The final post in this series is now available. “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is a book that can guide you through challenges and it is helpful to keep it near.

1️⃣ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Part One: Paradigms and Principles
2️⃣ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Part two: Private Victory
3️⃣ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Part three: Public Victory

Habit 7: sharpen the saw

Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree.
“What are you doing?” you might ask.
“Can’t you see? I’m sawing down this tree.”
“You look exhausted! How long have you been at it?”
“Over five hours, and I’m beaten! This is hard work.”
“Well, why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen the saw? I’m sure it would go a lot faster.”
“I don’t have time to sharpen the saw, I’m too busy sawing!”

This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life – investment in ourselves, in the only instrument we have with which to deal with life and 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.
This habit is enhancing the greatest asset you have – you. It’s renewing the four dimensions of your nature – physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional.
Although different words are used, most philosophies of life deal either explicitly or implicitly with these four dimensions.

Success in Habits 4,5 and 6 is not primarily a matter of intellect; it’s primarily a matter of emotion. It’s highly related to our sense of personal security.

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier – not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased.”

21 highly effective practices that are highlighted in workshops:

Private Victory
Habit 1: be proactive
1. pause and respond based on principles and desired results
2. use proactive language
3. focus on your circle of influence
4. become a transition person
Habit 2: start with the end in mind
1. define outcomes before you act
2. create and live by a personal mission statement
Habit 3: put first things first
1. focus on your highest priorities
2. eliminate the unimportant
3. plan every week
4. stay true in the moment of choice.

Public Victory
Habit 4: think win/win
1. build your Emotional Bank Account with others
2. have an abundance mentality
3. balance courage and consideration
4. consider other people’s wins as well as your own
5. create win-win agreements
Habit 5: seek first to understand and then to be understood
1. practice empathic listening
2. respectfully seek to be understood
Habit 6: synergize
1. value the differences
2. seek 3rd alternative
Habit 7: sharpen the saw
1. achieve the daily private victory
2. balance production and production capability

Sequence matters: the 7 Habits are an inside-out approach. Take outside challenges – a difficult boss, a persona addiction, a big opportunity – and start inside with yourself. Private Victories must be won before Public Victories can be achieved. You can’t reverse the order. All change starts with you. Anytime you start thinking the problem is out there, that very thought is the problem.
We are not in charge – principles are. The more we align our paradigms and habits to principles of human effectiveness such as responsibility, abundance, and renewal, the happier and more successful we will be over the long run. There are no shortcuts.