In the Loop with Andy Andrews

In previous episodes, I’ve talked about how you can only achieve the level of success that you truly believe. This week, I’ll tell you how you can expand this level of belief.

 

When you have an expanded level of belief in yourself, it allows you a different level of belief in others.

  • Money is a very easy way to provide a gauge.
  • I’ve found that if you can expand your level of belief in other areas, your money goes up—largely because you have become more valuable to other people.

 

Sometimes people ask if I really believe that anyone can be successful.

  • I don’t just believe it. I know you can.
  • I know that because I was the guy in the ditch.
  • Do you think God made any person thinking they’ll never be able to do anything, or thinking they’ll be a failure from the beginning? No.

 

There is a huge level of belief that you can grab ahold of, but it will come about by shaping how you think.

  • Your beliefs are totally governed by how you think.
  • How you think is determined by what you subject yourself to (books, movies, people you spend time with).
  • Choose wisely what goes into your mind and your presence.

 

Your level of belief will not be expanded in a day. It will be expanded daily.

  • I think expanding your belief has to do with your relationship with God and your purpose.
  • You should spend time determining what will move you forward and what things you can ease out of your life.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL165__The_Source_of_Your_Unlimited_Potential_Hint__Anyone_Can_Do_This.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:54am CDT

On this week’s episode, I talk about passion, procrastination, and how they will shape your future.


I believe passion is a lot like momentum.

When you have momentum, you perform better than normal.

You produce at a level far beyond what you normally would if we measured you.

When you lack momentum, you produce at a lower level than normal.

People don’t generally stay on a level playing field. They either have momentum or they don’t.


I see people who have amazing abilities and opportunities but they won’t get out of their own way.

They will not discipline themselves.

Overcoming procrastination is saying, “I’m not going to live my life according to a feeling. I’m not going to let a feeling dictate the way I act. Instead, I’m going to let the way I act dictate my feelings.”


What do you like to do more than anything in the world?

Can you make yourself do something you don’t want to do for a little while to get something you’d like to have for the rest of your life?

Would it be worth it to you if for three years you never do some things that you like to do, but at the end of those three years you can do whatever you want whenever you want?


Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

 

Twitter.com/AndyAndrews


On this week’s episode, David Loy has several holiday related questions for Andy,

 

Listen in to hear Andy’s answers to:

  • What is your favorite Christmas carol?
  • Who is the most unique family member from your childhood?
  • What’s your favorite Thanksgiving and New Years food?
  • What’s your favorite indoor and outdoor holiday activities?
  • Do you own any tacky pieces of holiday clothing?
  • What’s your favorite tradition from when you were a kid?
  • What’s the topper on your tree?
  • What is your favorite gift you’ve ever received?
  • What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL163__Rapid_Fire_Holiday_Questions_with_Andy.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

In this episode, I talk about selfishness, and how it can keep you and everyone around you from growing.

 

One of the top three most important things Jones ever told me was, “Most people live their entire lives and never understand that you can’t always believe everything you think.”

  • I received a call a few months ago from a company that lost one of their executives to another company offering more money, and it was a big problem.
  • The company let him go because they wouldn’t match the offer for a reason that they may think is true, but it’s not.
  • I think if Moses spent more time on the mountain he would have come back with the 11th decision, “Thou shalt not kid thyself.”

 

The truth isn’t that they couldn’t match the offer; the truth is that they chose not to match the offer.

  • The deeper issue is… what is in your belief system or plans for the future that causes you to choose not to match that offer?
  • Did that person start developing bad habits or peak with what they were bringing to the company?

 

You want to increase your value, but watch the people you work with and keep an eye on their value.

  • As an example let’s say that you’ve made $100,000 for many years.
  • There is an opportunity to bring someone new to the team, but they will be making $350,000.
  • In turn, they bring enough value to raise your salary to $175,000.
  • Don’t let jealousy get in the way of something that could be great for the company and great for you.
  • The bottom line is there are many ways to increase your value.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL162__How_Your_Own_Jealousy_Can_Keep_You_from_Progress.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 11:57am CDT

ITL161: When to Eliminate the Negative People from Your Life

On this week’s episode, I discuss when to eliminate negative people from your life.

 

We hear that we need to eliminate negative people from our lives.

  • Yet, if we know that we are consistently negative, we certainly hope everybody is not eliminating us.

 

What if Jones eliminated negative people from his life?

  • He would have certainly eliminated me.
  • But Jones didn’t have to consider dropping me from his life.
  • He had moved so far beyond where I was that I had no influence on him at all.
  • His challenge with me was figuring out how to say things to me so that I could understand them and so they would resonate with me.

 

When I was living under the pier, I really needed to eliminate the negative influences in my life.

  • I had to determine which people always acted negatively.
  • If they were both looking and thinking, I could be friends with those people safely.
  • There are people at a very high level of success, and I’m looking to spend more time with them and watch them carefully.
  • There are also some people who are just beginning that journey. Those people would not affect me in a negative way, and maybe I could be a Jones to them.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL_161.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:47am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on staying positive day in and day out.

 

We’ve talked about this a lot but I really believe that our thinking is the foundation of everything that we become.

  • It’s what we accomplish.
  • It’s who we are.
  • It’s the family we raise.
  • It’s the society in which we live.

 

Frankly, I’m not always positive.

  • It’s something that I want to be, but I don’t want to be an idiot.
  • I want to be positive because I’ve figured out the version of the truth that I want to live my life with.
  • What I mean by “version of the truth” is that sometimes, people are able to look at the same thing and get two totally conclusions, but in a way both of them are true.

 

A huge thing for me is to have a long view of time.

  • A long view of time will generally yield a more positive way of looking at things that is more hopeful, more peaceful for you and your family, and absolutely true.
  • When you have a long view of time, you can see the truth easier.

 

If you feel people are looking to you for everything, I would imagine it’s because you’ve been successful in the past at providing perspective about a situation that was true.

  • Jones always told me that if a perspective is well thought out and true, it is life changing.
  • In crazy moments, you have to go back to the truth.

 

There are huge benefits to issues, problems, and failures. You are building a story.

  • A story will tell you the truth about what happened.
  • What happened will yield a historical record.
  • A historical record produces a longer view of time.
  • And a longer view of time will reveal how you really need to handle something.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on the difference between discipline and punishment.

 

Before getting into that I have a quick story:

  • A few weeks ago, I was getting ready to head out of town and Polly asked, “Have you seen Carver?” Now he’s a huge standard black poodle, and it’s unusual not to see him for a few hours.
  • As I’m about to leave, Polly says that they found him. He was under the garage with Skippy, our outdoor cat. It turns out the cat was sick, and Carver been under there with it for hours taking care of it.
  • Polly took Skippy to the vet and he didn’t make it, but it’s amazing how intelligent these dogs can be.
  • These moments can be times to talk to your kids about death, and give them comfort with how small of an amount of time they will be without someone in the grand scheme of eternity.

