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Quadrant 3 - Urgent and not important. This is where most of your time should be spent on. Strategic planning, finding the right products to launch and building a high-performance team are good examples. Quadrant 2 - Not urgent and important. That's how most people and teams operate day in - day out. Constantly working on them leads to stress and burnout. These are the most pressing tasks such as unexpected fires and crises. Use the above process to find the right wall. Remember what Covery said: "It's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busyness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover that's it's leaning against the wrong wall". Review your roles, goals, and mission statement often and make changes as necessary as your priorities in life change. Your first mission statement is not ideal - it's a living creature. Let your imagination shape your life by constantly reminding yourself where you are going. Every single inventions has been created twice: first in someone's imagination, and then in real life.
It's important to let your imagination do its job.
Rehearse your mission statement daily as vividly as you can. This statement will guide you through making many important decisions in your life. Don't worry about the length and format, simply get it done. Blend all the components from the previous steps into a single statement of direction in your life. Summarize your life vision by coming up with a mission statement. what specific results do you want to achieve for each one ?Įssentially, you have just created a high-level roadmap for your entire live To help with this step ask yourself the following questions: Take the outcomes of the previous step and come up with 4 to 5 high level goals for each role from your list. That's how you truly begin with the end in mind ! Take a few minutes, use your imagination, and write down a few high level statements for each role. What would you like your family members, colleagues, clients, and friends to say about you for each of the roles you have just identified? About your character? About your contributions and achievements? About the difference you made in their lives? How would each role look like at the end? Yes, it's super creepy, but stay with Stephen here, it's worth it.
Begin with the end in mind by imagining your own funeral. Identify your most important roles in life (no more than 7 to prevent being overwhelmed):. As indicated in the above diagram Covey suggests introducing the following process: