Book review: The 7 Habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey

The 7 Habits of highly effective people – Stephen Covey

Synopsis:
This book focuses on principles (or habits) that can help you build more effective relationships, learn to trust and be trusted, communicate better and become more efficient is your life. It is a self-help book that takes a look at your principles and values and whether they are effective or not.
The book opens by discussing paradigms and how we view the world. This leads on to the first habits that deal with ‘private victories’ or in other words, rising from a dependent person to an independent person. The later habits deal with ‘public victories’ or in other words, rising from an independent person to an interdependent person.
From time management skills to analysing paradigms of human interaction, the book looks at many different aspects of life and how you can improve those situations. The appendixes contain highly detailed information so the flow of the book isn’t disrupted.

What I gained from reading this book:
This is an incredibly detailed book that is full of useful tips and suggestions. The way the seven habits are described and how they connect are explained so well. I really enjoyed this book because it has no ‘quick fixes’ or gimmicks. The book follows a very logical flow: starting from analysing paradigms before moving on to the habits. The step by step flow of the chapters and the habits makes it very easy to understand. The main gain I received from this book would be the increased understanding I have on my own paradigms and what habits I need to improve.
When I first picked up the book and read the titles of each habit, I thought they sounded too obvious and the book would contain very general advice. I was surprised that this was not the case and the simple headings are very misleading for the quality of the information given. I realise now that the simple headings such as ‘Think Win/Win’ or ‘Be Proactive’ are simple to help you remember them.
I know that I will not become a perfect person and I am sure that I will fail many of these habits, but this book does give me a guide on what I should focus on and how to become more effective.

Positives:
Very useful information that is based on solid principles: no quick fixes, fads or gimmicks. Very detailed discussion that clearly explains our perceptions and how we can change them. The examples and scenarios are extremely helpful in explaining points.

Negatives:
Some people may feel this book is too ‘idealistic’ or may even think it is all ‘psycho-babble’. The detailed explanations and discussion may be too ‘thick’ for some people.

Recommended for: Everybody
The principles in this book deal with all aspects of life whether it is personal or business. Nobody is perfect and we can all improve ourselves if we choose to and this book can help. People wanting to improve relationships or find out how they can communicate more effectively will benefit from this book.

Genre: Self-help

Overall rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:

Where to from here:

I recommend the following book as it teaches sound principles in dealing with people:

How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie

Book review: The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko

The Millionaire Next Door: The surprising secrets of America’s wealthy – Thomas Stanley and William Danko

Synopsis:
This book is basically an analysis of the millionaires and their habits. The book looks at a wide range of aspects such as how much they spend on cars, watches and suits, whether they give cash gifts to their children or not, what type of jobs they hold, and how they became rich in the first place. The authors have surveyed countless millionaires and found patterns among them. They compare high income individuals with low net worth (non-millionaires) to millionaires with low income to see how somebody can become a millionaire despite having lower income than others.
The authors try to get a feel for the mindset that millionaires have and try to give a clear picture on how anybody could do the same. The authors even provide a simple formula for the reader to look at their own situation and see whether they are above or below the average in terms of net worth.

What I gained from reading this book:
This book goes into incredible detail on millionaire habits. The book is full of statistics and analysis of a wide range of topics. I found the results very interesting. So much is revealed that many people would never consider being possible. Before reading this book I had a picture of how the typical millionaire lives, but after finishing the book I realised how wrong I was. The detail in the book allowed me to compare my own situation with the case studies to see how I perform.
The major gain I received from this book was the confidence that if I follow the principles in the book, I have a better chance of being financially independent in the future. Not only that, I know what things I should avoid doing that will reduce my chances of becoming financially free. My hyper-spending friends could learn a lot from this book but I know that they would never bother reading it.

Positives:
Very detailed and insightful analysis on millionaires and their attitudes. Great comparison between millionaires and non-millionaires. Provides very informative case studies that are seen in real life all the time.

Negatives:
The analysis is very detailed which some people may not like. At times I even had trouble staying focused because of all the statistics.

Recommended for: Everybody
I recommend this book for everybody because everybody can learn how to make better use of their money. Those who wish to be financially independent in the future should have a read to see what it takes to get there. On the other hand, those not concerned with becoming millionaires should still read the book. Those not concerned with how they spend their money have higher risks as explained in the book.

Genre: Wealth

Overall rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:



Where to from here:
If you are interested in reading more on how people become rich, have a read on:
Ten roads to riches by Ken Fisher