Robert Odell, Jr.

Robert has received life skills training with a heavy emphasis on The Seven Laws of Success & The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

The Steps Can Lead to Great Success

I have been in final expense, insurance, portrait, and car sales. I have had many hours of success and life skills training.

While in sales, I discovered that nearly every truly successful salesperson I had the pleasure of associating with had taken some or all of the steps mentioned in the books of Herbert W. Armstrong and Stephen R. Covey. Merging the seven principles mentioned in each book produces seven vital steps. If you take those steps, they can lead to great success.

Herbert W. Armstrong and Stephen R. Covey summed up the journey to success in seven laws and seven habits.

Herbert W. Armstrong was:	Stephen R. Covey was:
a religious leader	a motivational writer
an entrepreneur	a keynote speaker
a businessman	a businessman
a world traveler	an educator
an author	an author

Herbert W. Armstrong	Stephen R. Covey
1. The Right Goal	1. Be Proactive
2. Education and Preperation	2. Begin with the End in Mind
3. Good Health	3. Put First Things First
4. Drive	4. Think Win-win
5. Resourcefulness	5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
6. Perserverance	6. Synergize
7. Guidance from God	7. Sharpen the Saw

Nearly all who have succeeded have followed success laws and have practiced success habits.

Seven Steps on the Road to Success

The success laws and habits found in The Seven Laws of Success and The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People merge into seven vital steps to success.

Step #1

Herbert Armstrong’s first law of success is called “The Right Goal.” Stephen Covey’s second habit of highly successful people is “Begin with the End in Mind.” The strategies merge to create the first vital step to success.

The Right Goal

Herbert W. Armstrong states that the first law of success is to set “The Right Goal.”

The goal you set should:

• Interest you
• Arouse your ambition
• Incite a will to achieve
• Excite vigorous effort
• Create a burning incentive

Herbert Armstrong’s first law of success is called “The Right Goal.” Stephen Covey’s second habit of highly successful people is “Begin with the End in Mind.” The strategies merge to create the first vital step to success.

Begin with the End in Mind

Stephen Covey’s second habit of highly successful people is “Begin with the End in Mind.”

To “Begin with the End in Mind,” you should:

• Begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination
• Be proactive in making things happen
• Focus on what you want to be and do (create a Personal Mission Statement)

Step #2

Herbert Armstrong’s second law of success is “Education and Preparation.” Stephen Covey’s first habit of highly effective people is “Be Proactive.” The two strategies merge to form the second vital step to success.

Education and Preparation

Herbert Armstrong says that the second law of success is “Education and Preparation.”

Education and preparation will give you the know-how to achieve your goal.

The proper education and preparation cause you to:

• Acquire the additional knowledge you may need
• Acquire training that prepares you to achieve your goal
• Gain experience that will help you to accomplish your goal

Herbert Armstrong’s second law of success is “Education and Preparation.” Stephen Covey’s first habit of highly effective people is “Be Proactive.” The two strategies merge to form the second vital step to success.

Be Proactive

Stephen Covey’s first habit of highly effective people is called “Be Proactive.”

Being proactive causes you to:

• Take responsibility for your life
• Use action words such as I can, I will, or I prefer
• Focus your time and energy on things you can control such as health, children, or problems at work

Covey says that “Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend our energies…is a giant step in becoming proactive.”

“Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend our energies…is a giant step in becoming proactive.” — Stephen R. Covey

Step #3

Herbert Armstrong’s third law of success is called “Good Health.” Stephen Covey’s third habit of highly effective people is “Put First Things First.” The two strategies merge to form the third vital step to success.

Good Health

Referring to the third law of success, Herbert W. Armstrong wrote, “The all-important law coming next in time order is good health.”

Good physical health is a vital tool for success because we are physical beings.

Armstrong states that:

• The mind and the body form the human physical mechanism.
• Man consists of matter.
• Man consists of 16 elements of organic, chemically functioning existence.
• Man lives by breathing in air. (If the lungs do not keep inhaling and exhaling the oxygen-containing air, no man will live to achieve any goal.)

“Most people are in utter ignorance of the fact that it does make a difference what we eat!” — Herbert W. Armstrong

• Man is only one heartbeat away from death. (The heart pumps blood through an intricate system of veins and arteries. Man will die if his heart stops and never starts back.)
• Food and water give men life.
• Man is what he eats. (Many physicians and surgeons have said that 90% to 95% of all sickness and disease comes from an inadequate diet.)

