David Friedman, BS: Hello, This is Dr. David Friedman, host of Ood Health Radio. What if I told you the decisions you make today from teenager into adulthood could completely alter the path of your entire life? Today we're going to discuss a proven framework that's helped over. 8 million young people navigate peer pressure, build self-esteem, and achieve their goals.

Our next guest has cracked the code on transforming education worldwide, teaching students not just what to think but how to think. His revolutionary Leader In ME program is in over 8,000 schools, across 70 countries, producing amazing results in student achievement and culture, and he's just launched groundbreaking new initiatives that help people turn setbacks.

Into comebacks. Whether you're a parent struggling to connect with your teen, an educator looking to make a difference, or you just want someone you know who can show you some practical goals, Oriental goals to help keep you focused in 2026. Stay tuned. When it comes to unlocking human potential, we've got Sean Covey, the master locksmith in the house, and he's ready to help you find the keys to success, and it all starts now.

Our

next guest holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a degree in English in Brigham Young University where he was the quarterback before a career ending knee injury. He's the president of Franklin Cov Education and Vice President of Global Solutions and Partnerships, where he oversees international operations spanning over 140 countries, a Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author.

Sean has written multiple. Influential books, including The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, which has sold over 8 million copies and translated into 20 languages. The Four Disciplines of Execution, a number one Wall Street Journal bestseller. Six Most Important Decisions you'll Ever Make, And the Seven Habits of Ha. Happy Kids.

Collectively, his books have sold over 10. Million copies worldwide. He's the son of the late Stephen r Covey, author of the Landmark Bestseller, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which has been named the number one most influential business book of the 20th century. Welcome to the show, Sean Covey.

Sean Covey: Dr. Friedman, it's a pleasure to be with you. Thank you for having me on the show. Today.

David Friedman, BS: Yeah, it's so great. Now your father's work changed millions of lives and you've extended that legacy in your own unique way. What was it like growing up in a household centered around these principles and when did you realize, hey, I wanna carry this work forward?

Sean Covey: Okay. Yeah, a great question. I get that. Ask that all the time. So Stephen r Covey, he was the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Right, which has been the really most influential. Business, self-help book of its time, in the last 40 years. And so growing up in his home, I was lucky to have a good mom and dad, but dad was always trying to teach us these principles before they were named.

And before this was a book, he was always trying to teach us, the idea of being proactive, which is one of the habits. So for example, I would come home from school and I would say something like, Mom and dad. teacher in algebra just sucks. I can't stand him and I'm gonna flunk algebra and it's his fault.

My dad would take me aside and say, you know, Sean, that's kind of a, victim mentality. You're, gonna flunk algebra and it's your teacher's fault. And if you have a problem with your teacher, why don't you go talk with him instead of talking behind his back? And if you flunk algebra son, it's your own fault, not your teachers.

And I'd say, dad. You're so weird. Where's mom? I'd go talk with mom and she'd let me blame my teacher for my problems. So, it was kind of a, good balance in our home, but my father was always trying to teach us kids about, beginning with the end in mind, having a plan and sharpening your saw.

so was raised with, these habits and these principles, and of course, we struggle to live them, but I was taught them.

David Friedman, BS: Yeah, I know you went from a focus on football to Harvard Business School to a leading global education transformation. That, boy, that's a big mix. How did those early experiences shape your philosophy about. Uh, turning setbacks into opportunities.

Sean Covey: Yeah, well, I think the teachings of the seven habits And the teachings from my parents, of course influenced me a lot. And so currently I'm running, Franklin Covey Education. And what we found is, these seven habits and these principles that our company teaches at Franklin Covey, these are powerful and they can be used.

large corporations use these small businesses, use these individuals, do schools do, we've got 'em being used in the military, for different purposes so they can be used because they're based upon timeless principles of effectiveness that always work. And so we, in my role now, we've found that they work really well in schools.

And so we have a program called Leader in Me, which basically teaches leadership to students, And we do it with kindergartners and elementary and middle and high school students. And, it's so amazing to see when these kids learn how to set and achieve goals. Learn a common leadership language, learn about, being proactive and how to get along well with other people thinking win-win, and seeking first.

