Being proactive is the key to unlocking the other habits. You need take control and responsibility for your life. Proactive people understand that they are responsible for their own happiness or unhappiness. They don't blame others for their own actions or feelings.
2. Begin With the End in Mind
If you aren't clear about where you want to end up in life you can not successfully get there. You must be clear about your values, goals, and what you stand for so that you will not wander and waste time. You need to evaluate what is important to you and begin to create a personal mission statement which will act as a road map and direct and guide your decisions.
3. Put First Things First
You need to prioritize and manage your time, The only way to get the important things done is to first identify what those most important things are in your life. By putting first things first you learn tools that allow you to be strong during difficult times and to live life according to what matters most.
4. Think Win-Win
It is possible to create an atmosphere of win-win in every relationship and this habit can help you to do this. Thinking win-win encourages the idea that in any given situation both parties can arrive at a mutually beneficial solution. You learn to celebrate the accomplishments of others instead of being threatened by them and that is what win-win is about.
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
You will learn to listen more with your two ears and talk less with your one mouth. Most of us talk too much without listening and cause many people to feel that they are misunderstood. This habit will ensure that you learn the most important communication skill there is: active listening.
6. Synergize
Synergy happens when two or more people work together to create something better than either one could have accomplished alone. This habit teaches you that it doesn't have to be "your way" or "my way" but rather a better way. Synergy helps you to see and appreciate the differences in others.
7. Sharpen the Saw
No matter how busy life gets we must remember to take care or ourselves and to renew ourselves. When a you "sharpen the saw" you make your personal self 'sharp' so that you can better deal with life. It means regularly renewing and strengthening the four key dimensions of life – body, brain, heart, and soul.