First Things First

By Steven R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill

To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy

When talking about realigning your life to your purpose, we cannot ignore First Things First. Classifying this book merely under the genre of time management does it a great disservice. This is not a quick-fix book to “get it all sorted.” Rather, it is a reflective work that can change the course of our lives. It inspires us to bridge the gap many of us feel between the way we spend our time and what is truly important to us.

The first chapter of the book is titled “How many people on their deathbed wish they’d spent more time at the office?”—a thought-provoking question that makes us reflect on what really matters in life. The authors begin with the quote, “The enemy of the best is the good,” challenging us to move beyond the comfort of what is merely good and to pursue the very best we can become.

The book proposes that discovering our vision and mission gives meaning and purpose to our lives and helps us identify the DNA of our existence. For those struggling to find their purpose, this is a great starting point. This discovery then forms the backbone for the rest of the book’s processes—creating balance and synergy among the various roles in life, setting principle-based goals that lead to true quality-of-life results, and acting with integrity in the moments of choice.

This book is not about managing life efficiently, but about transforming its course in alignment with our internal, eternal compass. I would recommend it to anyone, wherever they are on their journey of self-discovery.