Contents
Guide
The final book by the internationally bestselling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Live Life in Crescendo
Your Most Important Work Is Always Ahead of You
Stephen R. Covey and Cynthia Covey Haller
This wonderful last gift from Stephen Covey, made with his daughter Cynthia, will inspire you to dream bigger and bolder.
Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again
Advance Praise for Live Life in Crescendo
Theres another habit of highly effective people: they envision the future in an upward trajectory. This wonderful last gift from Stephen Covey, made with his daughter Cynthia, will inspire you to dream bigger and bolder.
Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
Stephen Covey lived his life in crescendo and constantly inspired others to do the same. He helped change the trajectory of my football career and my life, when by happenstance we sat together on a plane. On that flight, I was inspired and rejuvenated. I had been in the presence of greatness as he masterfully shared principles in this book, which revealed the tremendous opportunities before me. His legacy shines on through this book and the lives of his family.
Steve Young, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and Chairman & cofounder, HGGC
The dictum that I promote is Making money may be happiness but making other people happy is super happiness. Simply put, happiness comes from many sources, not just from financial success. It is when we share with and serve those in need that we experience our truest joy at a much deeper and fulfilling level. Live Life in Crescendo teaches us how to achieve a life of purpose, meaning, and contribution, by giving much, with full purpose of heart, for the greater good. Thank you, Stephen and Cynthia, for living life in crescendo and for this beautiful, inspiring, and important work.
Professor Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2006 and founder of Grameen Bank
Stephen Covey, in his final leadership book, Live Life in Crescendo, completed by his daughter Cynthia, proposes a paradigm shift around retirement, suggesting that although we may retire from a job or career, we dont ever have to retire from making meaningful contributions to those around us. With new insights and inspiring personal stories, the book helps us focus on leading a life of service with the same passion we brought to building successful careers.
Arianna Huffington, founder & CEO of Thrive
Retiring is not an end, but truly a beginning. We have more time to build even stronger relationships and to contribute and give back to our greater community. This inspiring, beautiful book provides us with examples, stories, and the wisdom needed to create lasting legacies that will live on far beyond our years. Thank you, Stephen and Cynthia, for Live Life in Crescendo, this wonderful book, which is a tribute to Stephen R. Covey and his legacy.
Indra Nooyi, former CEO and Chairman of the Board of PepsiCo and author of the New York Times bestseller My Life in Full
I love Live Life in Crescendo. It will help all those looking to improve their lives and is filled with fun, wise, and great stories. It was like having Dr. Covey with me once again. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was important to me as a young physician, but I found his new book, written with his daughter Cynthia, even more important, guiding us, no matter what our age, to go further than we ever thought possible.
Daniel G. Amen, MD, CEO and founder of Amen Clinics and author of You, Happier and The End of Mental Illness
Whether youve enjoyed success, encountered adversity, or feel stagnation, our best times can still lie ahead. With Stephen Coveys signature wisdom and warmth, this delightfully hopeful book shows how life can truly keep getting better and better.
Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Regret, When, and Drive
Its such a temptation to believe that we have done our best work. That we have peaked. That we are in decline. That our glory days are behind us. So this book from Stephen Covey and Cynthia Covey Haller is a breath of fresh air. It inverts the situation entirely and invites us to believe that our greatest contribution is always ahead of us. Indeed, this book being published at all, ten years after Stephens passing, illustrates its very premise. Cynthia has captured the spirit of her fathers work so faithfully and added her essential voice, too. Reading this has been a huge blessing to me, and it will be to you as well. Youll never think of your life the same way again.
Greg McKeown, New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism and Effortless
Like most everyone in our generation, we have made the lovely transition from parenting to grandparenting, and our writing has shifted accordingly. Just when we were trying to come up with a book about the joy of the fourth quarter of life, we found that our old, dear friend Stephen had already written it, or most of it, before he died. His remarkable eldest daughter, Cynthia, who had worked on it with him from the start, picked up the baton and finished it. The result is Live Life in Crescendo, and it is fabulous!
Richard and Linda Eyre, New York Times #1 bestselling authors of Teaching Your Children Values, Grandmothering, and Being a Proactive Grandfather
Stephen R. Coveys books have shaped my life and leadership. This book, Live Life in Crescendo: Your Most Important Work Is Always Ahead of You, based on his own mission statement, is an invitation to live life fully and engage at every intersection. For everyone who sees life as an opportunity for advancing growth and impact, this is a must-read from one of the best. In it you will find proof that every person can make an incredible contribution with their life.
Celeste Mergens, founder of the award-winning global nonprofit Days for Girls
Cynthia Covey Haller builds on the work of the late, great Stephen Covey in this inspirational book. Live Life in Crescendo will give everyone who reads it inspiration and hope to live a life that is productive and meaningful, from beginning to end.
Arthur C. Brooks, professor, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of From Strength to Strength
Live Life in Crescendo is a great reminder that every single one of us has a story, experiences heartache and trauma, but ultimately, we have the power inside us to rise up and move forward and not only survive what often feels the impossible but go on to be happy again. It is encouraging and lovingly written. I am honored to have my story included.
Elizabeth Smart, author of the New York Times bestselling My Story and of Where Theres Hope
Cynthia Covey Haller, as her fathers faithful translator, has so beautifully captured what it truly means to Live Life in Crescendo. I hear Dr. Coveys voice as I turn each page. This book inspires us all to seize every moment by living a life of purpose, service, love, and contribution, while knowing that our most important work is always ahead of us
Muriel Summers, former principal of A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary, the first Leader in Me School in the world and the only magnet school to have been twice honored as the #1 Magnet School in America