What I liked about this book is that it includes many inspiring stories, but even better, goes even deeper into the 7 habits than the original book did and in a different way.

This book should be read in addition to, not in place of The 7 Habits. It is not the "same book on a different cover." It is an expanded version of The 7 Habits.

You can compare this book to the laboratory portion of a class, that brings the textbook to life. As a follow up to his original 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (the textbook), Covey uses Living the 7 Habits (the lab) to let people tell how they applied the 7 habits at work and in their personal lives, and describe the results.

The result? Far more interesting than the original book. You will enjoy reading these intensely personal and often dramatic stories, and you will reinforce what you learned with the first book.

Covey does a fine job of elaborating, as good teachers do, on the points made by the contributors.

I hesitated to buy this book. After reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I thought that Dr. Covey had said all that he needed or could say. Boy was I wrong?

In living the 7 habits, Dr. Covey brings the 7 Habits to life. This book touched my heart and my soul. It made me dust of my old copy of 7 Habits and read it again along with this volume. It made the 7 Habits work like never before and created more balance and happiness inmy life.

If you are not touched agter reading this book, then you had better check your vitamin dosage. It is powerful.

When I first read "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" I recognized its value but was not highly enough motivated to incorporate it into my daily life. Then with the passage of time and particularly after reading Covey's "Principle-Centered Leadership" I came back to it. Yet there was still something holding me back. The missing something was "Living the 7 Habits: Stories of Courage and Inspiration" with its multitude of examples of successful application in real world situations. I needed the encouragement of others to tell me "Hey this is how I applied it; it worked for me; you can do it, too." You need to read all three books because there is a multiplier effect - the three together are greater than their simple sum.

"Living the 7 Habits: The Courage to Change" is a collection of personal statements in four broad contexts: individual, family, community and education, and workplace. This synopsis is about the person who was appointed change agent of a major company that, with an annual growth rate of 40%, was one of the fastest growing companies in the world. " My goal was to create an organization of fifteen thousand exceptional businesspeople. We assumed that everyone wanted to be an entrepreneur within the company, and we gave them credit for having the brains and initiative to do it. My mission was to change the culture within what is essentially a virtual company. Our corporation had more territorial rivalries than the Middle East. Information was hoarded. Communication was disjointed. Trust and synergy were virtually nonexistent. Suddenly, the competition was all over us, undercutting our prices and courting our customers. One of my directives was to make the company more competitive and to learn faster than our competition. My job was to help create among the company's widely scattered population a sense of shared purpose (Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind). After recruiting the best, brightest, and most highly motivated people, we gently immersed them in the realities of our business, presenting them with information on profit margins, the marketplace, and the influences impacting the decisions of their customers (Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood). They were also introduced to a specially designed 7 Habits course to provide them with foundational principles and context for the other materials. There were only three rules: Take care of yourself. Take care of each other. Take care of this place. It wasn't long before mission statements began appearing on cubicle walls, and the conversations among employees were marked by references to making deposits into Emotional Bank Accounts. It was an experience of self-discovery for many people. They realized that the company valued them. I had spouses come to me after their husbands or wives had been to a session and say, 'This changed my life because it changed our family.'"

