Stephen Covey passed away yesterday and he was truly an icon. His 7 Habits books inspired millions; the principles he taught made this world a better place. The most impressive thing to me about Covey was that he lived exactly the life he spoke about. His family was his most important, treasured and valuable asset. He was true to his character and was passionate about teaching others leadership and successful business skills.
Of all of his books my favorite is still the one he wrote over 40 years ago, in 1970, Spiritual Roots of Human Relations (quoted above). I read it during high school and the book deeply impacted my testimony of the importance of a gospel-centered life.
Then, a bonus to marrying Brent was that the Covey family was in his home ward in Provo. So, on trips back to Utah during our early marriage we often had Gospel Doctrine lessons taught by Stephen Covey. One year Covey's son, Sean, while his was the BYU quarterback, came to the hospital to give Webb a blessing when I was in Provo without Brent and Webb ingested prescription pills Grandma Colleen left on a countertop.
It seems really apparent that Covey’s life was full of joy as he radiated the light of the gospel and shared those important principles with others, even in a secular way. He’ll be missed but he led a great life!