Understand these basic, durable skills, these life skills that get you college, career and life ready are, So we have these in, 8,000 schools in over 50 countries, and really amazing to see the impact of the seven habits that my father started and wrote in 1989, is stronger now than ever before.

David Friedman, BS: Wow. I know a lot's changed. I mean, you've updated the book for the digital age. What are the most dangerous traps you see teens falling into with now social media, which is new since the beginning of when you started the book and all this technology? And the dancing And the TikTok and, how did the seven habits specifically help them navigate cyber bullying and comparison culture And the digital overwhelming, presence that they get when they click those, buttons on their phone.

Sean Covey: Sure. I just say I acknowledge it's very difficult. I have, a teenager right now at home. he's a senior in high school and it's changed completely. I think there's a lot of loneliness. I think there's a lot of, Mental health challenges because of it. social media clearly is hurting our children.

I think it's wonderful when I, there's a lot of states that have said we're not having phones in schools, during the school day. I think that's a really good thing. I support it. I think as a parent, I think it's really important to have a plan of some kind, not just let your kid have a free for all.

we have screen time that we use for my son. We encourage him to limit his social media. I think AI is becoming a, big part of our teenagers lives now, and it's important to teach them to use it as a tool and not a master. but, these habits are very important because they teach these people skills that are increasingly important as kids become more lonely, spending more time on technology, such as, you know, habit for is called Think win-Win. And it's the idea of, mutual benefit that we can, I care about you and I care about me.

I want us both to win. And the idea of seeking first to understand, then to be understood, the idea of how to listen to another person, empathically and synergy. so habit six is called synergize, and it teaches that, teaches complimenting us that we should value differences and not see them as a threat, but as an opportunity.

so, learning the, these habits, these skills in your home, in your school, they're just essential for a productive and happy life. But I acknowledge are big challenges unlike we've ever seen before.

David Friedman, BS: Yeah, no, when I was growing up, there was no, Texting on a phone during Thanksgiving, and now that's a burden. It's just like, hello. You know. it's, I'm over here. And, even young kids now, you know, even 18, 20, 22, 20, they go out on dates and they're looking in their phone, not even talking to the person across the table.

So it's, gotten to be a, big issue. I think it's this dopamine rush or something that, it's an addiction. I think it's like, Hey, stop smoking cigarettes and look at me. Well, now it's, stop looking at your phone and look at me. It's an addiction. Similar. Do you agree?

Sean Covey: Yeah, absolutely. I, I agree. I think it is an addiction and it's something that I think increasingly people are becoming aware of. You saw that, Australia, bandit, social media up until, until you're 18. I was in a school recently in Oklahoma and I was talking to the superintendent of this big school districts with 30,000 kids, and he said, Oklahoma just passed a law that you can't have phones in schools.

And I, he said, I didn't think it would go very well, I thought. This was gonna be a real problem that parents would really complain. He said, it is amazing. He said, you should see it at lunchtime. Now kids are talking to each other. They, they weren't doing that before.

They were just on their phones. He said, This is such a good, healthy thing. I. So it's just so important to have boundaries, right? It's, is a tool. We have to have it. you can't live without it, but you gotta use it as a tool and not a master.

And, and it's very important for teenagers won't have the discipline or the know-how to control it. So, it's up to us as adults and parents to help them navigate this and find space without technology.

David Friedman, BS: Yeah, that's so true. I know so many people. they made New Year's resolution, and by the time this segment airs, 75% will have already given up. How can people apply your seven habits to maybe a more su sustain sustainable outcome?

Sean Covey: Yeah, so common, right, to set New Year's resolutions And then give up, a month into it. I think we've all experienced that. I think the approach of the seven habits, the seven habits, is really a long-term approach. It's not a quick fix. It's not like set a goal and next week you're gonna be okay.

It's not abs in 30 days. it's basically a, long-term approach to a healthy, balanced life. So, for example, habit two is called Begin with the End in mind. A great way. to maybe a different approach than setting a goal. And, blowing it a month into it is to think long-term develop a personal mission statement.