A vast majority of health problems could be avoided by eating correctly.

Herbert Armstrong’s third law of success is called “Good Health.” Stephen Covey’s third habit of highly effective people is “Put First Things First.” The two strategies merge to form the third vital step that leads to success.

Put First Things First

Stephen R. Covey’s third habit, called “Put First Things First,” merges with Herbert W. Armstrong’s third law of success, referred to as “Good Health.”

“First things are those things you, personally, find of most worth”. — Stephen R. Covey

“Put First Things First”deals with:

• The physical creation
• Proper use of time
• Life management (your purpose, values, roles, and priorities)

Covey says; “First things are those things you, personally, find of most worth.”

If you put first things first, you are organizing and managing time and events that take you closer to your goal. In so doing, you live life with less stress and as a result, have better health.

Step #4

Herbert Armstrong’s fourth law of success is called “Drive.” Stephen Covey’s fourth habit of highly effective people is called “Think Win-Win.” When merged, both strategies form the fourth vital step to success.

Drive

Armstrong states that drive is the fourth law to success.

Drive causes you to:

• Be active in doing and accomplishing
• Be wholehearted in your effort
• Put a constant prod on yourself
• Drive those under your authority
• Not give in to the impulse to be slack

Armstrong’s success law of “Drive” is an excellent forerunner to Covey’s success habit of “Think Win-Win.”

Herbert Armstrong’s fourth law of success is called “Drive.” Stephen Covey’s fourth habit of highly effective people is called “Think Win-Win.” When merged, both strategies form the fourth vital step that leads to success.

Think Win-Win

According to Stephen R. Covey, “Think Win-Win”means that you use your drive to benefit yourself and the whole team.

With win-win you:

• See life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one
• Have a frame of mind and heart that always seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions
• Make sure agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying

Step #5

Herbert Armstrong’s fifth law of success is called “Resourcefulness.” Stephen Covey’s fifth habit of highly effective people is titled “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.” Together, the strategies form the fifth vital step to success.

Resourcefulness

According to Herbert W. Armstrong, “Resourcefulness” isthe fifth law that leads to success.

With resourcefulnessyou solve unexpected problems and circumstances that appear to block your path.

You use resourcefulness by:

• Not panicking
• Leaping to action
• Reaching the right decision
• Acting on the correct decision

The law of “Resourcefulness” complements the success habit of “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.”

Herbert Armstrong’s fifth law of success is called “Resourcefulness.” Stephen Covey’s fifth habit of highly effective people is called “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.” Together, the strategies form the fifth vital step that leads to success.

“Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood” helps you to :

• Attentively listen to others
• Deeply understand another human being
• Build communication skills that can be used to solve unexpected problems and circumstances

Step #6

Herbert Armstrong’s sixth law of success is called “Perseverance.” Stephen Covey’s sixth habit of highly effective people is called “Synergize.” Together, the two strategies merge to create the sixth vital step for success.

Perseverance

Armstrong says the sixth law of success is “Perseverance.”

“Perseverance” causes you to:

• Stick with it even when things are not working
• Never give up on your goals and dreams

The success law of “Perseverance” goes well with the success habit called “Synergize.”

Herbert Armstrong’s sixth law of success is called “Perseverance.” Stephen Covey’s sixth habit of highly effective people is called “Synergize.” Together, the two strategies merge to create the sixth vital step for success.

Synergize

Covey states that “Synergize”means “two heads are better than one.”

“Synergizing” creates the habit of:

• Creative cooperation
• Teamwork
• Open-mindedness and
• Finding new solutions to old problems

Synergy allows people to begin to interact together genuinely, which produces fresh insight that fosters perseverance.

Step #7

Herbert Armstrong’s seventh law of success is called “Guidance from God.” Stephen Covey’s seventh habit of highly effective people is “Sharpen the Saw.” When merged, the strategies create the seventh vital step to success.

Herbert Armstrong’s seventh law of success is called “Guidance from God.” Stephen Covey’s seventh habit of highly effective people is “Sharpen the Saw.” When merged, the two strategies form the seventh vital step to success.

