However, I found out the author is mormon, and there's a couple of Christian sites that don't like it. On the other hand, other Christian sites recommend it.

The book does not address religion specifically, although the author does present himself as "judeo-christian" (which I suppose mormons see themselves as being).

But I did see the principles as life-changing, and they do seem to make sense. So I am a point in my life where I have to make a decision. Should I follow them or not?

The 7 habits are:
1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think Win/Win
5. Seek first to understand . . . then to be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the saw

But that's hardly scratching the surface - the book is not a "quick fix" book, it goes deep, and makes one take a good look at oneself.

It does not seem to undercut any Christian principles, however, if it is, it's deepness may make me blind to it.

So - I'm asking for thoughts, ideas, etc about it.

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"The very idea of freedom presupposes some objective moral law which overarches rulers and ruled alike." -- C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963), "The Poison of Subjectivism" (from Christian Reflections; p. 108)

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[This message has been edited by CobraA1 (edited January 22, 2005).]

1. be proactive

This is true with a caveat. Most people don't realize that they control the most important things in their lives, they rather feel that life happens to them. I once heard it said, and I believe, that life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% what you choose to do with that. The caveat I would make is that many people take the reigns of their lives and go charging out into whatever they feel might be worthwhile.. as christians we need to be directed by God. We need to proactively seek God and his will, then we need to proactively do what he tells us to do.

2. Begin with the end in mind.

This one I think is true in terms of business, you have to start out with strong goals and you have to plan things out carefuly. However, its not always true in the christian life. Many times God leads us into situations where we don't know the end, we only know what he has told us to do next.. this is part of our learning trust and obedience. Having said that I go back to the first comment I made.. christians are supposed to be "wise as serpents" which means unless God has directed you to do something (which may seem foolish), you should proceed with the best wisdom you have available.

3. Put first things first

This one is very true for christians, and I might add always true... the only question is what do you consider to be the first things. As a christian we must have our priorities strongly in order, and God must be our first priority.

4. think win/win

Again, I think this is very true. Christians should be the most positive minded people. negative thinking is useless and harmful. The only comment I would make here is that christians, because we have different priorities, may recognize different things as winning.. for example Paul (and many early christians) recognized martyrdom as winning.. most people today (even christians) would not.

5. seek first to understand... then to be understood

this point is very valuable in interpersonal relationships and also in relating to other people's beliefs. Most people don't care about understanding others or the view points of others.

6. synergize...
well... to tell you the truth, I have no idea what is meant by this point

7. sharpen the saw..

What this reminds me of is a scripture that my sister in law pointed out to me the other day. It spoke of trying to chop wood with a dull axe and how it requires more work. this verse likened wisdom to sharpening the axe. Essentially saying work smarter not harder.

P.S. Oh.. and for the record, Mormons view themselves as christians. If you ever talk to a Mormon they will be at pains to agree with you on christian doctrine and to minimize any differences between their doctrines and those of christianity. Basicly they present themselves as christians who have an extra book.
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-- All that is gold does not glitter,
Deep roots are not touched by the frost,
The old that is strong does not wither,
Not all those who wander are lost.

[This message has been edited by simon_templar (edited January 22, 2005).]

You got the habits correct, AFAIK. No, I'm not sure what synergy is all about, either. I think it has to do with having a team that works well together or something like that.

What I am a bit concerned about is the book does encourage paradigm changes (finding a new "map" that best fits reality, centering on principles).

I figure I can make the Bible my map and center on God's principles, but:

I am concerned about the possible power of the book - it borderlines brainwashing sometimes - it encourages some exercises that resemble reprogramming and stuff like that. He helped train his son for footbal that way - deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualizing himself in the toughest football situations. Later, though, his son would get uptight - and come to find out, it was because his son was visualizing uptightness. As the author says "If you visualize the wrong thing, you'll produce the wrong thing".

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"The very idea of freedom presupposes some objective moral law which overarches rulers and ruled alike." -- C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963), "The Poison of Subjectivism" (from Christian Reflections; p. 108)

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Codename: Roler - hoping to get more done over the holidays . . .

[This message has been edited by CobraA1 (edited January 23, 2005).]

Take visualization for example. Without ever thinking about it I practice visualization all the time, because I am constantly running over things in my mind thinking about, and imagining how things will go. How you allow yourself to think about, or visualize things does have an impact on you and your attitude. Positive thinking and positive attitude are very important because they affect how you perceive the situations you are in, and they very strongly affect how other people percieve you. Thus I think it is good to train ourselves to visualize things in a positive way.. I look at it as mental practice... like in sports or art or what have you.. practice doing it right in your mind and there is a better chance of doing it right, just like when you practice physicaly.

HOWEVER, many "new age" people believe that through visualization you can actually impact reality, what you imagine you can bring to pass simply by meditating on it and visualizing it. This is what amounts to magic, trying to use your mind to impact the outcome or state of reality. They are essentially trying to produce a supernatural result by the power of the mind. This is a false teaching and its dangerous.

The mind does have tremendous power over us, and we should be aware of that. If you allow yourself to believe that you are weak, ineffectual, and a failure, it is likely that you will fulfill your expectations. We can sabotage ourselves with the way that we think.. and we can also become defeatist, giving up in the face of adversity etc.

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-- All that is gold does not glitter,
Deep roots are not touched by the frost,
The old that is strong does not wither,
Not all those who wander are lost.