 

So, what is the difference between discipline and punishment?

  • Discipline is what you are creating in a child.
  • Punishment is a necessary part of discipline to get to an end result that you want, which is that this person doesn’t have to be punished or disciplined again because they now understand the concept of self-discipline.
  • King Solomon said, “Discipline a child while he is young, or YOU will ruin his life.”

 

You want to make sure that a child knows to obey now, and if they are outside the circle of discipline then there will be a punishment.

  • When you make sure the child knows to obey, there will come a time that you can say, “stop” and they stop. Subconsciously, this child is aware that they stopped but that they still want to continue moving forward.
  • Subconsciously, this child is beginning to connect that they can make themselves do something that they don’t want to do, to get a result they want…not be punished.
  • That is the very beginning of a thought process leading to self-discipline.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL159_-_The_Crucial_Difference_Between_Discipline_and_Punishment.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:53am CDT

On this week’s episode, I discuss money and the influence it should have on your parenting style.

 

How does the amount of money you have (or don’t have) affect your parenting style?

  • Obviously both can create issues and both have to do with the thinking of the parents.
  • If you have more money, there are more places you can go or vacation, but that stuff isn’t necessary under the umbrella of “parenting.”
  • Our goal is to raise kids who become great adults.
  • I’ve seen situations where having a lot of money created more problems with kids than situations where money was scarce. 

 

Austin just turned 15, and he was aware at 10 years old that he would be buying his own car.  

  • I’ve talked with him a lot about why it is important for him. 
  • He understands that we are after him having an awesome adult life. 

 

For a child to become a great adult, it’s easier to reach your potential if you have the confidence that you are capable of doing things yourself. 

  • That will give you some pride (not in the egotistical way). 
  • And generally, if you buy a car yourself, you take better care of it. 

 

As far as parenting, I really believe that our quality time, and even our gifts, do NOT have to be about having money. 

 

  • I urge you to find something that your kids love to do, that you can not only do with them, but it’s also something that causes you to wait. 
  • If you can somehow get them interested in the woods and the water, that will bring a lot of opportunities to sit. 
  • It teaches us to be patient and that we don’t always catch something, but we can always have an awesome time. Catching something is just a bonus. 
  • The last thing about this is you want to have time with your children that they can sit and think of questions to ask you and you can sit and think about your answers. That doesn’t come in any other setting. 

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL158_Can_You_Still_Parent_Your_Kids_Well_Without_Having_Much_Money.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I give some advice to a family with two boys gifted in different ways, and I give suggestions on how the parents can help guide them to the right career paths.

 

My wife says I have been gifted with being able to remember every single thing I’ve ever seen or heard, and I do have one very odd gift that I will display on occasion.

  • I can listen to someone and repeat almost instantly what they are saying with some of the inflections and barely miss a beat.
  • My teachers used to say my mouth could run by itself.

 

Isn't it odd how the same parents can raise children the same way, but they still can turn out so different?

  • I try to direct my boys toward thinking about the benefits of being brothers.
  • “You will always have each other, and being different is a good thing. You can fill the empty spaces that the other one has.”

 

When it comes to picking a career path, take a breath.

  • When I was twenty, I was living under a pier.
  • I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be working, but I thought I was supposed to be a veterinarian, then a comedian, then a businessperson, now…
  • You could probably say about me that I haven’t identified a main career path yet.

 

For teens and young adults having trouble identifying the direction they want to go in, ask them these questions (if it won’t discourage them):

  • What is it that you just love, and if money were no object what would you get up and do everyday?
  • What value does that have for other people?
  • And when you figure that out, prove it by getting out there and doing it.
  • If you can do this, you will never be without work again.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL_157_-_How_Do_You_Help_Kids_Find_The_Right_Career_Path.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:29am CDT

On this week’s episode, we have Patsy Clairmont back in the studio to talk about her new book Twirl, and share some personal stories.

 

A lot of people have ideas but it’s rare the people can actually pull them off. Patsy brings people into her home who need to do something creative in their lives.

  • It’s a planned way of getting in touch with the stories that have been sitting inside you for years.

 

Patsy’s battle against agoraphobia:

  • I was an agoraphobic by the time I hit my early twenties and began to let my emotions rule my choices.
  • Once I learned I could make a choice in spite of my unstable emotions, then I began to find solid ground.
  • That was a tremendous moment of discovery.

 

“You have been created with a will that is stronger then your emotions.”

  • I tripped and messed up over and over but I was getting stronger and started having more success.
  • I realized that a lot of my thoughts came out of the disuse and the imbalance of my own metal condition rather than from scripture.
  • When agoraphobics come to me and say, “What do I do?” I say, “It’s not going to sound like the good news—but trust me, it is. It will be the hardest work you’ve ever done, but what you will get from it will be your greatest reward. You’ll find your sanity and discover your dignity.”

 

Patsy’s new book, Twirl, just came out.

  • When I was a little girl, my daddy used to twirl me around and around, and I would be full of wonder. I would get up, run to him and say, “Do it again, Daddy. Twirl me.”
  • What I find in life is we can loose track of ourselves in the business. We forget how we are in our attempt to be all things to all people.
  • What I hope to do with Twirl is to give ideas to people of how to self-nurture and take responsibility for themselves. The better condition you’re in, the more value you will have to offer another person. When you’re running on an empty tank, you’re thinking thin thoughts; but when you’re storing up good stuff, you can’t wait to give to another life.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

On this week’s episode, we have Crystal Paine, “THE Money Saving Mom,” in our studio to answer a few questions about how her business has grown into what it is today.

 

How did this all get started?

  • My husband and I committed to stay out of debt while he went to law school.
  • We were literally living on beans and rice, but we started finding ways to stretch our dollars because we had to.
  • I was a new mom and started blogging about frugal topics, and there was a lot of interest from outside people.

 

How did it all evolve into what it is today?

  • I had already established myself as an expert with frugal living.
  • Within 3 months we had 16 thousand views on the blog, and within a year we were making a full time income off blog.
  • Today we have about 1.5 million unique visitors to the site per month.

 

How did the book, Say Goodbye to Survival Modecome about?

  • The book was a result of two things…
  • People telling me they were just trying to survive and figure out how to get their life in order
  • My own personal journey of hitting rock bottom and the steps I took to climb out of that pit.

 

What are some of the things you’ve had to overcome?

