Stephen Covey, the writer of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, encourages us to act. He urges his readers to be independent and rise to life's challenges. Covey's advice steers you away from the victim mindset. 

Guess what he uses to base his advice? Personal responsibility. He believes that you stand in the way of your potential success. At some point, you realize that your situation is not only up to you. In today's world, you have to wrestle with structural privilege. If you are born in particular circumstances, you face more challenges than most.

Of course, you know this well - you wonder how such a tip could help you achieve your goals. You have debt, competitors, and family obligations to meet. It would be great if his book acknowledged your plight. However, Covey's be proactive tip pushes you to gain your dream lifestyle.

How to apply Covey's advice

Your strong character makes a difference. Covey believes in having good character and standing up for yourself. If someone wants an employee, they will choose someone like you. That's if you have soft skills and industry knowledge.

The world is not fair, but if you are proactive, you will prepare for opportunities. Preparation helps you to make good first impressions, so you can act fast and take advantage of opportunities. Ultimately, you can create a stable and sustainable home life and career.

This article is part of our Business Coaching blog series. At Dataczar we talk to a lot of small businesses. We’ve found a few books that we keep recommending time and again. To better help our customers, we’ve added a Reading List for Small Businesses to our website. We encourage every small business owner to read and keep these timeless business books on their office shelf.

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