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John Ostrowski's avatar

The 7 Habits are an Inside-Out Approach, you see. We have to win the Private Victory (Habits 1, 2, and 3) before we can win the Public Victory (Habits 4, 5, and 6).

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John Ostrowski's avatar

Habits 1, 2, and 3 deal with self-mastery. They move a person from dependence to independence. They are the “Private Victories,” the essence of character growth. Private victories precede public victories. You can’t invert that process any more than you can harvest a crop before you plant it. It’s inside-out. “Public Victories” of teamwork, cooperation, and communication are Habits 4, 5, and 6.

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John Ostrowski's avatar

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

— Aristotle

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John Ostrowski's avatar

On a ten-point scale, if I am at level two in any field, and desire to move to level five, I must first take the step toward level three. “A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step” and can only be taken one step at a time. If you don’t let a teacher know at what level you are—by asking a question, or revealing your ignorance—you will not learn or grow.

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John Ostrowski's avatar

I would suggest that you shift your paradigm of your own involvement in this material from the role of learner to that of teacher. Take an inside-out approach, and read with the purpose in mind of sharing or discussing what you learn with someone else within forty-eight hours after you learn it.

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John Ostrowski's avatar

When I first read this passage in the book, using Substack threads as a monologue towards the teacher role became natural. As I share quotes and reflections, I'm talking to the material, I'm learning as I write.

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John Ostrowski's avatar

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People embody many of the fundamental principles of human effectiveness. These habits are basic; they are primary. They represent the internalization of correct principles upon which enduring happiness and success are based.

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