  • Humbling myself and bringing on help in my business and at home.
  • Learning how to respond with grace to criticism.

 

“My long-term vision is to impact as many lives and help as many people to get their finances and life in order so they can live their life on purpose and influence their communities and ultimately the world.”

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on finding role models when none are present in your life.

 

If you’re having a hard time finding role models, then you’re already on the right track because you’ve identified the need to seek out others.

 

How do you find somebody to be mentored by?

  • Get biographies and read about people.
  • You will learn from their great decisions and mistakes.
  • Compare and contrast what you’re reading with what you’re seeing around you.

 

I urge you to take notes on people.

  • Observe the people you see in your community or even when you travel.
  • Take note of how others treat people and the reactions they get back.
  • Take note of body language and actions. There is so much you can learn from observing all kinds of people.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL154_-_Not_Finding_the_Right_Role_Model_This_Works_EVERY_Time.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about the characteristics of a successful coach.

 

I speak and write but I also have a couple of clients, including football teams. My criteria for taking on a client:

  • I’ve got to like them.
  • I have to be convinced that their belief level is at a point where they can accomplish great things.
  • Their ability to process information and shift on the fly is also important.

 

People can only achieve to the level that they really believe.

 

To me, the characteristics of a successful coach are:

  • They have a high level of belief in what they do and what they can accomplish.
  • No matter their age or past success, they’re always looking to expand and push the boundaries of what they already know.
  • A lot of people think they’re a little crazy. I don’t mean they lose their temper or anything—I mean people look at them and don’t understand why they do what they do.
  • They accept the “Jones’ Secret Principle of Extraordinary Achievement.” If you’re doing what everybody else is doing, you’re probably doing something wrong.

 

Determine the best result that could ever possibly happen, then backup and design methods specific to that result.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL153_What_Makes_a_Successful_Coach.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, we have very special guest Patsy Clairmont in the studio to talk about her life and have some laughs.

 

I was on tour with Patsy for three years while touring with Women of Faith.

  • If I kept a list of my favorite speakers, I don’t know if it would be her or Zig Ziglar at the top.
  • I can honesty say, professionally, watching her speak was the best experience I’ve ever had.

 

Listen in to hear Patsy talk about the small group workshop in her home, and tell stories about finding creativity (including a time when someone called her “the worst student I’ve ever had”).

 

Go to PatsyClairmont.com and check out Shaking Your Tree to hear more from Pasty on how she can help you develop creativity and confidence.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL152_Release_Your_Creativity_with_Special_Guest_Patsy_Clairmont.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:36pm CDT

On this week’s episode, I respond to a listener question about discussing the topic of depression and suicide prevention.

 

This week’s topic comes from a father who lost his daughter to suicide in a nationally televised story.

  • I know it must be one of the hardest things in the world when somebody you love so deeply makes a decision to do this.
  • I heard in your letter that she left behind two boys, 3 & 7.
  • Navigating this for them is going to be tough.
  • As they get older, they will need your presence and your son-in-law’s guidance.

 

You may have heard people or doctors say this kind of thing runs in families.

  • I’m not a medical doctor, so I can’t speak to the actual working of the brain. But I take a different view.
  • I think when a family member commits suicide, it brings that up as an option.
  • Unless it’s dealt with, I think other family members can think, “well, so-and-so did this, and this is how they dealt with that.”

 

The tough thing about this will be to separate your daughter from the act and remember the love that she had.

  • I can imagine that as sad as you are about this, you might be a little mad too for her child and husband.
  • I really feel like forgiveness is the reset button that needs to be pushed here.

 

I want you to be very aware of how grateful you can be for her life.

  • I am sure there are many moments you can call upon that were times of joy and excitement that she added to your life.
  • In the midst of your sorrow, remember to be grateful for that gift of her life and what it meant to you, your wife, and so many other people.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL151_-_When_Someone_in_Your_Life_Commits_Suicide.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:25am CDT

On this week’s episode, I talk about a very unusual summer event that occurs a few times a year on the shore of Mobile Bay.

Something very unique happened earlier this week while at a book signing in Fairhope, Alabama. 

  • There is a 15-mile stretch on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay.
  • In the late summer on a still night between two and five in the morning, fish pile up on the shore for several hundred yards.
  • I’m talking thousands. Flounder, Whiting, Mullet, Shrimp, and more.
  • This is only one place in the world this happens and it is called a “Jubilee.”

 

I am shocked by how many people read The Noticer Returns and think “Jubilee” is something I made up.

  • This has been going on for centuries.
  • Years ago they had bells on the porches of the houses along the bay to let the community know when the phenomenon was occurring. 
  • The fish are almost stunned or asleep. It will last for an hour or two and then they’ll wake up and swim back into the gulf.
  • People will fill their ice chests and have fish for a year.

 

It’s an odd thing in the world where someone’s influence or money can buy what whatever they want.

  • You got enough money or influence and you could sit down with the president for dinner or have Kenny Chesney play a show in your backyard.
  • There is not a single way you could ever reserve a time to go see a Jubilee.
  • It is such a fascinating thing, but it kills me because I’ve never seen one.

 

If you haven’t read The Noticer Returns and want to hear an amazing story involving a jubilee and how it impacted the lives of several people, The Noticer Returns

 

Andy will also be having a parenting conference at Wiregrass Church Sunday September 21, 2014 at 7 pm. This is a free event, but you will need tickets, as is it limited to only 1500 attendees,

Click here for more info. (It’s the third bullet point on the bottom right of the site.)

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL150_Jubilee_A_Fishermans_Dream_Come_True.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I address a listener question on the distinction between coaching and mentoring.

The question we received is, “What are the differences between coaching and mentoring, and does the distinction really matter?”

  • I think the distinction does matter, at least financially.
  • Mentoring is less in your face, and it’s a little more guidance oriented.
  • When a specific relationship is outlined and you have a detailed goal, you are getting into the coaching area.

 

I’ve been mentored by people that don’t know it and people who are already dead.

  • George Washington Carver and Joshua Chamberlain have been mentors for me — people who have been written about or have a large volume of work that I can follow.
  • The length of time is a defining feature. I could coach you for 15 minutes, but mentoring is an ongoing process.

 

A buddy of mine a few years ago told me that his mom left him some money, and he was thinking about hiring a person he knows as a financial planner.

  • I asked how much money the financial planner made, and he said it was a lot like himself.
  • Wouldn’t you want someone with a higher level of financial success to guide the results you are after?

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL149_The_Difference_Between_Coaching_and_Mentoring.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I address a listener question about my perspective on finding peace when dealing with death. 

This topic was on my mind when I was writing The Noticer Returns.

