Top 40 Sean Covey Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”

— Sean Covey

2. “We become what we repeatedly do.”

— Sean Covey

Featured in: Habit Quotes

3. “Small changes can make huge destination differences.”

— Sean Covey

4. “Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.”

— Sean Covey

5. “One of the few things that can’t be recycled is wasted time.”

— Sean Covey

6. “We are free to choose our paths, but we can’t choose the consequences that come with them.”

— Sean Covey

7. “Life is a mission, not a career. A career is a profession, a mission is a cause. A career asks, What’s in it for me? A mission asks, How can I make a difference?”

— Sean Covey

8. “If you could envision the type of person God intended you to be, you would rise up and never be the same again.”

— Sean Covey

9. “Strong minds talk about ideas; weak minds talk about people.”

— Sean Covey

Featured in: Strong Quotes

10. “If you decide to just go with the flow, you’ll end up where the flow goes, which is usually downhill, often leading to a big pile of sludge and a life of unhappiness. You’ll end up doing what everyone else is doing.”

— Sean Covey

11. “I think the greatest challenge between child and parent is communication.”

— Sean Covey

12. “Being gentle means forgiving yourself when you mess up. We should learn from our mistakes, but we shouldn’t beat the tar out of ourselves over them. The past is just that, past. Learn what went wrong and why. Make amends if you need to. Then drop it and move on.”

— Sean Covey

13. “Don’t wait until people are dead to give them flowers.”

— Sean Covey

14. “Education must be a lifelong pursuit. The person who doesn’t read is not better off than the person who can’t.”

— Sean Covey

15. “Now think deeply. What have you done with your life over the past year? How do you feel inside?”

— Sean Covey

16. “Isn’t it kind of silly to think that tearing someone else down builds you up?”

— Sean Covey

17. “It’s all about how you feel, not how you look.”

— Sean Covey

18. “If you’re planning on dropping out of high school, prepare yourself for the future by repeating aloud each day: ‘I’m looking forward to low-paying jobs for the rest of my life.’”

— Sean Covey

Featured in: School Quotes

19. “Honesty is always the best policy, even when it’s not the trend.”

— Sean Covey

20. “These problems are real, and you can’t turn off real life. So I won’t try. Instead, I’ll give you a set of tools to help you deal with real life.”

— Sean Covey

21. “It’s hard, but sometimes it is better to have no friends for a time than to have the wrong friends. The wrong group can lead you down all kinds of paths you really don’t want to be on. And retracing your steps can be a long and hard journey.”

— Sean Covey

22. “Don’t let your pride or a lack of courage stand in the way of saying you’re sorry to people you may have offended.”

— Sean Covey

23. “Make as many friends as you can, but don’t build your life on them alone. It’s an unstable foundation.”

— Sean Covey

24. “Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force. ELAINE MAXWELL.”

— Sean Covey

25. “One of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child is to help them find their talents.”

— Sean Covey

26. “All the events of your past have formed a lens, or paradigm, through which you see the world. And since no one’s past is exactly like anyone else’s, no two people see alike.”

— Sean Covey

27. “Instead of trying to blend in and be like everyone else, be proud of and celebrate your unique differences and qualities. A fruit salad is delicious precisely because each fruit maintains its own flavor.”

— Sean Covey

28. “The primary purpose of going to college isn’t to get a great job. The primary purpose of college is to build a strong mind, which leads to greater self-awareness, capability, fulfillment, and service opportunities, which, incidentally, should lead to a better job.”

— Sean Covey

Featured in: Strong Quotes

29. “Listening can heal wounds.”

— Sean Covey

30. “Whenever you have a job to do ask yourself two questions. If not now, when? If not by me, by whom?”

— Sean Covey

31. “Our confidence needs to come from within, not without. From the quality of our hearts, not the quantity of things we own. After all, he who dies with the most toys... still dies.”

— Sean Covey

32. “The following is a list of statements made many years ago by experts in their fields. At the time they were said they sounded intelligent. With the passing of time, they sound idiotic.”

— Sean Covey

33. “The average teen today spends about 35 hours a week in front of a screen of some kind: iPod, movie, TV, video. And a lot of it is good, but a lot of it’s not. And so I think you’ve got that five hours a day of media coming into your kid’s head that’s creating a lot of havoc out there.”

— Sean Covey

34. “When you’re choosing someone to date, what’s the first thing you notice about them? Their personality? Right – let’s get real. The first thing you go for is their looks. You can’t help it. Being attracted to someone is where it all starts, but there is so much more to a person than looks.”

— Sean Covey

35. “Abraham Lincoln was often criticized for trying to make friends with his enemies instead of trying to get rid of them. He replied, “Isn’t that what I’m doing when I make an enemy a friend?”

— Sean Covey

36. “I like how Mother Teresa put it: “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile.” If you approach life this way, always looking for ways to build instead of to tear down, you’ll be amazed at how much happiness you can give to others and find for yourself.”

— Sean Covey

37. “Remember, very few of us wind up marrying the people we date in high school. So even though you may be convinced your current boyfriend or girlfriend is the one, they most likely aren’t.”

— Sean Covey

38. “You can usually tell when a couple becomes centered on each other because they are forever breaking up and getting back together.”

— Sean Covey

39. “My dad told me that when I was born my cheeks were so fat the doctors didn’t know which end to spank.”

— Sean Covey

40. “It’s especially hard to admit that you made a mistake to your parents, because, of course, you know so much more than they do.”

— Sean Covey

41. “My dad is a good role model for me, and then I had a high school coach that really helped me out when I was struggling and made a big difference in my life.”

— Sean Covey

42. “My focus has kind of been on teenagers, you know, and I think we’ve got a huge crisis right now in America, among our teens.”

— Sean Covey

43. “You should see my baby pictures. My cheeks hung off my face like water balloons. You can imagine how often I was teased.”

— Sean Covey

44. “For a moment, imagine the person you hope to marry. What do they look like? Are they funny, intelligent, kind? How do you hope they are living their life right now? Would it bother you if you knew they were hooking up each weekend or had five, ten, or fifteen different partners over the past several years? Or would it make you smile if you knew they were holding out for you? Why not live your life as you would want them to live theirs? Wait for the relationship.”

— Sean Covey

45. “It is OK to be a little selfish about my priorities.”

— Sean Covey

46. “A fruit salad is delicious precisely because each fruit maintains its own flavor.”

— Sean Covey