Book Application - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Applying the Seven Habits: Integrity and Inside-Out Change

In this episode of Paradigm Shifting Books, Britain & Stephen discuss the practical application of 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' by Stephen R. Covey. Britain shares his experience balancing fall camp with personal growth and highlights the crucial concept of private victory preceding public victory. They delve into examples of integrity from movies like 'Gladiator' and 'Braveheart', and real-world stories like that of Glen Powell & John Huntsman Sr. They explore how a paradigm shift can transform one's outlook and behavior and stress the importance of becoming the creative force in one's life. Finally, actionable steps are provided for applying the first three habits to foster a proactive and organized life.

Link to notion page - Applying habits 1-3

00:00 Introduction 
01:37 Private victory, inside-out approach & being the creative force
07:33 Keep the main thing, the main thing - Jalen Hurts or Stephen Covey?
8:58 Glen Powell paradigm shift example
13:01 John Huntsman Sr. story of integrity
17:05 Applying habits 1-3 

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Transcript

Stephen: 0:05

Hey everyone. Welcome back to paradigm shifting books. Brit, let me ask you up front, how come you're in a hotel room?

Britain: 0:13

Well, I am in Philadelphia right now as we are in fall camp and it is mandatory that we stay in the hotel. So this is one of our few off days that we have during camp where we don't have practice. We just have some meetings. So, uh, yeah, in the middle of fall camp and I've, I, uh, just got back from icing both my legs. So gladly, gladly, uh, participating on this. It's a good break from football. Is that's all I've been doing.

Stephen: 0:42

I appreciate you taking some time from that grind and I know fall camp's been going well for you so far, so it's been fun to, fun to follow all the, All the news from the outside. Our episode today is another application episode where after we've done an interview with the author, we try and sit down together and go through how can you actually apply. The book that we reviewed to your life personally. So a listener listening, and we try to grab a few different examples, an outside example, and one from us personally on how you can apply the book. So in this case, it was seven habits. So Brit, let me ask you, what was kind of your impression, your feeling after we were able to interview dad a few weeks back on the seven habits?

Britain: 1:29

That was so fun for me, even regardless of being on a podcast, it was just fun to interview him and talk about those things. And I think there's so much you can cover with 7 Habits that I think what was cool that I think dad focused on, And what he mentioned probably five or six times was the idea of the private victory preceding a public victory. And I really do think that that was a huge part of the essence of the seven habits was letting people know that this is an inside out change rather than outside in changing your environment. It was changing you, changing the reader, the person. And so the idea of the private victory, I think is so powerful. And really it's, it comes down to being a person of integrity. Um, Truman Madsen is, is someone who I love. He's a philosopher. He's a, writer. And, uh, he used to say to be or not to be is not the question in fact, but to become or not to become was the question. And I think the whole idea of being and becoming, growing into something It is all about, you know, integrity and who you actually are when nobody's watching, when the lights are off, when no public is there, who are you? Uh, and I think to me, I, as I was thinking about what I could share and things, as you know, I love movies and every guy especially loves the movies like gladiator and brave heart and all of those epic,

Stephen: 3:09

Absolutely. I've been seeing all over social media lately. The, you know, the scene in Gladiator at the end when Maximus is walking and he's brushing his hands against, like, the wheat, like, the tares. And, like, any, it's, there's, like, these funny memes online about, like, any time I walk across tares, I, I have that, I start doing it as if I'm Maximus walking to my family. So, absolutely. I think every guy can totally relate to that. Those movies you

Britain: 3:36

And I think that a lot of times the misconception With that is that we like it because they're so epic and the battle scenes and all those things Which in a sense is true, right? Everybody loves to watch Braveheart and William Wallace take on armies by himself all these things But at the core of those movies what's so impactful about them is it's just it's a guy staying true to what they believe in through the midst of Crazy circumstances, torture, country problems, family problems, everything just around them falling apart. And yet they stay true to who they are and they stay true to their, their principles and what they believe in. And it's so inspiring every time I need to watch Braveheart at least once a year, because I leave for months thinking about how I can stay true to what I believe. And, and to me that, that is the idea of integrity, of just being able to look at yourself in the mirror and love the person that you are, love the person that you're becoming and love what you stand for. And that only happens if in private, you are like that. That only happens in public. If in private, you are like that. And, uh, that's also why I think the seven habits will be relevant in 20 years because the principles are principles of integrity, regardless of what's happening in the outside world, those stay the same. And that's, I think how I want to be, regardless of what's happening in my life, I want to stay the same. I want to be the same, same Britain.

