In the Loop with Andy Andrews

Andy shares critical wisdom on maintaining balance between work and family in response to a great listener question.

Listener feedback question: Matt became a financial advisor three years ago. The issue with advisors in his business is that no matter how much they achieve, there is still uncertainty and deep-seated insecurity about the business and what might happen tomorrow. He is about to go on a family vacation and all he can think about is opportunities he is missing for his business. He loves his family, so how does he give them 100% of himself?

 

This is a question a lot of people, including Andy, have struggled with over the years.

·      If you ask a group of people, “What comes to mind when you think about success?” They will say things like: boat, house, car, etc.

·      If you ask people, “What comes to mind when I say successful life?” Then, people have a whole different set of answers that usually involve their family.

 

The first thing Andy encourages people to do is to determine what they are after.

·      Are you after success…or a successful life?

·      You have to always keep your end destination in mind and focus on the tasks that will get you there.

 

This is a struggle Andy goes through when determining how much time to spend writing and speaking and how much time to spend with his wife and two boys.

·      He used to think that if his mission in life is to help other people live the life they could if they only knew how, then he should always take advantage of speaking in front of as many people as possible.

·      One day, he read an interview with Billy Graham where Graham said that the one thing he would have changed about his life was spending more time with his family.

·      Here’s the interesting thing—when you look at the Butterfly Effect, you will see that the time you spend with your family is at least as important as the time you spend doing your work.

·      That one child you spend time with could go on to do something even greater than you ever do because of the time you spend with them.

During the five days you’re gone with your family…you will not miss anything.

·      If you spend that vacation thinking about work and looking at your cell phone, then when you get back you’re going to spend your time at work feeling bad for not giving 100% of yourself to your family.

·      Your life will be thrown into disarray and you will be living in fear.

·      Instead of living in fear, we should strive to live in faith.

·      As you continue to improve in your field, you won’t have to worry about missing anything because eventually people will be waiting on you to return.

  

Questions for Listeners

 

·           Have you read Andy’s new free eBook, The Perfect Moment? If so, we’d love to hear about the perfect moments you’ve experienced!

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL041.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:05am CDT

Andy and A.T. discuss a letter sent in by a podcast listener about the power of giving.

 

A.T. reads a letter from an In the Loop listener.

·      The listener describes why he gives away so many copies of The Traveler’s Gift.

·      He began giving the book away while in the midst of a year and a half of unemployment.

 

“Giving is an unbelievable action that continues to produce returns that are unexpected in nature.”

·      The listener’s time of unemployment was mitigated by the preparation he had undertaken, not knowing whether a time like that would ever come.

·      Maybe it would have lasted even longer had he not been prepared.

·      He understood the power of giving away not just a book, but a kind of thinking.

 

This listener knew that during this difficult time in his life he couldn’t think like everyone else.

·      If you’re doing what everyone else is doing, you’re doing something wrong…because not everyone is making it.

·      If you want an above average life, you have to think outside of the average and what you see going on around you.

·      The listener who wrote the letter probably had people telling him he didn’t need to be giving away books while he was unemployed and low on income.

·      There is a lot of pressure from society to be normal. It takes a different way of thinking to overcome that pressure.

 

Living outside of the average will allow you to build a legacy for your family that will live on beyond your years.

·      By setting an example of hard work and a different kind of thinking, your children will grow up with an understanding of those things

 

Questions for Listeners

 

·          What have you learned from the power of giving?

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL040.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:43am CDT

Andy talks parenting, marriage, and life with one of his favorite comedians and good friend Jeff Allen on this week’s episode of In the Loop.

 

Jeff has been one of Andy’s favorite comedians for years.

  • Jeff and Andy had been fan of each others’ for years, but first really met and became friends during a Gaither cruise.
  • They got to sit on the back row while everyone else was singing and make fun of them.
  • They would consistently cause all the singers to laugh and get in trouble with Bill Gaither.

 

Andy believes that comedians know more about what children are doing than any other kind of adult, so he asks Jeff about his parenting and kids.

  • Jeff says that he and his wife communicate in their own love and parenting language—bitterness and sarcasm.
  • This, of course, is not one of the love languages Andy describes in The Noticer.

 

Jeff has been selling Andy’s newest release, How Do You Kill 11 Million People?, at his comedy shows.

  • He was inspired to get it into the hands of voters before the upcoming election.
  • He had been fed up with politics and elections for a long time, but the book got him interested in trying to do something about his concerns for the country again.
  • He has had some really interesting dialogues with his friends of all political opinions because of the book.
  • The trick of the book is to get people searching for the truth instead of trying to tell them what to believe.
  • If we all are searching for the truth, shouldn’t we all eventually arrive at the same conclusions?

 

Andy wants his friends who are being introduced to Jeff Allen today to see a comedian who has not only lasted but has continued to increase his skills and success with different people.

  • A hugely successful comedian is not only one of the smartest people you will ever meet, but one of the most serious.
  • Jeff's upcoming CD is titled Three-Word Vocabulary. Check out JeffAllenComedy.com to find him.

Questions for Listeners

 

·          Do you have any questions for Jeff’s next appearance on the show? Let us know!

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL039.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:52am CDT

Andy talks about the best thing kids can do for their dads on Father’s Day, and the best thing dads can do for their kids.

A.T. asks Andy: “What is Father’s Day like for you since you lost your father at a young age?”

·      It’s odd to Andy that his wife and kids never knew his dad.

·      Andy makes an effort to look at Adam and Austin and see the good qualities his dad possessed that they also have.

·      Instead of getting sad about his dad being gone, he focuses on talking to the boys about a legacy and a thought process that he is trying to pass down to them so they can continue the family’s traditions, attitudes, and qualities.

 

How can we take care of dad’s in a unique way on Father’s Day?

·      For kids—get a nice box and make it into a treasure chest of sorts.

·      Write a letter to your dad about what this treasure chest is. Tell him about the qualities he has that you want to have in your life. Honor him with the letter.

·      Ask him: What do you think about? What is important for me?

·      Dads—you will take this box and create a treasure chest for your child. On the top, you will put the date when your child can take possession of the treasure chest.

·      Dads will put a book in there that will be important to their child. Write why it will be important to them in the front of the book. Fill it with books that have been important to you. Fill it with things that have been important to you and things that have reminded you of your child.

·      Handwriting is important. Seeing a parent’s handwriting gives your child a special connection.

 

You don’t just leave a legacy for your kids. You build a legacy, and then you leave it.

·      We need to be intentional about the legacy we are building.

·      What can you begin building today to leave for your kids?

 

 

Questions for Listeners

 

·           Have you made a “treasure chest” for your kids? We would love to hear about it and see it! Contact us to tell us the story and/or send pictures.

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL038.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:00am CDT