The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens
Selected Book Details
- Paperback
- Edition: Original
- Author: Sean Covey
- Publisher: Fireside
- Release Date: October 1998
- Reading Level: Young Adult
- ISBN-10: 0684856093
- ISBN-13: 9780684856094
- List Price: $15.99
Price Comparisons
E-mail these Cheap Book Prices to a friend!
| Store | Price | Condition | Free Shipping? | Online Coupons and Deals | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | $0.01 as of 9/3 6am EST | Used | NO, $3.99 |
| |||
| Half.com | $0.75 as of 9/3 6am EST | Used | NO, $3.49 to $3.99 |
| |||
| Half.com | $4.62 as of 9/3 6am EST | New | NO, $3.49 to $3.99 |
| |||
| Amazon | $5.94 as of 9/3 6am EST | New | NO, $3.99 |
| |||
| Amazon | $8.99 as of 9/3 6am EST | New | YES, spend $25+ |
| |||
| Christianbook | $11.99 as of 9/2 7am EST | New | NO, usually $3 to $5 |
| |||
| TextbookX | $14.11 as of 9/3 6am EST | New | YES, spend $49+ |
| |||
| button not working? Click Here | |||||||
Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryBased on his father's bestselling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Sean Covey applies the same principles to teens, using a vivacious, entertaining style. To keep it fun, Covey writes, he "stuffed it full of cartoons, clever ideas, great quotes, and incredible stories about real teens from all over the world... along with a few other surprises." Did he ever! Flip open to any page and become instantly absorbed in real-life stories of teens who have overcome obstacles to succeed, and step-by-step guides to shifting paradigms, building equity in "relationship bank accounts," creating action plans, and much more. As a self-acknowledged guinea pig for many of his dad's theories, Sean Covey is a living example of someone who has taken each of the seven habits to heart: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; put first things first; think win-win; seek first to understand, then to be understood; synergize; and sharpen the saw. He includes a comical section titled "The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens," which includes some, shall we say, counterproductive practices: put first things last; don't cooperate; seek first to talk, then pretend to listen; wear yourself out... Covey's humorous and up-front style is just light enough to be acceptable to wary teenagers, and down-and-dirty enough to really make a difference. (Ages 13 and older) --Emilie Coulter |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Turning Teenagers into Neurotics
Rating:
I was first drawn to this curious little book by its extremely unsettling title. Are the teenagers now expected to be "highly effective"? Effective in what? I mean, they are kids, why even use such a strange language to describe them?
After I opened this miniature book, I realized that its main goal was to convince teenagers that they are never too young to start transforming themselves into efficient little robots whose goal is to be "successful" at all costs. Having fun, hanging out with friends, playing, flirting, enjoying your existence - all these activities should be expelled from a teenager's life since they cannot be construed as either "effective" or "productive."
Here is a sample of wisdom that this book offers to poor teenagers: All successful people have the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing them either. But this dislike is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.
Obviously, the purpose of this "successful" individual does not include being happy or enjoying life. The quote makes a lot more sense if we substitute the word "neurotic" for successful. It's also curious how a person who refuses to do things s/he doesn't enjoy is necessarily seen as a "failure." In this masochistic worldview, the only permissible lifestyle is the one that includes constant self-repression and suffering.
Other pieces of advice the book offers include making weekly lists of the goals you need to achieve and looking at yourself in a mirror in order to find in yourself qualities that need to be eradicated. I can't express how much I pity the poor teenagers who buy into this silliness and engage in these weird activities.
Helpful and Hilarious
Rating:
This book was given to me because I was told I would enjoy it. It was a wonderful gift, indeed! I was a bit skeptical when I first saw it. I began reading it and I was immediately hooked. I laughed at every page and couldn't wait to finish the book. On top of being hilarious it was indeed very helpful. By applying the advice the book gave my life became easier and better. I may sound like a commercial right now, but everything I say is nothing but the truth. I highly recommend this book to all teenagers and adults!
Rated a "good"...should have been "acceptable"
Rating:
The product already came a part when I opened it. So, the condition was misleading. Pretty fast shipping however.
I will be thinking hard about sharing this book with my teens.
Rating:
I wanted to like this book and I actually feel bad about rating it so low considering there is a LOT of great information in it but the truth was that I was disappointed with this book and will think seriously about whether or not I will ever give it to my children to read. It simply had too many negatives dragging it down in my opinion.
I also read Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations and recommend that book over this one if you want to encourage your youth to set goals and work hard towards achieving them. (It does have a Christian message but if you are not opposed to that then it can be very encouraging and motivational.)
I think the problem with this book is Sean Covey did not have a clear enough target audience in mind. At times he seems to be speaking to highschool students and at other times to college age students. Sometimes he seems to be speaking to kids who are struggling with things like broken homes and drug use and other times to an average middle-class teen who just needs a prod in the right direction.
Things I did not like in this book are...
