Effective people stay out of Quadrants III and IV because, urgent or not, they aren't important. They also shrink Quadrant I down to size by spending more time in Quadrant II...Quadrant II is the heart of effective personal management.

The great apparent dichotomy is that the more we give, the more we get.

Difference is the beginning of synergy.

What difference would a clear vision of my principles, values, and ultimate objectives make in the way I spend my time?

The great contributors in life are those who, though afraid of the knock at the door, still answer it.

Our lives are the results of our choices. To blame and accuse other people, the environment, or other extrinsic factors is to choose to empower those things to control us.

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.