Stephen Covey — American Businessman born on October 24, 1932, died on July 16, 2012

Stephen Richards Covey was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book was The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me — How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death... (wikipedia)

Every human has four endowments - self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change.
The proactive approach to a mistake is to acknowledge it instantly, correct and learn from it.
Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, treating people with respect.
Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition - such as lifting weights - we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.
When you really listen to another person from their point of view, and reflect back to them that understanding, it's like giving them emotional oxygen.