And I encourage everyone that doesn't have a personal mission statement to write one. we see corporate mission statements. But a personal mission statement is something that's personal to you. It's like a personal constitution, and it can be long and short. It could be a poem, it could be a collage, it could be a vision board.

People do this in so many different ways, but it gives more of a long-term perspective of what you're trying to accomplish, what your life is about, what's important to you. And we love to use the analogy of imagine your 80th birthday. are having a big birthday party. Who would you like to be at the table And what would you like them to say about you?

So imagine family, friends, colleagues, and imagine that birthday And what the things that you would like them to say about you And then live your life accordingly. Begin with the end in mind. And. thinking more long-term and practicing this, habit too, and thinking about relationships And the quality of your relationships is, I think a better and a different approach, than goal setting.

David Friedman, BS: Yeah, that's so true. When, people tell me they're making a New Year's resolution, I say drop the re focus on a solution, not resolution. 'cause re means what? Repeat. Revs, redo, reverse, same old, same old resolution. It keeps you looking backward instead of moving forward. I believe the chief forward Manintim, we really gotta take our eyes off the rear view mirror and focus on the road ahead.

Like you said, baby steps. It's not about next week I'll be this, basically a, game plan. I think one of our biggest destroyers of joy and productivity is routine, you know? Staying stuck in the same old hamster wheel day after day. For someone who feels trapped in this cycle, which habit should they start with to create new purpose?

Manintim.

Sean Covey: I get asked that question all the time is, what is the most important habit? I think the most important habit is a one you're having the most difficult time living right now. And just quickly, Dr. Friedman that, I mean the habits in 60 seconds. Here are the habits. The first three deal with you getting your own act together.

Habit one, be proactive means take charge of your life. Stop being a victim. Have it to begin with, the end in mind. Have a vision, have a blueprint for where you wanna go with your life. Habit three, put first things first. Make sure that the most important things of your life get the time and attention they need.

That's, we call that the private victory. victory over self. And then we have the public victory getting along with other people. Habit four is think win win. idea that it's mutual benefit. I care about me, I care about you. I want us both to win. How about five? Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Empathy. The key to influence is to first be influence, is to listen. And then habit six is synergize. It's the idea of, it's like geese flying south of the winter, we're better together. And then finally, habit seven is called sharpen the saw. Never be too busy living to take time to sharpen your saw.

Body, heart, mind, and spirit balance. So if you look at those, if you get stuck, go to the habit. You're having the most difficult time living. I find for a lot of people it's either habit one or habit seven, and, habit seven is, sharpen the saw. It's the idea that you have a body, a heart, and a mind, and a spirit, and they all need to be nurtured.

your body, it's nutrition, it's exercise, your heart, it's relationships, your mind. continuing to read and to study and to learn and to grow. A lot of people stop reading after they graduate, from college or from high school. And then, your spirit is what motivates you, what inspires you, what helps you to dig deep.

And so I think, that's a great place to start is I call it the daily private victory. Where every day I find that I can have a successful day if I have a successful morning. And so I usually will get up early. I'll exercise, I'll do some planning for the day, I'll steatotic I get my mind right And what I wanna accomplish for the day.

And it's, it only takes like an hour, but it kind of wins the day for me. Right? And so I find that some of these routines, if you're getting stuck, focus on the habit you're having the most difficult time living or. If you're not quite sure where to start, try to sharpen your saw.

David Friedman, BS: I like that. I know there's so much research. People with a strong sense of purpose actually live longer and healthier. How do the principles that you teach, not just for success, but for overall wellbeing, can help us stay on purpose?

Sean Covey: Well, I think that, all the research shows that the quality of your happiness and of your life, a lot of times is tied directly to your relationships, the quality of your relationships. The Seven Habits is all about, building great relationships. And it, basically says it's an inside out process if you wanna have a stronger relationship with your spouse, with your partner.

With your colleague, with your teenage daughter, start with yourself. Win a private victory. Use your conscience, your self-awareness, your imagination, all the tools that you have in habit one, to begin with the end in mind. What do you want to achieve in this relationship? And you've gotta kind of get yourself right, first, And then that will give you the, power.