Not all the stories relate specific actions against a specific habit. This is a synopsis of a story by a person from Indian stock whose grandfather was cheated out of 160 acres of oil-rich land. "It was only after he died, when we were going through his papers and correspondence, that I realized what a phenomenal man my simple, unassuming grandfather actually was. The Washington my grandmother referred to was actually Washington, D.C. In his papers, we found letters from governors, senators, U.S. representatives. Some congratulated him on his fiftieth wedding anniversary; others thanked him for his help with legislation issues and for his community service. I sat there thinking, "Did they know the same man I did?" He had no eloquence, no wealth, not even his own home. Yet here were famous, powerful people corresponding with him. I realized that his life had been lived not to acquire things for himself, but to help other people. He had lived a life of integrity, honesty, and dedication to family and community all the while toiling in relative obscurity and humility. Once, before he died, he told me that there are two reward systems: people who will be rewarded here and people who will be rewarded later. 'These are not the same people,' he said. He continued, 'For all that you don't see in a reward system now, you will see some other time.' We debated long and hard what to do about the situation. Should we sue him to take back the land? Should we let it alone? Shouldn't he have to pay for his wrong doings? In the end, we knew. We knew what he would do. He would let it alone and allow the taxpayer to reap whatever rewards his behavior would cause him to reap, whether here or later. My grandfather might not have been able to leave us 160 acres of oil-rich land in Oklahoma but he left us something far more important. His insistence on humility, on compassion, on spending his life trying to help those around him with no thought of reward or praise is now our family legacy. He has changed generations of people with the help he gave. Can you put a dollar-and-cents value on that? I say absolutely not. We now have a value I try to instill in my own family to continue the legacy started by the Choctaw preacher who never owned his own home."

I think there is a maturity continuum. It is as though most other books address the nuts and bolts of doing business well - and of course that is important - and then we discover that there is something more to business than just that. Then we are ready for Stephen Covey.

OK!For a start this book is awfully good.It has numerous inspiring stories from lots of people who have succesfully tackled 'simple but very important' daily problems that helped changing their lives 'forever' BUT THE THING I DON'T LIKE and UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS BOOK is why a prominent writer such as Stephen R. Covey has to take the credits of these great people by relating to and praising his 7 habits. What I mean is,most of the times I read a book a day, I highlight important facts and sayings and later try my best to analyze them for my better future but the funny thing is You can not put them into practice until every fiber of your being wants you too so...

Looking at the brighter side of the moon - this book is so pleasant with triumphous stories that might have some relevance to your lives and even help you how to triumph over simple things we consider as big.

Awesome book! It was great to really see what the 7 habits have done for people. It gave me a greater understanding of how the 7 habits work and caused me to want to use them more. After reading this book, I was convinced of how useful the 7 habits are. Excellent book! However, I realized that without having, at least a small foundation of the 7 habits first, I probably would not have even gotten past the first story. Another highlight was Stephen R. Covey's question and answer section in the back. It helped to fill in a few emply spaces in the whole 7 habits phenomenon for me.

I like this book. It is very inspiritional. It's sort of like Chicken Soup for the Soul or like an Millionaire Next Door for inspirition and attitude. It tells stories of people who have done it---used the 7 Habits and gotten incredible results.1 star reviewers don't like it because it takes all of the wind out of their claims against Covey and his philosophy.I particularly enjoyed the story on page 57, "I can choose my life." Very, very powerful.7 Habits should be your first book to read. You can then add this one either as a companion to while reading 7 Habits or after you get through the 7 Habits.I also recommend Principle Centered Leadership.

This book not only proves that the 7 Habits work, but gives the reader greater insight by example as to how they may apply the 7 Habits themselves. Covey gives some insight before and after each story for additional instruction. This book is comparable to the Chicken Soup Series, except this book contains expert instruction and explanation. A great follow up to the 7 Habits.

If "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" is the theory, then this book is the application thereof. Covey sometimes feared that concrete examples might confuse readers about the habits, believing that a particular ACTION was confused for the PRINCIPLE or habit. I do not think that this is the case if a person reads the former book before tackling "The Courage to Change." The book illustrates the 7 habits in several different situations ranging from family to business and to social organizations. Some of the stories might bring readers to tears - some deal with deep tragedy. Others illustrate the courage to change long-held beliefs when reality said that those beliefs were no longer valid for the changing times and circumstances. Most of the stories are only a few pages long and can be read in one sitting. In some cases, several can be read in one sitting.

This is a must read for students of Covey.

I read '7 Habits of Highly Effectively People' twice. It was great ! But I find 'Living the 7 Habits:Stories of Courage and Inspiration' is centred on '7 Habits' as a commercial product, not on humans or their emotions. There are touching parts. But there are much more hard selling on the '7 Habits' ... the contents focus more on the '7 Habits' but not on helping or sharing with the readers. Even the book's design shows you the book is for selling '7 Habits' and Franklin Covey's products.

