In the Loop with Andy Andrews

This week’s episode is short, but laughter is guaranteed! Hear Andy sing the three “alternate” versions of everyone’s favorite hymn, “Amazing Grace.” This has become something audiences across the country request from him.


Questions for Listeners

  • How do you discipline your children when they misbehave? What problems have you encountered?

o    Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
o    E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
o    Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
o    Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL050.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:46am CDT

What legacy are you leaving? Andy and A.T. discuss this subject as well as some great listener feedback.

Most people never get a standing ovation.

  • By helping others and adding value to other people we, in a sense, are giving them a “standing ovation.” The ripple effect of your actions will impact others in ways that you may never know. 

How do we create a legacy? 

  • Know that everyone leaves a legacy, but not every legacy is a good one
  • You start right now
  • You need to read material that adds value
  • Start living your life intentionally 
  • Catch people doing something right

Build on what you are so:

  • Those who come behind you learn from your example
  • Others can learn from what you know
  • Others know why you make the choices you make
  • Others know how you make the choices you make

Write principles that have been important to you down to pass on after you’re gone.

Questions for Listeners

How are you creating your legacy? What are you doing on purpose to add to it?

 o Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL049.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:30am CDT

This week, special guest Dan Miller discusses the bold claims he has made about wisdom, passion, and finances in his new book, Wisdom Meets Passion, with Andy and AT.

Dan’s new book is a “different kind of book”
•    Dan is known as a “career guy,” but this book falls under a different category
•    This book is about finding your passion and building a career around it
•    It compares and contrasts Dan’s perspective with his son’s, who lives in Kenya

The crux of the book is wisdom meets passion
•    They are trying to remind people that we have to have wisdom and passion no matter where we are
•    One without the other is meaningless
•    No matter how old you are, you can discover your wisdom and your passion and how to integrate the two

Andy thinks that the greatest book or product or song that somebody puts out is one where you don’t even have to know who the author or artist is to like it
•    He thinks Ken’s book is one of those cases
•    The book would work extremely well for companies across the country to give to their employees
•    Companies need to understand that the younger generation wants to do something that is close to their heart and is something that they truly care about
•    They don’t necessarily care as much about having a Mercedes in the driveway

Dan and his son, Jared, have very different lifestyles, but they believe in exactly the same things
•    That’s how we need to be as people
•    We don’t need to be at odds with people of different generations, denominations, countries, and cultures
•    If we understand each other’s hearts we will see that we want a lot of the same things, but we let a few ancillary things divide us

The book makes some bold claims, like “never get a job with benefits” and “hourly pay will make you poor”
•    A friend of Ken’s who plays guitar professionally was told by his father to never get a job with benefits
•    The meaning behind it was that safety nets will keep you from really pursuing your passion with everything you have
•    In regard to hourly pay making you poor, Dan says that we shouldn’t listen to the conventional way of thinking that says you get paid a set amount one time every time you fulfill a task
•    Instead, we should look for things that have no ceiling, unlimited upside
•    We should look for something that we can do once and then get paid 10,000 times for it—there are ways to leverage your expertise that open the door to financial benefits most people never even think about

Dan’s book will be released in stores everywhere on August 28. You can pre-order the book now by clicking here. At 48Days.com, they will be introducing some special offers that you can also get.

Questions for Listeners

•    Are you living your passion? If you are, how are you able to do so?
     o    Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
     o    E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
     o    Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
     o    Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL048.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:52am CDT

This week, AT shares some good news and asks Andy to answer the most difficult listener question they’ve ever received.

 

Andy and AT share some good news:

  • You can get seven free letters from Andy’s previously unavailable Storms of Perfection book by signing up for the free e-mail list on AndyAndrews.com.

AT shares what he calls the “toughest question ever asked on the podcast.” Rebecca writes:

  • Andy, the area of parenting I have trouble with the most is making more quality time with my children. I’m a mother of two and since the first day my child was born I have wanted to quit my job and become the manager of my home.
  • The problem is my student loans. I’m a lawyer, and my education cost a lot of money. It does not seem feasible to quit my job until the student loans are paid off. Even with aggressive payments, the loans won’t be paid off for another three and a half years. By then, my children will be in school, so there will be no point in staying at home.
  • Right now, I struggle with how to make the most of the time I have with my children. It’s hard not to become bitter about the decision I made about my education 10 years ago. Any insight you could provide would be appreciated. 

In a way, this is a problem Andy is struggling with right at this very minute, though he certainly isn’t comparing their situations.

  • In two weeks, the summer is over and school will start for his two boys, who are 10 and 12. Unfortunately, Andy is past his deadline on the book he is writing.
  • He’s getting up at 3:30 AM and going somewhere else away from his house to write so that he isn’t tempted to spend time with his family instead of writing.
  • He’s coming home for dinner every night exhausted. He’s very aware that he’s going to be writing for the rest of Austin’s last summer before he becomes a teenager.