  • When I wrote this book, I wanted to have Jones deal with several things that people have a hard time with.
  • I wanted to handle this subject with sensitivity, but in a way that answers questions and gives people real comfort.

Listen in as I answer this question by reading a full chapter from The Noticer Returns.

Get your full version of The Noticer Returns for a more thorough answer to this question.

To get your own copy now, just click here.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL148_-_How_Do_You_Find_Peace_When_Dealing_with_Death_.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on how to turn big powerful thoughts into smaller, concise statements so they can be clearly communicated to others.

Before getting into that, we have a quick announcement.

  • There are not a whole whole lot of opportunities for ticketed events to hear me speak.
  • Crossroads Church in Oklahoma City is holding the 2014 Leadership Conference with Jon Acuff, Dr. Mark Rutland, and myself on September 26th, 2014. 

We’ve all heard the statements:

  • Average people compare themselves with other people.
  • High achievers compare themselves with their potential.
  • There is a clue in that statement as to what we should be doing to take these big ideas and turn them into little steps.
  • Most of us are so consumed with the little steps that we hope the big thing will manifest itself. 

It is a common mistake for people to allow methods to determine their possible results.

  • I urge you to turn this idea on its head.
  • If you want to be clear and concise with those little things and create a huge picture, you need to determine the best possible result you can achieve.
  • Once you have that clearly defined, you can quit thinking about it so hard. Now you can go back and devise the methods that will take you there. 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL147_How_to_Refine_Your_Methods_and_Accelerate_Your_Success.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 8:59am CDT

On this week’s episode, I share my perspective on how to talk to your kids when they are being to hard on themselves and falling apart. 

As parents, it is crucial that we are vulnerable about our pasts.

  • Some kids need to know another person has experienced the same problems as they have.
  • Obviously we’ve forgotten what being 12 feels like, but we can try to imagine how things are going on in their minds.

My son, Adam, is very sensitive and tends to think about things that might not bother his older brother.  

  • His feelings don’t get hurt easily, but he is very aware of what other people are feeling—and he tends to focus on areas where he’s not doing so well. 
  • I encourage you to help your child understand that we are all in the same boat together.
  • We all have strengths and weaknesses, and you can always find someone better than you.
  • Talk to your children about how they act, walk, and talk—and try to instill these habits in their lives.

I recently heard a pastor say to the church’s youth, “Sometimes God will give you a weakness that you really have to struggle with, and it will become a strength.”

I told Adam a story about two football teams.

  • The first team had athletes that didn’t have to work hard to beat the other team every year.
  • One year the second team decided to start lifting weights and working out harder than ever.
  • The first time they played the really good team again, they lost worse than before because their bodies were sore.
  • But the next year after sticking with the workouts, they creamed the other team. The first team decided to start working out harder, but they were already too far behind.

Make sure to check out the free parenting videos on the website. There’s a bunch of great information on how to talk to your kids.

Here’s a link, so you don’t have to go hunting: Click here

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL146_What_to_Say_to_Your_Kids_When_Theyre_Too_Hard_on_Themselves.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I respond to a question about reading biographies to children and my thoughts on fiction.

I would read biographies to the boys when they were younger and paraphrase to make it more age-appropriate.

  •      With biographies you can foster an interest in history and good lessons.
  •      Non-Fiction will inform and teach, and I believe it is important to be able to explain why a certain thing will work.

 I find it weird when people have a sort of snobbery toward fiction.

  •      When you read fiction, it will ignite your imagination in a way that nonfiction cannot do.
  •      It’s knowledge and imagination that drives the great breakthroughs on our planet.
  •      You need both to create a successful life.

You want the kind of fiction that sparks the right kind of imagination.

  •      Be careful what you and your children are reading.
  •      Your imagination is so crucial to making a great living, having awesome relationships, and being a great parent or spouse.

The Kid Who Changed the World is a clever telling of how much we all mean to each other and the difference we can make, while also teaching history.

Click here to learn how to get your own copy of The Kid Who Changed the World.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

 

Direct download: ITL145_What_Kinds_of_books_should_you_and_your_children_read.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 11:35am CDT

On this week’s episode, I discuss a popular listener question: “What should you provide for your kids, and what should they have to work for?”

Some parents have a cut and dry answer for that, but I don’t.

  • My answer changes depending on what’s going on.
  • It’s according to how they are behaving.
  • If I sense a spirit of gratefulness, then there are more things that I will handle for them. A lot of the time it’s not even things they are aware of. 
  • The one thing that can truly stop it in a heartbeat is if I sense a spirit of expectation or a lack of gratefulness. Then it’s a totally different ballgame.

There was a time last week that I needed to drive Austin around to several locations for the business he has started. 

  • Something distracting was happening when we got home, and a few minutes later I was aware that Austin had not thanked me for doing that for him.
  • I used this situation to explain to him that as he grew older, life would become more chaotic and there will be more occasions to forget how to act.
  • People want to be around grateful people, and it’s a desirable quality in an employee or boss.

I recently saw a kid who got a brand new BMW on his 16th birthday.

  • At some point that car is going to wear out. And if the parents aren’t going to buy him another car when he’s older, then that may be the nicest car he ever has.
  • I see young adults all the time who are disappointed with their life, because the best car they ever drove, place they lived, or most fun they had was when they were a kid.
  • As they become more disappointed, it affects how they act. And then their performance level is affected at work. Over time, they become more and more likely never to have that BMW again. 

I’ve elaborated on this topic in a free 4-video series I did on smart parenting. I’d love for you to get to watch it!

These short videos cover must-know information for parents. In seconds, they could change your kids’ lives forever.

Click here for free instant access to the videos.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 


On this week’s episode, I respond to a listener question about handshake etiquette for girls.

I don’t think there is a “right” or “wrong,” but I do think there is a “best.”

There are a couple of schools of thought here:

  • One is the old-school “debutant” school of thought:
  • Women go to college to find a husband.
  • Everything a woman does should be geared toward a wife and homemaker.
  • I don’t know if there is anything more important than that, but there are definitely other things that may be equally important.

With the way our world works today, I don’t think a woman shaking hands should offend anyone.

  • For the most part, professional women shake hands.
  • What looks really strange, though, is when a woman doesn’t know what to do.

I’ve taught my boys that there are many people who will not expect a handshake from them because of their age.

  • I see many surprised (and delighted) faces when by boys reach their hands out and say, “nice to meet you” to adults.
  • To a huge degree, how you treat your wife or husband will create a baseline for your children’s expectations as they grow up.

I’ve elaborated on this topic in a free 4-video series I did on smart parenting. I’d love for you to get to watch it!