This is clearly a secondary work. It is more in the nature of evidence that the principles taught in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People work.

Putting the Seven Habits to work requires commitment and patience. In my personal life, I have always had to work very hard to choose my response, instead of just snapping at the other person if they did not agree with me.

I find many of these stories interesting. However I also find that this book is not essential to following the Seven Habits. The best use of this book is if you are skeptical about the Seven Habits, then you can read it so that you get proof it works. Then you can go to the main book.

This said, I believe that Stephen Covey must get off the Seven Habits bandwagon. His first work was a masterpiece that I continue to read and re-read. Subsequent derivative works have not achieved the greatness of the first, and he is in real risk of diluting the Seven Habits franchise if he goes on and on. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a completed work. The brilliant thinking and concepts that produced it do not need a book every year to keep them going.

I also believe that the observance of the Seven Habits are a necessary condition for true success but not a sufficient condition. It would be enlightening to see Dr. Covey explore other essential areas of improvement in self, family and business without necessarily being locked in to the Seven Habits. I want to know if there are habits eight, nine and ten. I suspect there are, though I don't know what they are.

It's time for a paradigm shift, Dr. Covey.

I thought that the book was fairly good. It had a lot of good stories in it to relate to. I found the stories to be helpful in where I can place the seven habits into my life. I think that this is a good book for all the non-believers about the seven habits.

This is an unmeanlingful line extension of Covey's previous work, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This latest book can ruin both Covey and 7 Habits' brand equity. Why publish another book when there is nothing new to say ? Why kill the goose (Covey as a brand) that lays the golden egg ( 7 habits brand) ? For the past few years, Covey failed to innovate and come up with new ideas about personal development, leadership, and management. He has been locked in too ridigly in his old 7 habits paradigm. He should read Edward De Bono's Lateral Thinking, which will help him whack the side of his thinking and make him less habituated to his old thoughts. Hope he will have something new to say in his upcoming new books! Please create true value for the readers. Please! Dollars are getting tough to earn these days.

I am Covey student. But I am rather disappointed with this book as it was (a) loads of stories loads of repetition (b) loads of emotions short of practicality (c) loads of testaments lack of focus on the reader. I found only tiny section that applies. I like the last interview which I would give it a 4**** !

Much of the criticism of this book seems to focus on the idea that there isn't anything "new" here. So be it. If the 7 Habits are all-encompassing and universal, then to expect 1, or 2 or 3 new ones is pretty silly. Repetition is the mother of learning, and having additional examples or frames of reference helps to add insight and examples of putting the 7 Habits to work. This, and other "7 Habits" material are merely supplements to the original concepts and ideas and, to me, are merely vehicles to aid in the development and understanding of their usage in everyday situations. Regarded in that context, there's probably room for more of this type of information in much the same way that there are now so many "Chicken Soup" volumes available. I'm surprised that so many reviewers don't seem to "get it".

I checked this one out of the library, and was glad I hadn't plunked down my own $$$ for it. I thought the original Seven Habits book was quite interesting and also thought First Things First was worthwhile, but this one just doesn't add anything new.

Perhaps if you see yourself in one of the short essays this book may provide some inspiration, but on balance I found few of the stories that I could relate too, and even fewer that provided any real insight into how to apply the Seven Habits. Some of the stories were downright odd - one could be dubbed "I found a win-win by working by my mother's death bed!". The short-story format - including annotations as to which of the seven habits was being applied in the situation (oy vey) - just doesn't allow much opportunity for true insight.

Your time would be better spent reviewing the original material and attempting to develop a "real world" way on your own to apply to your life. These stories just don't add anything beyond the anecdotes provided in previous volumes, and the cynic in me agrees with the previous critics who said that it was a device to rehash old material.

Despite desperately trying to enjoy this book, and to feel inspired by the real-life stories presented, I was quickly tired of it. I've been and continue to be inspired by the original "7 Habits," but there was little new information presented here.