1. THE STATED AND UN-STATED FOCUS ON THE OUTER APPEARANCE:
p134 "..I had a hot date that Saturday afternoon."
p101 "At the end of the year, weighing 180 pounds and bench-pressing 255 pounds, I was awarded 'Best Body' by the senior girls of the high school, the award that I loved most of all."
p169 "Jessica is much better looking than Katherine".
p118 "In high school I had a crush on a beautiful girl named Sherry...."
2. THE BAD ATTITUDES SOMETIMES DISPLAYED TOWARDS PARENTS:
p23 "Finally I struck out on my own and had a falling out with my folks, but it made them see me for who I was."
p170 "This is the when-I-was-your-age speech you often get from your elders"
p220 "My family is composed of a bunch of technical incompetents. I blame the bad gene on my dad. Several times I've seen him in technically challenging situations like when....he attempts to change a light bulb."
3. I DON'T AGREE WITH THE ADVICE ON:
A) Dating lots of people...
p20 "Have as many boyfriends and girlfriends as you like just don't get obsessed with or centered on them..."
B) or his marriage advice that could influence youth to not forge a committed and close relationship with their future spouse...
p20 "When I began dating my wife, one of the things that attracted me most was that she didn't center her life on me."
C) nor his advice encouraging youth to simply listen and never offer possible solutions to friends in need...
p165 "A handful of loyal friends really stuck it out with me and tried to help, but I tuned out their preachy lectures about my weight..."
p166 "They didn't treat me like a person with a problem. There were no lectures..."
p166 "Contrast that with what might have happened had her roommates turned preachy on her."
p167 "You can show you care by simply taking time to listen without judging and without giving advice".
4) THERE WERE LOTS OF WRONG-SIDE-OF-THE-TRACKS STORIES:
Stories of sexual abuse p58, p59; Drug use p77, P214; Parent smoking marijuana with her 12 year old daughter p61; Abusive relationships p158; Bulemia p158; Anorexia 165; Alcoholic and abusive parents p227; References to sexual activity p78 p229; Suicide p232; pornography p240
p238 An experience shared by a teen..."I used to argue with my ex-boyfriend about watching BET and MTV, because the majority of the videos consisted of not-even-half-naked girls wiggling and jiggling like a bowl of Jell-O...it hurt me to see my ex-boyfriend in a daze with his eyes moving up and down..."
In all fairness, when looking at the broad picture, Sean Covey is encouraging teens to be responsible, value education and work on their family relationships. Most of the unsavoury stories are being used to illustrate not-what-to-do.
However I couldn't help but feel that in some instances, the stories and attitudes could plant thoughts into our teens minds or reinforce ideas such as 'Boys only like the beautiful girl' or 'Parents are difficult to get along with'.
The reason I prefer Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations is because it encourages youth to do better without adding all these issues in.
On the other hand, if your teen is struggling with drug use etc - and you can even get him/her to read this book - then this book may actually be beneficial in helping them see the light.
I think that in general, if a teen is motivated enough to read a self-help book like this then they may as well read Sean Covey's father's books such as The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People and leave all the teenage baggage well and truly behind.
Making me highly effective
Rating:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens' is an extraordinary book. The author Sean Covey, talks about the teens and their perspectives of life. He brings to us a bigger view of teens lives and gives us answers, advice, reasons, causes, possibilities, hope, and good perspective guidance. I've taken in a lot of advice and guidance while reading the book, and followed through with it. I now feel a little better about who I am, and how I will be in the future.
I chose to read this book because I wanted to better myself, and get advice from someone other then the adults when I don't really look up to, and who lack the experiences of being a role model. One of the reviews that influenced me if from the US Olympic figure skater gold medalist which stated, "An intensive training program for youth to grow and become winners in the competition of life." The author talks in a style as if he is talking to me (the teenage reader).
Sean Covey also speaks with an understanding demeanor with accuracy. In example he states, "Proactive people focus their efforts on their circle of influence. They work on things they can do something about: health, children, and problems at work. Reactive people focus their efforts in the circle of concern--things over which they have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism, and the weather. Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend our energies is a giant step in becoming proactive."
Covey uses the influential methods of bias, association, and over generalizing: "Besides having paradigms about ourselves and others, we also have paradigms about the world in general." The author is over generalizing about people having paradigms about the world (a way of looking at something with his/her own perspectives.) But in actuality not everyone cares to have a paradigm of the world itself, unless it was asked for.
To sum everything up, I have really enjoyed reading this book; it has truly made an impact on my life, and has to other people who I've recommended this book to. I recommend this book to teenagers the age of 12 to 18, and hopefully it will make an impact on the readers of these ages.
Jane Phan, TJHS student
BROWSE BY SUBJECT
- Audiobooks
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Health, Mind & Body
- Aging
- Alternative Medicine
- Authors, A-Z
- Beauty & Fashion
- Cancer
- Death & Grief
- Diets & Weight Loss
- Disorders & Diseases
- Exercise & Fitness
- Large Print
- Men's Health
- Mental Health
- Nutrition
- Personal Health
- Psychology & Counseling
- Recovery
- Reference
- Relationships
- Safety & First Aid
- Self-Help
- Sex
- Women's Health
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel