Advice from the Masters: Stephen Covey

May 16, 2012 | Writing A Book

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a great business book. Since it was first published over twenty years ago, millions of people have read it in dozens of languages. It’s the basis for a string of other products and other books. There’s no mystery here. It’s simple and well-written and, most important, helpful.

That’s why I wanted to share some writing advice from Stephen R. Covey, the book’s author. Alas, I couldn’t find any writing-specific advice, but I kept returning to 7 Habits and especially to the seventh habit: “Sharpen the saw.” Here’s a little more from Covey’s web site.

“Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have–you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.”

If you want to write a great book or do great things of any kind, that’s advice you can use. Note the two parts, preserving and enhancing. You need to preserve yourself so can give your best effort every day. And you need to enhance your knowledge and abilities so you can produce better results tomorrow.

Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts.