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Live Life in Crescendo

Your Most Important Work is Always Ahead of You

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About The Book

How to live your best life, no matter your age? How best to approach the challenges and opportunities of middle to later life—like raising children, caring for parents, managing and inspiring others, and staying on top of your career and what comes next?

In Live Life in Crescendo Stephen R. Covey sets out to answer these questions, outlining his vision for those in the prime of your life, whatever age you may be. To live life in crescendo is to continually grow in contribution, learning, and influence. In the same way that music builds on previous notes but leaves us anticipating the next note, a life builds on the past but unfolds in the future. The Crescendo Mentality urges readers to use whatever you have—your time, talents, skills, resources, gifts, passion, money, influence—to enrich the lives of people around you.

Published posthumously, Live Life in Crescendo is a life-changing and life-affirming book infused with Covey’s generosity and wisdom.

About The Authors

Courtesy of the Author

Recognized as one of Time magazine’s twenty-five most influential Americans, Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012) was an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, business leader, and author. His books have sold more than 40 million copies (print, digital, and audio) in more than fifty languages throughout the world and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the 20th Century. After receiving an MBA from Harvard University and a doctorate from Brigham Young University, he became the cofounder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, the most trusted leadership company in the world.

Photograph by Shannon Haller Sotelo

Cynthia Covey Haller is an author, teacher, speaker, and an active participant in her community.

About The Reader

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK (September 27, 2022)
  • Runtime: 8 hours and 51 minutes
  • ISBN13: 9781398516588

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Raves and Reviews

'There’s 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 certainly lived his life in crescendo and he constantly inspired others to do the same. He helped change the trajectory of my football career, and my life, when by happenstance we sat next to one another on a plane. At the end of that short 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. I love that his legacy continues to shine through this book and the lives of his family'

– Steve Young, NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback and Chairman & Co-Founder, 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, Founder Grameen Bank

'In Live Life in Crescendo, Stephen Covey’s final leadership book, completed by his daughter Cynthia, Covey proposes a paradigm shift around retirement, suggesting that although we may retire from a job or career, we don’t 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, 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 your father and his legacy'

– Indra Nooyi, Former CEO and chairman of the board of PepsiCo and New York Times bestselling author of 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 Amen Clinics and author of You, Happier and The End of Mental Illness

'Whether you've enjoyed success, encountered adversity, or feel stagnation, our best times can still lie ahead. With Stephen Covey's 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

'It's 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, 10 years after Stephen's passing, illustrates the very premise of the book. Cynthia has captured the spirit of her father's 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. You'll never think of your life the same way again'

– Greg McKeown, New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism and Effortless

'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 at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and #1 New York Times bestselling author

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