“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” as the title indicates, emphasizes on seven habits, according to Jim Collins, are practical and profound principles that build characters as foundation to success, “The book is not just practical but profound; it focuses on building character rather than “attaining success” (Collins, page 31). Those principles are not just for one’s character but also for the relations with others. “The 7 habits help us to think, to set priorities, to work with each other and to live our lives” (Paul Mak, page 4). Collins sees the book as not just about personal effectiveness but also about leadership development ( page 32). The Front Matter focuses on the testimonies on the book/7 Habits, on Stephen R. Covey’s character. I’ve noticed how several had mentioned how great and timeless the book is.  “Covey’s masterpiece, if it hasn’t changed the world, has influenced millions of readers who can and will make our planet more peaceful and prosperous and prepared and purposeful” (Warren Bennis, p. 3). Tom Peters states: “…he was a lovely human being” (page p. 4). And the list continues. I was a bit impatient to read all of the testimonies and more curious to get into the reading and find out about the seven habits already. Collins talks about how people believe that nothing endures but Covey believed that timeless principles do indeed exist (page p. 31). So he studied for 3 decades then put into a framework, several old principles to make up The 7 Habits . Collins, on page 29, explains how Covey, even as a master teacher, was willing to learn from him, as his junior. During his conversation with him on page 29, Covey’s respond to a question was that he may have written the book but the principles within it were known way before him and that they are like natural laws, he only put them together to synthesize them for others. “There had been hundreds of years of accumulated wisdom …but it was never assembled into one coherent, user-friendly framework” (Collins, 30). Bill Gates applied all 7 habits from the opportunity to make the first-ever personal computer, as mentioned by Covey. The 7 Habits are: 1- “Be Proactive”: Control the situation and make things happen. Gates seized the opportunity and acted on it. 2- Begin with the End in Mind: What are your long-term objectives? What is that you want to achieve at last? When we start with those questions, they help us see the whole picture. That way, we can see how to go about it.  Gates pictured one computer on each desk. 3- Put First Things First: set your priorities in order. He had dropped out of Harvard University to team up with Paul Allen to launch a software company. Most people, including myself, would probably think this is a crazy idea! Well, he set his priorities and it paid off. 4- Think Win/Win: that’s when (both) parties win together. Works are done in ways the benefit all participants (choose skilled ones, of course) by applying Habit 6, where strengths are joined to give rise to a greater purpose and outcome. As for Gates, he  joined the strength of Microsoft to those of Intel, IBM and Dell by sharing equities “so that when Microsoft won, Microsoft people would win as well” (Collins, p. 33). 5 – Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood: Understand the matter first so you are able to communicate it to others so they understand you. We’re often asked to listen before we answer. On page 33, Collins talks about how Gates were curious to learn about science and methods to solve problems, exchanging comments with friends.  I can even relate this to this course because we have to read and understand this book in order for us to write a response by demonstrating our understanding of it to our classmates. 6 – Synergize: “1+1 is much larger than 2” ( Collins, p.33). By working with those great companies, a big goal was accomplished that benefited not just the companies but the world by getting easy/daily access to computers. 7- Sharpen the Saw: Work on yourself to become better at what you do best, work towards or build a better version of yourself by taking care of “you” and acquiring more knowledge.  Every once in a while, Gates would lock in a whole week so he can separate himself for reading and reflection..“ So Dr. Convey’s emphasis on self-renewal and his understanding that leadership and creativity, require us to tap into our own physical, mental and spiritual resources, are exactly what we need in this moment” ( Arianna Huffington, 5). Habits 1, 2 and 3 deal with self-mastering, And are considered “Private Victories” as the essence of character growth. (Collins, Part One, Page 38). Private Victories are followed by Publish Victories, which are incorporated in Habits 4, 5, 6. (Collins, Part One, p. 38). The “Part One”of the book focuses on “Paradigms and Principles.” A paradigm is a model, theory, perception, assumption, or frame of reference. His son caused him to find out about the Pygmalion effect, where our beliefs toward others impact our action/s towards them, which then influence their action/s toward us, reinforcing our perception of them. A paradigm can be shifted causing paradigm shift, and it’s power is in the area of the shift. It is a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions, in terms of perceiving, understanding, interpreting. Sometimes, “The Way We See The Problem Is The Problem” (Collins, Part One, p. 27). And when we change our perception the issue is no longer there. Covey noticed about that the last 50 years of his 200 year-studies of literature went for Personality Ethic – which is about the function of one’s personality, public image, of attitudes and behaviors, skills and techniques, that facilitate the processes of human interaction( Covey, Part One, page 5), quick-fixing and leaving the issue unsolved- instead of the using Character Ethic – which teaches about basic principles to live effectively, such as integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry and simplicity, and they are to be integrated or embedded into one’s basic character to experience true success and happiness (Covey, Part One, p. 4). The Personality Ethic goes two ways: where one is about the techniques on human and public relations and the other is on positive mental attitude (Covey, Part One, page 6). The Part Two focus is on Habit 1: Be Proactive; “as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen.” (p.78). We can take initiative without being pushy or aggressive (p.82). The author urges us to rethink the three theories of determinism by taking into account the freedom we have as human beings to choose a response to the stimulus we face. He calls it the proactive model. In this proactive model, the freedom to choose includes self-awareness, imagination, conscience and independent will. Even with that freedom to choose, the author encourages us to be proactive instead of reactive. As proactive people, we should take initiatives by “recognizing our responsibility to make things happen” (p. 82), act but not acted upon, listen to our language by “subordinating feelings to values” (p.88), being aware of our Circle of Concern, “things over which we have no control”(p. 89) but thrive to focus on and enlarge our Circle of Influence, which are “things that we can do something about”. Lastly, while we should be aware and correct of consequences and mistakes, we should also make and keep commitment and set goals.