Stephen: 5:12

the whole concept of private victory proceeding public victory, I feel like is so needed in today's world as well, where a lot of times on the internet, you'll see people promoting things like hack your way to success, or here's this, here's, here's all these hacks that we can give you so that you can basically appear. To be something or someone that you're not. Whereas the inside out approach is first you start with self and then you kind of have that foundation and base that can lead you to feel confident and have real confidence with other people and relationships because that private victory proceeding public victory. I think for me, I've been thinking a lot about since we were able to interview dad, that was, it was just, it's just awesome. Even though this is what my dad does for a living, um, teaches, writes books, speaks to companies, works with executive teams. It's rare that you kind of sit down with him and we, as like his sons get to sit down with him and talk through stuff like this, like in that kind of setting. So it was fun. And I takeaway from, from interviewing him was. The whole idea of that you are, you are the creative force of your life and it goes back to habit one being proactive and it sounds kind of obvious, but I just think it's such an empowering. Idea and thought that you, you as an individual, regardless of what's happening to you, whatever circumstances you're in, however hard things could be or easy or not hard, you can be the creative force in your life. So you have this ability from the inside out. To make stuff happen in life. I think that's a message people need to hear today. Cause there are, there's, there is, there's just a lot of hard things going on in people's lives today. A lot of unseen things as well. You see like the mental health challenges that people have and just that idea of you are the creative force in your life. You can make things happen is, is just

Britain: 7:17

No, I love that. one quick thing that I feel like we didn't reference too much in the earlier episode, that's a big part of the seven habits is, and this is, I guess, a personal and outside world application because many people know, obviously, Jalen Hurts, and, he's my quarterback. So I get to interact with him on a daily basis. And, uh, Many people know that he has used the phrase many times over the past couple of years, keep the main thing, the main thing. That dates back to, uh, our grandfather in the seven habits, right in first things first, keep the main thing, the main thing. So I like to say that grandpa was, papa was quoting Jalen rather than the other way around because Jalen says it with just, you know, such great authority. But the idea behind it is. Prioritization and, and keeping the main thing, the main thing. So habit three is put first things first. And I feel like we didn't reference that a ton in our episode with dad, but it's a huge part of the book and you talking about taking control of your life. Making your life what you want it to be, prioritizing your life. Um, for those listening, if you want to, if you need help with feeling like you're getting things done in your day, prioritizing your life, that's a great chapter, uh, habit three, put first things first. And specifically talking about not prioritizing what's on your schedule, but scheduling your priorities. He talks a lot about that. And I just think it's a wonderful chapter talking about doing the most important things. The main thing that will fix everything else on your life.

Stephen: 8:58

My outside example of an application Is one of the things we talked about with dad last week was the idea of paradigms and paradigm shifting And um, I saw this on social media Which was just an example of someone's paradigm shifting and kind of what that meant for them. So many people probably know the actor, the movie actor, Glenn Powell. He was in the movie Top Gun, uh, Top Gun, Maverick Top Gun, which was an awesome, movie. But he actually, and this is kind of what was from this interview I saw is he was interviewed and he actually auditioned for the role of rooster in the movie. And. He didn't get that part. It went to, I forget

Britain: 9:47

I'll tell her.