These short videos cover must-know information for parents. In seconds, they could change your kids’ lives forever.

Click here for free instant access to the videos.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL143_Whats_the_Correct_Handshake_Etiquette_for_Girls.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I talk about my special new book, The Perfect Moment, and the peculiar story of how it came to be published: 

It all started while I was throwing football with one of my boys.

  • That led to a magical conversation, and it became a story for our friends.
  • I wrote it down, and then it became a story I would tell on stage.
  • We turned it into a free downloadable eBook and then finally Simple Truths said that they would like to publish it in hardcover. (more in the video) 

The book offers amazing insights into finding the hidden value of everyday life.

  • There are so many things that we see everyday and don’t notice anymore.
  • Our family has begun to notice the perfect moments that are occurring in our lives. Yours can, too.
  • The end of your book has a “Life Planner” of sorts that will help ensure your next six months are outstanding, noticing and creating more of your own perfect moments.

We are very grateful for Mac Anderson and Simple Truths for putting this book out nationwide. I’m absolutely thrilled with how beautiful the book turned out! 

[If you’d like to grab your own copy of The Perfect Moment, just click this link to go to the book’s page.]

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com   
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL142_The_Perfect_Moment.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:41am CDT

Before getting into our discussion, I wanted to give a shout-out to my friend Wes Hampton.

  • He and his family were over this past 4th of July weekend and we had a lot of fun grilling and watching the kids play.
  • Wes also has a Kamado Joe (plus his own cookbook), so we had a great cooking discussion.
  • Find Wes on Facebook or head over to WesHampton.com, and you can find his recipes there.

This week’s topic comes from a pastor who sometimes works with victims of sexual abuse, and what “accepting responsibility” would look like in this situation. One of the women he works with started reading The Traveler’s Gift and closed the book when she read to accept responsibility for your past.

Life is a series of advancing what we understand, or we kind of stop in a certain place and say, “That’s it.”

  • There was a time in most people’s lives when they had not acquired a taste for certain types of food.
  • If I had a chance to talk to her before she read The Traveler’s Gift, I would say, “Read the book with the same mind-set as you would have going into a cafeteria.”
  • They might have a lot of things you like, but you don’t leave when you see something you won’t eat.

Accepting responsibility for our past also means determining what we are responsible for.

  • The things we are not responsible for would certainly fall more into the forgiveness category.
  • At the age of 9, you would really have no choice if an adult imposed something on you.
  • I know this is a delicate situation and I don’t know all the circumstances, so this is more of just exploring ideas, but I do feel there is a certain age when responsibility to get yourself out of a situation falls somewhat to you.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com   
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL141_When_Does_The_Buck_Stops_Here_NOT_apply.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:49am CDT

On this week’s episode, I address the question of how to balance contentment and the things you want in life.

There are several things I want to do and want to have.

Before anything “goes up on our refrigerator,” so to speak, I see if it fits my criteria…

  • Does this line up with my mission in life?
  • Would it make my mission more vibrant and successful?
  • Can this thing be a tool to help people?

We are very joyful whether we get to do something or not. There is an understanding that we don’t need certain things to feel fulfilled.

I am very aware of blessings beyond need.

  • We have a house, but I have proven in my life that I only need a pier to sleep under.
  • We have blessings beyond what we need cultivate a grateful spirit.
  • Gratefulness will make you into a content person.
  • In my quiet time, I will examine the things beyond what I need and determine if I should pursue them.

Gratefulness is right in the middle of this question. You’ve got to have a grateful spirit and understand that if your needs are met, everything else is gravy.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com   
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL140_How_to_be_Content_and_Ambitious_at_the_Same_Time.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I talk about the benefits of gardening with your family and answer a listener question on divided families.

 

We have a little garden of eight blackberry bushes that we planted three years ago.

  • The first year we got a few blackberries.
  • The second year we got a lot of blackberries.
  • This year we couldn’t pick them all at one time.

 

This is a great thing parents can do with their kids.

  • Get a couple of plants, take your kids in the backyard, dig a hole, pour some potting soil in it, and stick the plant in the yard.
  • This is what families used to do together.
  • We’ll spend an hour just picking berries and talking to each other.
  • Doing this teaches your children about end results.

 

Planting something is a great metaphor for life.

  • Zig Ziglar talked about planting a bamboo tree and growing it over ten-years.
  • You water and fertilize it for years without seeing results.
  • Then, in that last year, it will have grown 100-feet.
  • So… did it grow 100-feet in one year or ten years?

 

What can parents of divided families do to make sure they’re being as effective as they can?

  • One of the great strategies is for the mom and dad to get together and determine what they want the child’s adulthood to look like.
  • Write it down.
  • If you sit there and try to discuss methods, it’s going to be opinion vs. opinion.
  • Determine the result, and work backward from there.
  • Then, you can be more certain that when your child is not with you, the other parent is still aiming for the same result.

 

Check out Andy’s parenting series for more information. You will get access to over 80-minutes of free content in this 4-video series.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL139_-_Surprising_Things_Your_Kids_Can_Learn_from_a_Garden.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I share my thoughts on a listener question about generational advancement.

 

Reversing generational curses or trends is a huge thing to me, and I’ve spent a great deal of time searching for answers on this topic.

 

The most important thing I’ve learned on this search comes from studying many other families.

  • I’ve studied families that have been affected by negative generational things.
  • I’ve studied families that have had huge generational success.
  • For people to want to change, you need to prove why a particular way of doing something works.
  • I’ve spent the past two years working on the 100 Year Parenting course to explain just that.
  • It’s basically the long form answer to this question.

 

It’s all parenting.

  • I’m even talking about business relationships and marriages.
  • The way people deal with things, or come around to a new light of wisdom has a lot to do with how they were raised.
  • It’s easy to realize that we all understand that a child who grows into a 25-year-old adult with exceptional manners is imminently more employable than a 25-year-old without good manners.
  • Manners are money.

 

If you haven’t seen any of the parenting course, go to AndyAndrews.com and click on the parenting banner. Inside is a free 4-video series, which has over 80 total minutes of content.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL138_What_Other_Families_Can_Teach_Us_About_Generational_Legacy.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I’m sharing a story I wrote about my dad.

 

It’s not really a short story since all of it is true.

  • It has been pieced together from things I remember, and stories I have heard from others who knew him.
  • I wanted my boys to have a description of their grandfather in the event that I am not able to give the oral history.

 

My father had a different method of parenting.

  • He was kind of nut. Not a professional nut like I am, but still a nut.
  • This story takes you though some of the memories that I love, and the funny things that he would say as our church pastor.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL137_-_A_Brief_History_of_My_Father.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on what it really takes to have a successful marriage.

