Everyday Greatness
Everyday Greatness: Inspiration for a meaningful life by Stephen R. Covey is a compilation of inspiring stories that centre around three choices. The stories are compelling and heartfelt, sometimes about world-changers, others about personal heroes.
The three choices are 1) to act – to activate the energy inside you, 2) of purpose – giving direction to your energy, and 3) for principles – the means for attaining your goals. These are incorporated into each story, who are grouped together with three per topic or principle.
Some of these topics include; taking charge, creating the dream, overcoming adversity, and blending the pieces. One example is the tale of Walt Disney, who had a vision of creating Walt Disneyland. The story elaborates on his youth where he got his inspiration from, but also on the start of his career and the numerous rejections he had to face. It tells a story of following your dream, even when it is not even realizable with the technology of the day.
While Stephen Covey is named the author, also David K. Hatch can be attributed a lot of the credits as the compiler of the book. He has done an amazing job of combining stories of leaders from every field of life and giving them all a very human and personal voice. A final touch of greatness are the quotes at the end of every chapter that further highlight the virtues discussed.
The novel is a big but very comprehensible read. The path you take through the book is not set in stone and you can decide to read only the chapters and stories that appeal to you most. That is also the strength of its re-readability, within only a few minutes you can refresh your memory and get back into giving back goal, direction and principles to your life.
The Book:
More on Everyday Greatness:
http://www.adversityadvantage.com/ – Paul G. Stoltz and Erik Wiehenmayer on climbing your 7 summits