Stephen: 9:48

name. He's a great actor too. Yeah, okay. So, uh, yeah, we got Brit with the movie knowledge here. So Glenn Powell was like super disheartened at the fact that he didn't get that role of Rooster. But then Tom Cruise called him up, like, After the fact and basically said, Hey, would you still be open to being in the movie? We have a different role that we think you'd be great. And it's, yeah, it's quote unquote, a lesser role, but we, we feel like you'd be great in it. And so Glenn Powell agreed to sit down with Tom Cruise and kind of talk about it. And, and one of the questions Tom Cruise asked him was like, Hey, what, what kind of career do you want to have? And Glenn Powell's like, well, basically, like, I want to be successful like you and be the greatest of all time was what he said. And And Tom asked him, well, do you know how I've been able to do that? And Glenn said, yeah, you choose great roles. And then Tom Cruise said back to him, no, I choose great movies and I make the roles great. And then literally like word for word, what Glenn said was it changed his perspective or his paradigm entirely. And he said, being a great player. On an amazing team is better than being a star player on a bad team. Even being a small part of the Top Gun ride has changed my life forever. Was basically what he said. So he ended up doing Top Gun, obviously in that supporting role. He killed it, did an amazing job and now he's, you know, the movie Twister just came out, which I haven't seen yet, but I've heard it's great. And, um, that one kind of that one, that was just a good example. Again, probably people listening to this are not movie actors or movie stars, but it was just a good example of a real, a real example of someone's paradigm shifting. And again, when your paradigm changes, then your attitude and your behavior automatically. Shifts and changes as well. So all of a sudden his entire outlook on his career, he saw in a completely different light. And I just thought that was just a great example of again, an example of a paradigm shift. And dad talked about last week that the best way to change your paradigm is changing your name and changing your role. That's a way to do it.

Britain: 12:15

That's so cool because it just once again goes back to what we were talking about that Change of behavior happens so quickly after you have a change of paradigm just naturally Whereas before you you know, you can imagine him going on set of movies just like okay I'm doing this for the meantime, but this is not where I want to be Once you have that paradigm shift your behavior just changes naturally. So really cool

Stephen: 12:42

Brett, you mentioned, I think you should share the story. As another example, going back to kind of integrity and private victory. It was the story with, John Huntsman, right? Who, who, who I believe you know and had interaction with while you were at the University of Utah.

Britain: 12:58

Yeah. Yeah. So this, like you said, this goes along with the idea of integrity and being a person that, your word is your bond and part of seven habits and, and what dad talks about in his work is, is the idea of keeping promises to yourself first and then to other people. Uh, so this story I think is a great demonstration of true integrity. And it's John Huntsman senior, who is the founder and CEO of Huntsman chemical corporation, right? Multi million dollar company. This was years ago, but, uh, there was a man named Emerson Campin, a CEO of the great lakes chemical company, and they wanted to buy Huntsman or 40 percent of Huntsman's company for 54 million. And, as John Huntsman senior liked to do, they, the agreement was sealed with a handshake. Uh, such a huge agreement, right? But it was, it was sealed with a handshake and it was a simple transaction. But by the time all of the corporate attorneys had finalized the paperwork, seven months had passed since the handshake between John Huntsman, Sr. And. Emerson, uh, during the price of this or during this time, the price of the raw materials had plummeted. And so Huntsman's profits were way up and he received a phone call saying that 40 percent of his company was actually now worth 250 million. Uh, rather than the 54 million they had agreed on seven months prior and camp and felt bad, uh, and said, you know, I feel like this is no longer fair that I'm buying 40 percent of your company for 54 million when it's worth 250 million. So he said, I can't commit, To making up the full estimated value, but how about splitting the difference? Camp and so it was offering to pay Huntsman almost a hundred million dollars more than they had initially agreed, uh, to which Huntsman replied, we agreed to a price of 54 million. And that is the price I expect you to pay. And so Emerson countered, he said, but, but that is not fair to you. And Huntsman ended the conversation simply by stating, you negotiate for your company, Emerson, and I'll negotiate for mine. And the sale went through at 54 million. Uh, so I think that is a wonderful example of integrity and, and your word being your bond, because. Anybody going into business with Huntsman from that point forward would have ultimate trust in him, knowing that whatever he said was as good as reality. His word was his bond. And my guess is that's how he was in private too. His word to himself, whatever commitments he made to himself was his bond to the point where you can trust yourself. Not only can others trust you, you trust yourself first. Anyways, that's, Once again, we give examples of, of the, the famous, whatever up there, but, but I think they're great just stories that we can all relate to in our small, personal, everyday lives. I think it's a wonderful example of integrity

Stephen: 16:03

That's just pretty unbelievable. I you know the majority majority of people in this world would probably not do something like

Britain: 16:08

and that.

