Raised on a Utah egg farm, Mr. Covey was educated at the University of Utah, Harvard University and at Brigham Young University, where his doctoral thesis concerned the history of American "success literature, " such as Benjamin Franklin's autobiography.

WSJ: 'Seven Habits' Author Covey Dies

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and hotelier Orison Swett Marden's Success magazine (founded in 1897) were mere warm-ups to Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) and Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking (1952).

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