5000 Times More Effective?

Dr. Stephen Covey, author of the bestselling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, passed away yesterday. Dr. Covey was a living legend in the field of personal development and has helped millions of people.

In his teachings, Dr. Covey often focused on the difference between people who take action and those who do not. For example, let’s say that a student is having academic problems.  That student can adapt their study habits; talk to their teacher and ask for help; ask a classmate to tutor them and so on. Or they can do nothing.

Dr. Covey argued that the person who takes action is not one time, or five times, or ten times more effective, but 5,000 times more effective than the person who does nothing. I found 5000 to be a ridiculous number at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I had to agree.  Initiative, the ability to move oneself through action, is the most basic of human skills.