughts of Mr. Stephen Covey were not exactly new to me but I hardly had seen literature validating some of the weird ideas and 'philosophies' that had been playing around in my mind for a while.

More importantly, I began reading the book just in the nick of time as I was in the middle of a crisis of trust and affirmation between a very dear friend of mine and I. Result? I was able to gently steer the 'ship' to a safe harbour without necessarily rocking the boat and we both came out stronger from it.

Should I share with you some lessons I learnt from this book? Nah. That might be infringing on some copyright laws...lol (sic).

I am not exactly generous with endorsements but I want to publicly and wholeheartedly endorse Mr. Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". The principles outlined in the book would not just make for a good and hearty read, they are guaranteed to change your thought patterns, modify your character and improve your interpersonal relationships until private and public victories become a daily (or weekly?) occurrence in your life. If you are a leader, manager or one who is just out to seek a little more effectiveness in your daily life, please get this book and thank me later.

In conclusion, I wouldn't mind hanging out with anyone for a discourse and mind-rub on the book. After all, T.S. Eliot said, "We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time." Selah.