It'll give you the maturity. do well with other people. And so I remember my son one time, I was a football player in, college as was mentioned, and my son, I trained him to be a great football player and he was really good. And then, I trained him for years and, was his coach and he was a quarterback like me and he was so good.

And then he told me he didn't wanna play football in eighth grade and I was just devastated because his. I found out it was kind of about me more than it was him, right? And I didn't listen to him and I kept saying, you gotta play, you gotta play.

And then one day I realized I wasn't listening and I took some time to listen to him. And I found out that, what's going on? He goes, well, dad, last year didn't you notice I got killed. I'm so much smaller than all the other players. And you were big when you were my age.

And you don't know what it's like to be small. I just don't wanna play anymore. And I finally understood what he was saying, and I listened to him and I had empathy. And he said, after I finally understood what he was saying, he said, dad, what do you want me to do?

And I, I had prepared myself, I had wanna a private victory beforehand because I, said to myself, am I raising a boy or a quarterback here? so I listened. And I said, I don't know but I want you to know I love you either way, so go ahead and do what you wanna do.

He came back to me later and said, I wanna play football. I'll get killed. But so what? And, that was a pivotal time in our relationship because I took the time to listen, to seek first, to understand. It really bonded us. he never ended up having a great career in football, but I didn't care.

But I had to win a private victory first and decide. What I was trying to do, and have the self-awareness to realize that I don't want him to live my dreams, he needs to live his own dreams. And so you can see the sequence there, right? It, starts with yourself.

And if you're having a relationship problem right now, I encourage you to go back to the foundational habits of being proactive and, what's my And in mind? What am I trying to accomplish? What's important to me? And trying to get yourself right first. You don't have to be perfect, of course, but you do need to win a private victory and get control of your own life to some degree before you have the maturity to work well with other people.

And oftentimes, people start at the relationship level to try to fix a relationship problem when they really need to start at the personal level.

David Friedman, BS: Well said. I know there's something you said once that was very profound. You said, life is a mission, not a career. a career. Ask what's in it for me? And a mission asks, how can I make a difference? share how can people make that shift from career mindset to a, mission mindset?

'cause that's important.

Sean Covey: Yes, I think that. It's all about, getting deep into what's important to you. That's why I think a personal mission statement can be such an important thing. so for me, I wrote a personal mission many years ago and refined it many times. I've got it down to one sentence, but it has a lot to do with, my father started.

This work, on teaching people principle centered leadership. He called it teaching them the seven habits. My mission is about furthering that work around the world, and it drives me every day. influences my decisions And so forth. And so I think that, finding purpose is all about spending time with yourself.

In deep contemplation. So remember, we all have, human beings, we have four endowments, four human gifts that animals don't have. Neither does ai, and a conscience, an imagination, independent will as free choice and self-awareness. these are powerful and, tapping into those is so important. And that's where I think you find purpose is.

So think about, habit eight. We call find your voice. And it's the idea of what's the overlap of what you love to do, what you're good at, what the world needs And what life is asking of you, your conscience. It's like, what can I do to make a difference?

Right? That's kind of your voice and, that's a great thing to pursue is, to find your voice and use those, skills. Use your imagination. Use those tools. Imagination, conscience. A lot of times people might ask the question, what is, what can I do to make a difference? What is life asking of me?

And they might feel things and sense things inside internally that will really. drive them to find a purpose. And you can, even if you don't like your job, I mean, you can always change your job, right? But sometimes it's not practical. You can find a rich life outside of your work I've seen people become like, I'm gonna be the, person that gathers the family.

All right. That's what my wife does with her family. She's the gatherer. She gets people together, she gets some talking, she gets the group texts going, and that's become a real strong life purpose and, such a meaningful thing for her. but there's so many things we can tap into, deepen our conscience and our imagination and our self-awareness.

That can really give us purpose. But so often we're just living on the surface, right? We're just living on our phones And we don't take the time to properly build a blueprint for our lives.

David Friedman, BS: That's so true. I know. Looking ahead, what keeps you up at night about the next generation And what gives you the most hope?