Occasionally you hear people say, “We don’t have any problems. We don’t fight ever.”

  • Anytime I hear that, I always think that somebody is being fooled.
  • I don’t know how two people can exist and not have to work some things out.
  • If you have ever been involved in a long-term friendship, there have been moments that you could have walked away from the friend and never done anything with them again.
  • A marriage is more than just a long-term friendship. 

Polly and I have a working marriage. It’s a consistent work in progress.

  • I think we all go through moments where we feel like we can’t stand a person anymore. That’s human nature.
  • The commitment to how things should be has to be larger than a momentary feeling of disagreement.

Our first couple of years were the hardest part of our marriage.

  • We got married, and to our horror, found out how different we were from one another. I panicked for a little while.
  • I remembered Jones telling me that if two people were exactly alike, one of them would be unnecessary.

I think that the kids knowing that your decisions are for your long-term future really affects them.

  • Even though we disagree or get mad, there is a larger purpose that the boys know they are a part of, too.

I think the best marriage book ever written is Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs. It firmly grasps the idea of what both people need.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com   
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL136_How_Does_a_Successful_Marriage_Work.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on thinking and how it inspires action.

 

Most people believe that their choices determine where they are.

  • In a way they do, but you can’t really control your choices any more than you can control the flip of a coin.
  • Unless you have a process in place for guiding your choices, at best you can hope to make 50% of your choices right.
  • Thinking determines the choices we make, choices determine actions, and actions determine our reputation.

 

Are there instances in which action inspires different thinking?

  • Yes, if we are looking to learn something.
  • When we are not looking to learn something, our words (or thinking) will overpower our actions.
  • Thinking and action are kind of circularly intertwined.            

 

There is a great paradox between “As a man thinketh, so is he,” and yet we’re still able to choose what we think and how we think.

 

God feeds the birds, but he doesn’t throw worms in their nest.

  • I realized years ago that I was praying beggar prayers, and I felt like God was rolling his eyes at me.
  • If you’re sitting at home and lying on the couch, the people that God places on your life path are probably not sitting next to you.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

 

 

 

Direct download: ITL135_The_Paradox_Betwwen_Thinking_and_Action.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on which three words I would use to describe myself.

 

One of them would definitely be searching.

  • In the second decision –“I will seek wisdom”– I thought for a number of years that the most important word was wisdom.
  • The most important word is seek.
  • I’ve become so much more aware of searching because I’ve finally figured out that there is a lot more to the things that I thought I knew.
  • Even if you are an expert in a field, there are always more answers to search out.

 

The second word is intentional.

  • I don’t live my life according to intention.
  • Intention has no power.
  • To be intentional about what you do means you are heading in a specific direction for a specific reason.

 

When you are intentional about where you are going to go, then you are able to determine very quickly if what you are doing is moving you closer or further from the result you want.

 

The third word is really the first one I thought of, and that is grateful.

  • Gratefulness is perspective.
  • I’ve never found anyone who has presented a situation where I couldn’t point out something to be grateful for.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL134_How_to_be_Intentionally_Grateful.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I address a listener question on displacing negative thoughts.

 

You can’t leave your mind blank.

  • When we don’t choose what goes in our minds, our minds fill up with things that point our thoughts in other directions.
  • These directions may affect our choices in ways we would really rather not choose.
  • How many times have we said to ourselves, “what was I thinking?”

 

Think about this….

  • If I was to sing, “Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale…”
  • You would immediately think, “A tale of a fateful trip.”
  • But was there really a time that we sat down with a pen a pad and said that we wanted to learn this song?
  • We weren’t choosing anything at that time, but it made its way into our brains and it’s never going away.

 

There was a movie I saw in high school that totally freaked me out.

  • I don’t even remember why I was there, or who I was with when I saw it.
  • It has been decades since I’ve seen that movie, but I can’t forget the things that I saw.
  • Those images are not doing me any good.

 

Why not choose what does go in our minds?

  • Choose something that will benefit your family forever, or benefit what you believe your destiny to be.
  • It is important to choose.
  • You don’t have to read my books, but you better be reading something beneficial.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

 

 

Direct download: ITL133_-_Displacing_Negative_Thoughts.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, we honor our mothers with an episode not just for Mother’s Day.

  

A couple of weeks ago the boys found a vine hanging down from a tree.

  • I can remember telling Polly, “They’re fine.” I didn’t say, “You’ll be fine.”
  • Adam was yelling, “It’s perfectly safe!”
  • So as Polly is swinging, the vine cracks and mama fell from the sky.
  • What a great mom these boys have. As crazy as that was…what a great memory.

 

I say this to friends of mine whose mothers pass away:

  • First, I ask how old they are. For this example, let’s say they are 57.
  • I’ll say, “I know that you’re sad, and there’s never a good time for anyone’s mama to pass away, but I am envious, because you had 57 years with a mama as great as yours and that must have been awesome.”

 

Make a determined and consistent effort to let your parents, especially your mama, know you love them.

  • Some of the moments when I most admire Polly are when I see flashes of my mother in her.
  • It’s very odd to me that I am now older than my mother was when she passed away.

 

I make sure the boys know every time they leave for school or go to bed at night that it could be the last time they see us.

  • I don’t want them living in fear.
  • But I also don’t want them living with regret.
  • Again, say what you need to say to the people you care about.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com   
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL132_How_to_Honor_Your_Mother_Year-Round.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

 On this week’s episode I discuss why your family needs a mission statement and how my family created ours.

 



I’ve never seen a successful company that didn’t have a mission statement.

  • I found out that a friend of mine, Sandy Stimpson, has a family mission statement for his family. 
    
  • He suggested that we make our own.

 



Polly, the boys, and I sat down and decided…
 

  • What is important?
  • Where do we want to go? 
  
  • What is the best?
  • What result are we after?
  • How do we act?

 



Over the course of several weeks we formed the mission statement, and it is now framed.

  • We keep it in the front of our house where we can see it all day long. 
    
  • It makes life more intentional for Polly and me, but it is also transforming how our boys think.

 

Be sure you’re on the AndyAndrews.com email list so you don’t miss the release of our free Family Mission Statement Builder! Go to AndyAndrews.com to sign up.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL131__The_Benefits_of_a_Family_Mission_Statement.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

 On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about the hardest thing in my life and what I worry about the most.

 

I think frustration is one of the hardest things in my life.

  • First, I don’t want to come across sounding ungrateful or jealous.
  • I see celebrities on YouTube with millions if not billions of views and I ask, what are they offering that will change your family for the better?
  • Some of my friends like Wes Hampton or Sugarcane Jane are great musicians with a positive message. So how do we get people like this to have influence on millions?
  • It’s frustrating to know that we have the power to change they world, and in ways we still are not.

