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Book Review of First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy

reviewed on + 36 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3


This is a must read for professionals in any walk of life. Covey and the Merrill's (the coauthors) promote a principle centered leadership style focusing on personal leadership. Their philosophy is that you can't lead others unless you can lead your own life first. The authors promote that when a person aligns his or her life with internal principles, then that person is able to focus on what's important, not what's urgent. Why? Because many times things become urgent due to a lack of prioritization in our lives. The authors title the initial chapter "How Many People on Their Deathbed Wish They'd Spent More Time at the Office?" Aptly describing the urgency addiction that many people face in today's hectic lifestyle, Covey and the Merrills walk through a methodology that shows how to reconnect with our core beliefs and then to live accordingly. Not that there aren't days when you should be working long hours, but those hours should be spent on important issues that yield quality of life results. People should not be mired in frivolous paperwork and detail that doesn't impact their life and those around them in a positive way. Covey and the Merrills write an inspirational book that should be used as a resource to refer to time and time again. The insight embodied in their work transcends much of the consumerism and materialistic values of modern life and reconnects us with the wisdom literature of the ages. Anybody preparing for, or currently in, a leadership position should read this book.