Guidance from God

Herbert W. Armstrong adamantly expresses that the seventh law of success is having God’s guidance and continual help.

“Guidance from God”causes you to have ahigher, spiritual goal. According to Mr. Armstrong, your new spiritual perspective changes how you apply all other success laws.

Guidance from God changes the other laws of success

The Right Goal	Education	Good Health	Drive	Resourcefulness	Perseverance
Your Goal Is Spiritual Not Material	You Will Seek Life’s True Values	Knowledge of God’s Health Laws	God’s Word Will Be Your Motivation	You Will Have God’s Wisdom	You Will Internalize The Teachings of Christ
You Will Live In A Spiritual Way	Number One Text Book Will Be The Bible	You Will Have Peace of Mind	You Will Seek God’s Guidance With Diligence	You Will Have God’s Guidance	You Will Have Divine Strength To Continue
You Will Live By The Word Of God	You Will Have The Mind Of Christ To Solve Provblems	Stressful Burdens Will Be Lifted	You Will Be Industrious In Problem Solving	You Will Have God’s Help

Armstrong states that the seventh law of success is guidance from God. With the seventh law of success, everything changes.

Sharpen the Saw

Covey’s “Sharpen the Saw” success habit complements Armstrong’s seventh law of success.

Sharpen the saw means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.

“Sharpen the Saw” focuses on the following things:

• Physical (Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting)
• Social/Emotional (Making social and meaningful connections with others)
• Mental (Learning, reading, writing, and teaching)
• Spiritual (Spending time in nature, expanding the spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer, or service)

Having a higher spiritual goal causes you to focus on having a balanced program for self-renewal physically, socially, emotionally, and mentally.

All Seven of the Steps Are Needed

The video, Dr. Alexander’s World, demonstrates how all the seven vital steps create genuine success. In the production, we see Dr. Alexander, a man who, from all outward appearances, seems to be very successful.

• He set the reasonable goal of being in the medical profession that he loves.
• He acquired the education and training needed to be successful as a doctor.
• He is in excellent health.
• He has the drive that has caused his associates to admire him.
• He has used his resourcefulness to create a bodacious medical practice.
• He has shown perseverance by surviving his early years of lack and enjoys a lavish bank account.

However, Dr. Alexander needs to take the seventh vital step to success to have the peace of mind that he desperately craves.

Is Material Success Without Peace of Mind Really Success?

What Do You Think?

Would you consider a person with wealth and fame, but no peace of mind, to be successful?

• Yes
• No
• I do not know

Merge and Take the Seven Vital Steps

Seven vital success steps occur by merging the success strategies in Herbert W. Armstrong’s book, The Seven Laws of Success, and Stephen R. Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. The seven steps have proven invaluable assistants while traversing the road, leading to total and complete accomplishment. The laws and habits of success point toward business and economic prosperity. They are also the laws and practices that lead to an abundant and interest-filled life.

The seven laws teach you to:

1. Have the right goal
2. Prepare with proper education and training
3. Watch your physical health and maintain a good mental state of mind
4. Have drive
5. Have resourcefulness
6. Have Perseverance
7. Seek divine help to achieve a wholesome life and make proper decisions

Merging the success strategies in Herbert W. Armstrong’s book, The Seven Laws of Success, and Stephen R. Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, produces seven vital success steps. The seven steps are invaluable assets proven true while traversing the road to total and complete accomplishment.

The seven habits teach you to:

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

Real and Complete Success

Merging the laws and habits, and taking the resulting seven vital steps, can help anyone achieve authentic and complete success.

Experts define genuine and complete success as:

1. Peace of mind
2. Freedom from fears and worries
3. Security
4. Protection
5. Happiness
6. Abundant well-being

Total and Complete Success Is Not Free

Notwithstanding, total and complete success is not free. There is a price to pay to achieve bona fide, genuine, and lasting accomplishments. The price is, lawfully and habitually, taking the seven vital steps that lead to absolute and eternal success.

Sources

Armstrong, Herbert W. The Seven Laws of Success. Pasadena, CA: Worldwide Church of God, 1974. Print.

Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013. Print.

Dr. Alexander’s World. Dir. Carolyn Yancy Gunn. Perf. Robert Odell, Jr. Dr. Alexander’s World. CFA Productions, Inc., n.d. Web.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

© 2015 Robert Odell Jr.