 

There was a time when Billy Graham was preaching out of a tent.

  • Two words in a telegram to the newspaper—“Puff Graham”—changed everything.
  • Billy never met the man, William Hurst, who sent the telegram, nor did he know the reason why.
  • Now it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard of Billy Graham.

 

What do I worry about?

  • I don’t really worry about anything, but I have concerns.
  • Am I doing everything that can be done to get the message out in my books?

 

Questions for Listeners

 

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL130_What_to_Do_When_Youre_Frustrated_or_Worried.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on self-sabotage and the most important quality in people.

 

We’ve talked on several other episodes about how the way you think is the foundation for everything.

  • The things we listen to, watch, and read totally affect what we believe.
  • I have come to the conclusion that people cannot achieve beyond what they really believe.

 

Out of the organizations and companies that I speak for, athletes usually have the hardest time believing this.

  • We test this by having one of them complete a physical feat that is easy for him to do well.
  • I then tell him something has been changed.
  • I don’t actually change anything, but it is very obvious that because he believes something has changed, he is not able to complete the feat the way he did before.

 

I believe the most important quality a person can have is to be a person other people want to be around. This encompasses…

  • Empathy
  • Intelligence
  • Tact

 

If you do not focus on becoming a person other people want to be around, people aren’t going to listen to you.

 

 

Questions for Listeners

 

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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

 

Direct download: ITL129_The_Most_Important_Quality_You_Can_Have.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week's episode, I talk about the first steps Polly and I took when we found out we were going to be parents.

I never expected to do anything like this, but I think this is the most important thing I’ve ever done. 



15 years ago when Polly sat me down and said “we are going to have a baby,” I was excited…and then broke out in a cold sweat.  

  • I really dug into parenting right from the beginning.
    

  • I wanted to give my wife and I more certainty for this life we were about to guide.



I believe you can know how to do a certain thing, but…

  • If you don’t know why it works then you’ll always be tempted to move away from it, do it too much, or do it too little.

  • I talk to more people who have issues with their adult children than I do to people who have issues with their kids. 
    


For a long time I didn’t want to do a parenting course because I’ve taken several courses and read fifty books.
   

  • The thing that got me about the parenting courses was that there was no proof.

  • There were examples, great ideas, life lessons, and principles, but there was no proof.

  • There was never anything where you said, “That is absolutely right and will work every time!”



This course is going to be all encompassing. Make sure you are on our email list so you can get the latest details about it.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
     

  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
   

  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews     
       

  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews



Direct download: ITL128_The_Most_Reliable_Parenting_Advice_Ive_Found.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

My Newest Book and a Surprise Opportunity

On this week’s episode, I talk about the release of The Seven Decisions and how you can win a Kamado Joe grill.

We did an episode a few weeks ago on the Kamado Joe, and ended with saying that we wanted to have a Kamado Joe giveaway. Well, we have done it.

Anyone who pre-orders The Seven Decisions and sends us their receipt will be entered in a drawing for their very own Joe in either black or brick red.
    •    You can be entered in the contest as many times as you can order a book.
    •    Each entry must have a different receipt.
    •    You can order 25 books in one order, but you will only be entered once.
    •    Order 25 books separately and you will be entered 25 times.
    •    Pre-orders must be before May 6, 2014.
    •    If we receive enough entries, the drawing will be for more than one winner.

The Seven Decisions is a re-release of Mastering the Seven Decisions.
    •    The book has updated content and a new cover.
    •    The reason it is being released again is because, when it originally came out as Mastering the Seven Decisions, nobody was reading my books!

Make sure you’re on our email list. Go to AndyAndrews.com and sign up if you are not.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

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


Direct download: ITL127_My_Newest_Book_and_a_Surprise_Opprotunity.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question:


"What should a new writer focus on the most?"

The one most important thing to focus on is writing.

  • You would not believe how many people I talk to who are “waiting to be inspired.”
  • Their short answer is, “No, I am not writing.”
  • Only the process of doing it gets it done.

I hear terribly incomplete advice given to writers.

  • Write what you’re interested in, but keep seeking more information.
  • It will get you excited when you find what you don’t know.
  • You have to think it terms of, “What do other people want to learn?”
  • How will this help others?

Two things I ask myself before any project


  • Is anybody else doing this?
  • Will this help people who are hurting?
    


There are several things in common with the books I really enjoy.


  • Stories—They all started "in the action" and I didn’t really know what was happening.
  • Reveals—That’s who that is! Or thats what’s happening!



So what are the three most important focuses for a young writer? I’ll give you five.


  1. Read
  2. Write Regularly
  3. Write Regardless
  4. Reach Others
  5. Be Relentless

Don’t Give Up—the best book is stuck in somebody’s drawer.

Now, with Amazon and everything, self-published books are much more viable. You don’t have to sell out of the back of your trunk anymore.

Questions for Listeners
Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!
    •    Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
    •    E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
    •    Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
    •    Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Direct download: ITL126__5_Important_Writing_Lessons_for_Any_New_Writer.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

The Toughest Mental Obstacle I’ve Faced

 

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about the toughest mental obstacle I had to cross after overcoming homelessness.

 

Has there been any point when I felt like hiding under the pier again?

  • I occasionally feel like crawling back under the pier.
  • I say that jokingly, but I really am very aware of where I am when I walk on that pier.
  • Living under the pier was undoubtedly the worst time in my life, but without that perspective I don’t think I would have become what I am today. 

 

Part of life is the struggle to think a certain way.

  • It’s not just to improve and increase your level of thinking.
  • We are all in the process of becoming.
  • The people who are humbly listening and learning from other people are the people with money and influence.

 

The toughest thing I had to do was distance myself from that pier.

  • I needed to get away from it with my thinking, choices, and actions.
  • Your thinking is the foundation of your success as a parent and member of your community.

 

If you want to read more about how to become a better parent, businessperson, and member of your community, pick up a copy of The Noticer Returns.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

 

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

 

Direct download: ITL125_The_Toughest_Mental_Obstacle_Ive_Faced.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I talk about my passion for cooking outdoors, reveal my secret recipe for the best grilled vegetables ever, and discuss why I like to put things that I actually use into the stories in my books.

 

I am kind of a foodie.

  • I enjoy making and eating great food.
  • I don’t know if it’s just a southern thing, but we seem to devise events around food.
  • I really like cooking outside.

 

I’m a grill guy, and I love the charcoal taste.

