The seven habits of highly effective people

The Power of Independent Will 
 
   In addition to self-awareness, imagination, and conscience, it is the fourth human endowment -- 
independent will -- that really makes effective self-management possible.  It is the ability to make 
decisions and choices and to act in accordance with them.    It is the ability to act rather than to be acted 
upon, to proactively carry out the program we have developed through the other three endowments. 
      The human will is an amazing thing.    Time after time, it has triumphed against unbelievable odds.   
The Helen Kellers of this world give dramatic evidence to the value, the power of the independent will. 
   But as we examine this endowment in the context of effective self-management, we realize it's 
usually not the dramatic, the visible, the once-in-a-lifetime, up-by-the-bootstraps effort that brings 
enduring success.  Empowerment comes from the learning how to use this great endowment in the 
decisions we make every day. 
      The degree to which we have developed our independent will in our everyday lives is measured by 
our personal integrity.    Integrity is, fundamentally, the value we place on ourselves.    It's our ability to 
make and  keep commitments to ourselves, to "walk our talk."  It's honor with self, a fundamental