Sean Covey: I'm coaching a, basketball team right now, so working with a lot of kids. I'd say this, generally speaking, I'm very hopeful about the future and about kids. I think it's, it is the greatest time to live ever seriously, And we have tons of challenges especially with managing technology and, contention and a lot of challenges across the world.

But at the same time, it's a wonderful time to live because of, so much freedom, relatively speaking, so much wealth, so much opportunity. the ability to influence people across the world, in so many different ways. I look at these kids today, they're really smart. and I feel like they're deeper into purpose than previous generations.

I look at my son and his friends and I, can see their ambition for making a difference. And we just have to balance that with some of the struggles. But I'm just very hopeful in my work with schools. there are lots of challenges in education, chronic absenteeism. You've got mental wellness issues, you've got, academic achievement has been dropping in the US since COVID.

And I travel across the world again, we have this Leader in Me program that teaches the seven habits and other life skills to students across the world. And I'm amazed at how well these schools do when they apply these principles. their academic achievement increases they do better on all their, tests and their categories that they're looking at.

And I'm amazed at how these schools can apply these and, turn around a school. It doesn't matter where it's at. I've, I went to Pakistan recently. I've been in the Bronx, been to Brazil. But, there are amazing educators all over the world that care deeply. I think they're doing the most important work that we have in the world, which is developing students to be college, career and life ready.

And so I'm very encouraged by so much of our education system and some of the things that are happening there.

David Friedman, BS: Yeah, so true. I know your father's work was named, as I mentioned. The intro number one most influential business book of the 20th century. Wow. What a title. What was it like having him as a mentor living under the same roof?

Sean Covey: Well, he obviously was a really good dad. and I had a good mom too, and I was really lucky 'cause a lot of people don't Have that. And so I, understand and I appreciate that. he was also human, when he was younger. I'm one of nine kids, so you can imagine kind of the chaos in our home.

And so we had, he wasn't perfect and he had kind of a temper when he was younger. He'd like yell at you to get in the car, and sometimes we'd say, Hey, dad's in the mood. Watch out. He wasn't abusive or anything, but he had kind of a temper and I watched how he kind of, he overcame that over time.

Right. I think one of the great lessons I learned from my dad and from my mom was the idea of starting again. and new beginnings and fresh starts, And so. we would set goals as a family we'd have a family meeting once a week and we'd have goals and we'd always blow it and dad would always come and say, okay kids, we didn't do very well on that.

And I didn't myself, but we're gonna start again and here's a new idea. And we developed a family mission statement, when we were kids. And at first my dad said, Hey kids, we're gonna develop a family mission state. And we said, that's stupid. And we kind of complained, but after we worked on it for a few months, off and on, And we came up with a mission statement that basically said this, our home is gonna be a place of peace, happiness, safety and fun, where we can grow and serve the world.

And, it meant a lot, you know, it was kind of corny as a, teenager when this was done, but it, kind of said, This is what our family's about and we're, And we, there's a togetherness about us And we wanna have fun. And also do good things. So I, grew up with this idea of always, if you make a mistake, start again.

Keep trying. what life's all about. And it's okay. And I love the metaphor of the flight of an aircraft. If you think about it, an airplane will take off from New York to go to London, and it will leave on time, and it will arrive on time most of the time.

And during the course of the flight. There will be hundreds of little flight adjustments based upon the turbulence And the wind and whatever the pilots are constantly, or the autopilot system is constantly making little adjustments, right, so they can arrive on time. And the same way in life. That's what families are like.

That's what people are like, is you've gotta make constant adjustments to how you're doing all the time, and that's okay. And that's, The greatest lesson I think my parents and my father taught me is just, make a mistake. Forget it. Get over it. Try again. Reset. And that's okay.

And that's what life's about.

David Friedman, BS: I love that. Well said with nine kids. Uh, you know, that's a baseball team. I'm surprised you found an interest in football. You guys should have just

Sean Covey: I know.

David Friedman, BS: jumped on. the league there. That's great. it's such pleasure having you on the Showtime flew by and, I wish you all the best and, I'd love your story. Uh, to learn more about Sean Covey, go to franklin covey.com and check out all his amazing books And the plethora of resources available and everything from articles, workshops, audios, and videos.

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