Stephen: 16:09

When you hear stories like that, it is inspiring.

Britain: 16:11

And I guess that's the whole essence of Seven Habits, to wrap this up is Seven Habits is an inside out book. It's an inside out approach, uh, to accepting the circumstances of your life, but not being a victim to them. And choosing to lead your life how you want. Just saying, I am not I'm not a product of my circumstances. I'm a product of my decisions. And sometimes that's a big, scary step to take. But once you do it, you're finally in control of your life. And I think that's what's so empowering to people. And, uh, so it's an inside out approach. The solution is not out there. The problem is not out there. It starts with me. Uh, being, becoming, and uh, becoming a person of integrity.

Stephen: 16:59

It's well said Brit. I'll leave with kind of one of the things I've done on this episode is in, in the show notes, you'll see a link and what it links to actually is, just a small notion page. If, if you haven't used notion before, it's, it's a software. It'll just show up as a website if you don't use notion. And so. You can click on this link and I kind of put together just a, a short, like, okay, how, and I would say it would take a person 15 to 20 minutes to go through this exercise. So for those who want to do it, can, but it's basically how, how to apply habits one, two, and three, like in a, in a simple way and kind of, I'll just briefly walk through how I broke it down. So you can click on the link and look at it. But again, habit one is be proactive and Another way to think of it is in terms of like a computer metaphor. So, in a computer metaphor, Habit 1 is basically saying, You are the programmer. Habit 2, begin with the end in mind. The computer metaphor, it's write the program. And then Habit 3, put first things first, is basically in the computer metaphor, Execute or run the program. So I like kind of using the computer metaphor as a way to liken it to our life. So what I've kind of shown is under each habit I have, I've highlighted just a small action. That you can take to apply this. So under habit one, the action is to watch just a short five minute clip of our grandpa actually teaching habit one. It's a total like really old footage from like the eighties or nineties. It's, it's horrible quality. And it's so funny cause it's, it's, yeah, it's just so old school that you'll laugh when you watch it, but it doesn't change the essence of like the content is what matters. And so. That's, watch the first five minutes of that to kind of be inspired by the idea of being proactive. The second part of this is under beginning with the end in mind, and I reference James Clear, who wrote the book Atomic Habits, he's someone we hope to have on the podcast at some point someday. His book is one of the best books as far as like, if you actually want to execute on your habits or who you want to become. And the way that he describes it is you could either have outcome goals or you can have identity goals I linked to an article that you can read, but basically his argument is rather than have an outcome goal, you want to have an identity goal of someone who you want to become. And that ties in perfectly. I think it's the same principle of begin with the end in mind. It's just using different wording. And so he talks about having these identity goals and then the third step or habit three put first things first is the idea of actually executing. So in James Clear's words, he says the way that you prove your identity to yourself is by stacking small wins on top of each other. So basically you track saying, I want to be this type of person. Then you have a daily, weekly or monthly action associated with it. And then every time you do it, you're basically proving to yourself that you are that type of person. So I gave this kind of example and laid it out. Hopefully you can have fun with that. But this is, I felt for me, this is a, 15 minute exercise anyone can do. To put habits one through three into practice and actually track it, look at it, and that's, that's kind of how my brain works. I sometimes overanalyze things and put way too much more thought than I should in certain things. So for the people that may be like overanalyze, check out the notion page. And this, this may, this may help you there. So it's it's helped me. I'll just say that.

Britain: 20:57

love it.

Stephen: 20:58

Appreciate everyone listening. Appreciate all the questions. We'll, we'll be back again here in a couple of weeks to introduce our next book. Until then, we hope everyone has a great day and we appreciate you

Britain: 21:10

Yep. Thank you. And, and keep sending us questions for the next episode.