Habit 2: Begin with End of Mind - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Imagine you are eighty years old and someone is throwing you a birthday party. Imagine the faces of your family and friends coming to you to express their feelings towards you. What would you want them to say about you and your life? What would you like to hear from each of them about your qualities as a father, husband, grandfather, friend? What are the accomplishments and contributions you want to consolidate in their memory and conscience? What difference do you want to make in each one's of their life?
Start living your life today with that image in your mind. Start with that end in your mind. That’s where you will find everything you want to know about success and about your goals and dreams. Therefore, each part of your life, whether in your behavior today, tomorrow or after weeks or months will flow into the framework of what matters to you and what you really want to accomplish and achieve. You will give things your highest attention, which in turn will contribute meaningfully to your way of perspective of life. An important tool to help envision your goal in your mind is to write your personal life message, which contains what you want to be as a person and how you want to do contribute and succeed. This message would be completely different from person to person. A good example for someone is “I will strive to balance my work and family, because both are very important to me.” Another example is “I will start with myself and be a proactive person to achieve my goals, and I will create my own opportunities and not get influenced by the world around me" The personal life message will be your constitution and the standard against which you measure your daily behaviors and behaviors. It will also help you in making the most important decisions in your life. It is the compass that will always indicate what you really want in life.
Point to Remember: begin with end of mind