Change the way you commute

Born out of despondence and boredom of listening to the same depressing news daily, I recently took upon myself to start listening to audio books in the car on the half-hour commute to and from work. We all need to do some reading in our day and in our life and, if I was spending an hour in the car every day, why not use the time then rather than having to take it away from my family in the evening. With my iPhone, hands-free kit, and subscription to Audible I was on my way! True that among the downloaded were wind-down books such as “Life and Laughing”, an autobiography of Michael McIntyre’s successes (which is brilliant!), but mainly I purchased quality books some of which have really impacted on my life. Ranging from a variety of subjects I have now listened to 8 audio books to date, and benefited from around 60 hours worth of material!

Why am I telling you this? If your mind and knowledge is not proactively being developed and expanded, most likely it is declining. And what better way is there than the development of you personality and relationships, the true and underlying source of the successes in our everyday life. Be it the development in our families, of our friendships, and relationships in communities, they are all vital in our day-to-day life. Our business of course makes one of the top of the list too because it provides us with livelihood we need.

What book am I referring to? Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. Published for the first time in 1989 but still relevant today. Selling over 15 million copies around the world it is recognised as one of the most influential books ever written! (As stated on the back cover…) Why is this book different? True there are many books out there, some that I may share with you in future, but this book really gets at the core of the basic timeless principles in life that have stood by mankind since eternity. It’s demonstration through practical day-to-day situations and scenarios also really puts you inside the book, and gives you such thoughts as “wow, how true, but never thought of it that way!” or “I could really implement that in my life today”. If you have read the book already then you will of course attest to principles and literature, and you could/ should probably read it again (as I have done twice). If you haven’t I cannot recommend enough that you download a copy today or order it on Amazon.

I won’t attempt to explain the book in detail or even summarise the habits discussed because it would be a tremendous injustice to Dr Covey. What I can tell you though that if one lives the principles in full as outlined in the book you are guaranteed to see a direct benefit to your personal and business life. Your ability to plan, execute and adapt to changes will drastically improve. Your inter-personal relationships will see new heights. And your mundane day to day work will feel a heck of a lot more manageable! (Not stated on the back cover…) It is a great way to bring discipline to your life, through the deep content and illustrative delivery by Dr Covey.

Give yourself the fresh air you deserve and the peace of mind today so that you can begin (continue) to feel accomplished, productive, and above all healthy! There you have it; this is my blog/ book review for the week. I benefited greatly from this book and I am sure you will too. Because of my passion on reading this book I am offering the first two people who comment on this blog a free copy on me (the rest of you will have to buy it on Amazon!).

P.S. I do not profit in any way from the production of this book, nor do I own any shares in the FranklinCovey Company.