Right now, he’s thinking things like:

  • It’s never going to be like this again.
  • I could have gotten this done earlier.
  • I’ve screwed up with how I’ve spent my time.

However, we live in the present and we have to deal with the choices we’ve made in the past. Andy’s not trying to compare what he’s going through to the seriousness of her situation, but he wants to give Rebecca some “straight talk,” what Jones would call “perspective.”

  • We can’t do anything about the decisions we have already made. We just have to live with them. We’re not made with the ability to make right decisions all the time. We don’t know what the future consequences of our choices will be. Once we make choices, it’s part of our duty to go about making those choices right.
  • The two things she’s not lacking are the money to pay the loans off and a time frame in which to pay them. All she is lacking is an idea. One idea changes everything.

The perspective Andy wants her to have is the same kind of perspective that he and Polly had after Hurricane Ivan destroyed their home.

  • It was going to take two years just to even get back inside the house. Two years just to get a certificate of occupancy.
  • Three weeks after the hurricane, Polly had a miscarriage. They had a four-year-old and a two-year-old. They moved to three different rental houses during the time. It was a bad time. 

During that time, they thought things like:

  • I can’t believe we have to put our kids through this.
  • I can’t believe they have to spend all this time moving and uprooting our family instead of doing “kid stuff.”

But there was another way to look at this “bad” time:

  • At least it happened while the kids were young, because everything was an adventure to them.
  • Even the new bathtub in a rental house was amazing to them because they could race their cars in it.
  • This would not be the case had they been teenagers.

The point is that Rebecca’s situation is probably bothering her a lot more than it’s bothering the children.

  • Since her real concern is with them and not with herself, she can afford to lighten up on herself a little bit.
  • Understand that she can find quality experiences that will trump any amount of “regular” time a lot of parents spend with their kids.
  • A lot of parents are home at 5 o’clock in the afternoon and they’re home all night long. But all they do is sit in their chair, tell everyone to be quiet, watch the news.
  • Lots of families don’t even eat dinner together.

There are things you can do to make ordinary experiences extraordinary, especially for little kids.

  • Right now, Andy is writing in one of those houses they rented after the hurricane. So, last night, they came to visit him before they went to bed and the boys were running around and talking about all the memories from the old house.
  • They had those good memories because, during the awful time when Andy and Polly were worried about everything, they didn’t let the kids see that. They still made sure to create extraordinary moments for the kids during that time.

Andy asks Rebecca: What will your kids remember about this tough time in your life?

  • Her kids are going to remember that they had a mom who worked hard when they were little so that when they were older she could really be there for them.

 

Questions for Listeners 

  • What is an example of an extraordinary moment you created for a child or a parent created for you when you were a child?

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL047.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 11:22am CDT

After listening to the Father’s Day podcast a reader responded with an idea she does with her children:

  • She writes letters to her kids each year that will be given to them at a later date.
  • It’s a way of adding value to children before they are aware of anything being done.
  • Knowing that they will go through tough times in the future, having a way to say, "I love you and I have always loved you," can have a lasting impact.

 

Another listener question: What makes you (Andy) most satisfied in life?

  • Personally, knowing that he's done what he can that day and that God is proud of him. 
  • That he provided for his family and added value to them.
  • Professionally, creating value for other people through writing & speaking. 
  • Hearing how what he's done has impacted others gives him satisfaction.

 

Reading The Perfect Moment:

  • His intention with writing the eBook was to help people become aware of those moments in life that all too often slip past us.

 

After the Father’s Day podcast, a listener wrote in with a personal story. Andy's thoughts in response:

  • Great perspective on life in tough times. 
  • Having reminders of joy to look at to help get through those tough times. 
  • The pictures that we love the most are often not posed, but rather moments that were captured.
  • You have to laugh because life will be hard. You still have to lead your family. 
  • Everyone acts right when things are going well, but what your family will remember will be the way you acted during a tough time.
  • All the defining stories about great leaders come from the tough times they encountered and how they handled themselves and got through them.
  • We know that there are going to be crises, but when they come we can know how we're going to act, think, and respond to those crises. It can all be decided. It's a choice. 

 

After the interview with Michael Hyatt, a listener commented that the podcasts are an on-going value, "It's the gift that keeps giving if you go back and listen again and again." Andy responds:

  • It's great hearing how these interviews are impacting others.
  • If you (the listener) are receiving value, then please pass it on to others who may benefit as well.

 

A listener who read The Noticer and found value in learning from what other great people have written asks Andy what books he recommends people to read

·          You can find Andy’s recommended reading list by clicking here.

 

Questions for Listeners

 

  • For all the parents out there, what challenges do you struggle with as a parent?

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL046.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:00am CDT