Stephen R. Covey's self-help book is an influential communication for personal change. He advises building from the inside out and offers a plan for moving from dependence to independence to interdependence. The inside-out approach starts with oneself first, which includes paradigms, personas, and motivations. To improve relationships with others, we must first improve ourselves by putting character before personality. Covey prefaces the book by explaining the paradigms and principles. Paradigms are maps that guide us and affect how we interact with people. He states, “We see the world not as it is, but as we are or as we are conditioned to see it” (page 28). Paradigms have a greater impact on effectiveness than any effort to change our attitudes and behaviors. “The power of a paradigm shift is the essential power of quantum change, whether the change is instantaneous or a slow, deliberate process” (page 2). Principles are natural laws to follow, ethical behaviors for social acceptance. The principles include fairness, integrity, honesty, human dignity, service and quality. The principles have universal application; they apply to all aspects of life. They constitute a guideline for human conduct. The two dominant theories for success are the character ethic and the personality ethic. The character ethic includes integrity, humility, faithfulness, courage, justice, patience, simplicity, modesty, and the Golden Rule. People experience true success and happiness by learning to integrate these principles into their fundamental character. The personality ethic arose after the First World War. This involves a human and public relations technique and a positive mental attitude. Success has become a function of personality: public...... middle of paper ......t we sow. I will continue to learn, engage and take action. You need to set priorities and use time management effectively by managing yourself. It involves planning to achieve goals. Covey suggests “that in a situation of interdependence, every P problem is a PC opportunity – a chance to create emotional bank accounts that affect interdependent productions” (page 202). Deposits are made into the emotional bank account when one takes care of the little things, follows through on commitments, demonstrates personal integrity, and sincerely apologizes when an emotional withdrawal is made. Win/win consideration includes character, maturity and abundance mentality. The abundance mentality is the paradigm that there is something for everyone. Public victory means working together to achieve things we couldn't do alone. Covey explains that private victories precede public victories..