I am a fervent supporter of Stephen Covey. I love the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First but I must say Living the 7 Habits is a dissapointment. At first glance, it looks very impressive particularly the idea that it has many stories and the design of the book was attractive. However, having read the book, I find it dissapointing because the stories are not inspiring nor does it touches ones heart. Infact, the short stories in the other 2 books mentioned above are far better than those compiled here. I read the book with the hope that the stories will inspire me and can be useful for me to reach other people (people relate better to stories than straight facts) but I could hardly find any good ones. The stories does not result in paradigm shifts as in the earlier books.

I've always related with the principles Covey teaches, but perhaps, like most people, I struggle with how to actually translate them into my life and work. I can't tell you how much these stories from such a diverse group of people have helped me get practical and meaningful ideas for things I can actually do to be a better parent, spouse, and leader. I was especially impressed with the stories in the last section from top business leaders.

Here we have an author who is trying to capitilize on past success without understanding that he owes his audience new ideas. What is amazing to me is that Covey can think that readers are a bunch of suckers who will plop down the money to buy a book with no fresh material. The 8th habit has to be write a book that has already been written and try to pawn it off as a fresh new title. I guess old habits are hard to break.

There is absolutely nothing different, unusual, special - and least of all, inspiring - about this book. The author writes as if the mere repetition of tales of pluck and boot-strapping were some new revelation. It is very difficult not to feel that the authors who write these books aren't just filling an insatiable need on the part of people who simply can't get their lives together and are stuck on a treadmill of buying one inspirational "self-help" book after another as a substitute for truly taking action in their lives. There is nothing to mark this book as better than the great glut of treacly advice books on the market.

Generally, this book does not read as well as Covey's earlier works. He should have looked to improvise upon his earlier works, rather than rehash earlier works. Nonetheless, he remains far and away better than Neil Snyder, who cannot write very well, nor express any thoughts of his own. GO WITH COVEY.

I have been a fan and student of StephenCovey for many years. I read and re-read7 Habits, which I believe is one of the best, if not the best personal development books on the racks right now. For those who have written negatively about this book and refer to it as a repeat of Covey's earlier work, keep in mind, that the title is a dead give away to the message---You must "LIVE" the 7 Habits and put them into practice--the stories are so inspiring and prove that the 7 Habits have changed many peoples lives. Two other books that I recommend are Superself and Think and Grow Rich. Also Financial Self Defense, which in my opinion is to personal finance what 7 Habits is to personal growth.

Covey has yet to realise that his paradigms and visions are merely the application of veneers,with the true person beneath exposed once reality bites! It's like reading the script from Dale Carnegie's life story,strung out into seven dilapidated and antiquetous beliefs. Do yourself a favour,pocket your hard earned cash and get stuck into life..instead of analysing it!!

Covey says all the right things about what we should do and how we should behave - I agree. But what he doesn't do is provide adequate motivation for changes in our behavior - the only motivation is getting others to do what we want: manipulation. True motivation comes from something larger than us - faith in a God who is bigger than our own petty self-serving lives. Covey sells good snake oil, but your money would be better spent on a copy of the Bible.

This book is adequate if you just want some pedestrian, sterile examples, but if you want to read about real courage and inspiration read "The Greatest Generation" or "The Triumph and the Glory", and then apply the timeless lessons proclaimed between the front and back covers of those two terrific books and maybe you will learn something. I'm sorry, but these motivational books are hideously overrated.

Thank you Mr. Covey for bringing the 7 Habits to my way of learning and thinking. This book is a collection of real life stories that show how people have put these famous and unviersal habits and principles to work in their everyday lives.

I recommend this book to EVERYBODY at work and at home.

I've learned to much , and i've learned to share my knowlegde with other people, i like to thanks for my experience and exprese my admiration about your caracter and personality

Steven Covey has a tendency to whrite the same message over and over again. And if you have read any of his other books, don't read this one.

People should read this book and live it