The seven habits of highly effective people

How to Use This Book 
 
      Before we begin work on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I would like to suggest two 
Paradigm Shifts that will greatly increase the value you will receive from this material. 
      First, I would recommend that you not "see" this material as a book, in the sense that it is something 
to read once and put on a shelf. 
      You may choose to read it completely through once for a sense of the whole.    But the material is 
designed to be a companion in the continual process of change and growth.  It is organized 
incrementally and with suggestions for application at the end of each habit so that you can study and 
focus on any particular habit as you are ready. 
      As you progress to deeper levels of understanding and implementation, you can go back time and 
again to the principles contained in each habit and work to expand your knowledge, skill, and desire. 
   Second, I would suggest that you shift your paradigm of your own involvement in this material 
from the role of learner to that of teacher.    Take an Inside-Out approach, and read with the purpose in 
mind of sharing or discussing what you learn with someone else within 48 hours after you learn it. 
   If you had known, for example, that you would be teaching the material on the P/PC Balance 
principle to someone else within 48 hours, would it have made a difference in your reading experience? 
Try it now as you read the final section in this chapter.    Read as though you are going to teach it to 
your spouse, your child, a business associate, or a friend today or tomorrow, while it is still fresh, and 
notice the difference in your mental and emotional process. 
      I guarantee that if you approach the material in each of the following chapters in this way, you will 
not only better remember what you read, but your perspective will be expanded, your understanding 
deepened, and your motivation to apply the material increased. 
      In addition, as you openly, honestly share what you're learning with others, you may be surprised to 
find that negative labels or perceptions others may have of you tend to disappear.    Those you teach 
will see you as a changing, growing person, and will be more inclined to be helpful and supportive as 
you work, perhaps together, to integrate the Seven Habits into your lives.