  • I come from a long line of “grill people.”
  • My dad thought he was good, but he burned everything.
  • All you people who have gas grills. Wrong! You’re cooking with heat and there is nothing to give your food taste.

 

For years I have put things in my books that I like or use.

  • In The Noticer Returns, Jones is teaching how to start a business, and one of the guys (Baker Larson) starts cooking with a Kamado Joe.
  • We cook on them at least three times a week.
  • We do pizza, fish, steak, and wild game.
  • One of our absolute favorites is cooking vegetables.

 

Secret Recipe:

We will cut up whatever vegetables we have and cover them with an Italian dressing to soak for a little while. We’ll then put the vegetables in a basket that goes in our Kamado Joe, and smoke them at about 350 degrees.

 

Kamado Joe Giveaway:

Be sure to watch your email for our announcement! If you’re not on our email list, be sure to join at AndyAndrews.com.

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

 

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL124_The_Andy_Andrews_Guide_to_Cooking.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 2:28am CDT

On this week’s episode, I talk about how you can win tickets to see me (along with many other awesome speakers) speak at Dave Ramsey’s SMART Conference!

 

This is going to be an amazing event at the Verizon Theatre in Dallas, TX—with speakers:

 

Dave Ramsey                        Rachel Cruze

Dr. Henry Cloud                  Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

Joy Eggerichs                        Dr. Meg Meeker

Andy Andrews

 

People forget that Dave had to learn his financial stance as an adult after battling bankruptcy.

  • His daughter, Rachel, grew up watching the changes happening in her family as a child, teen, and young adult.
  • She has been raised to understand these principles, and I am excited to hear her perspective.

 

I have already pre-ordered my copy of their book, Smart Money Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money.

 

Follow the link above to pre-order yours now!

 

Why is it important for people to attend events like this?

  • I work with coaches, teams, organizations, businesses—I can’t afford for people to have average results.
  • Without results, I’m just a guy who can talk fast and is a little funny.
  • The key is to help people truly understand how much they need to learn and how much they don’t know.

 

Have you ever been absolutely sure you know something in your life…and then a couple months later you found out that it wasn’t exactly correct?

  • Could there be something in your life right now that you are wrong about?
  • If that’s true then we don’t know what that might be—there is a lot beyond what we know.

 

It’s amazing to me that I wrote The Traveler’s Gift 15 years ago and people still find it valuable.

  • I do Seven Decisions seminars and I’ll talk for six hours on these decisions.
  • 90% of the stuff I talk about is things I learned after I wrote the book.
  • My approach was to actively pursue more wisdom on these decisions.

 

 

Make sure you are on our email list.

  • In the next week you will get all the details to win tickets to this amazing event on March 29th.

 

Check out these books from the other speakers!

 

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know—by Dr. Meg Meeker

 

Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life—by Dr. Henry Cloud

 

Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs—by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

 

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

 

 

 

Direct download: ITL123_Why_Its_Important_to_Attend_Conferences_and_Events.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

 

On this week’s episode, I talk about the new “anger management”—conflict resolution.

 

When I hear the term still used, I always think, “Anger management? Why would you want to manage something like that and not get rid of it?”

  • You can defuse a conflict, but that doesn’t mean it’s over.
  • If the underlying causes of a conflict are not dealt with, there really is no resolution.

 

Society believes two things about change.

  • You must have a deep desire to change.
  • You have to be at rock bottom.

 

However, I believe the two things people need are…

  • An understanding of what’s in it for them.
  • Proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the change will be good.

 

When something is demonstrably good for you, that change will occur whether you are looking for it or not.

 

Imagine conflict resolution as two people across from each other on opposite sides, playing double solitaire.

  • You’re both trying to get rid of all your cards in the same line.
  • You both win, or you both lose.
  • The only way to win is to not hold any cards back.

 

A resolution to conflict is going to require change, and the change must have both parties winning.

 

Are you feeling “stuck” in some part of your life?

  • I put together a free 3-part video series on the exact process I went through to move forward in multiple areas of my life.
  • You’ll get a couple of cool free gifts when you participate in the series.
  • Check it out here: GuidedTraveler.com

 

Questions for Listeners

 

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

 

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

 

Direct download: ITL122__The_New__Anger_Management_.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Writing Process

On this week’s episode, I discuss my creative process for writing even in the midst of rejection.    

The greatest book ever written is in somebody’s drawer somewhere.

  • They put it out there, it got turned down a few times, and they decided to put it away.
  • Gone With the Wind was rejected 34 times.

Part of my creative process is to do battle with myself quickly. 

  • I try not to let wondering if something is working drag me downhill. 
  • Publishers told me The Traveler’s Gift did not have a desirable plot and that writing good books takes effort and talent.
  • After 51 rejections from professionals, the book has been successful for over 10 years. 

You can either take their word and live according to their opinion, or you can reject it and look for people who are wiser in the area where you are heading. 

  • For most successful writers, it takes a great deal of work and almost a formula to help with the writing process. 
  • I’m not fired up the whole time that I’m working on a book. 
  • It is a very slow process for me.  

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITl121_A_Behind_the_Scenes_Tour_of_the_Writing_Process.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I answer listener questions about time-travel and my switch from comedy to whatever it is that I do now.

 

Would you rather go into the future to meet your great grandchildren, or travel backward and meet your great grandparents?

  • If I went into the future to meet my great grandchildren, I wouldn’t learn anything from them that will change my life and in turn allow me to change their lives.
  • The best I could do is try to convince them to do something or not do something.
  • If I went back into time, I think it would give me a lot of insight as to why my family dynamic came along the pathway that it did.

 

Wisdom is a little beyond knowledge.

  • I hear people say, “My grandparent was such a wise person,” and then turn around and ask where all the wise people are today.
  • Technology makes things so fast and allows for an amazing flow of knowledge and information.
  • However, I really believe wisdom requires quiet and time.

 

How did you know when it was time to change speaking platforms from comedy to what you do now?

  • I had always been interested in communicating something, but there was no way that I could be just a speaker in my twenties.
  • I’m not saying that people in their twenties can’t provide wisdom.
  • Comedy was just my way of being on stage.

 

I can remember when I was on tour with Kenny Rogers, and we started talking about Jones and the Seven Decisions.

  • He said that I should put some of the Seven Decisions talk in my show between jokes.
  • Slowly I kept adding in a little more, and eventually more people were talking about the “serious” bits that I did. It kind of shifted on its own.
  • It’s a strange platform but it’s fun and flexible.
  • If you want to see a blend of my comedic side with my serious side, you should check out my DVD Not Normal: The Power to Be Different. It’s a live presentation of some of my funniest and most inspirational material.

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

 

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
Direct download: ITL120_Curious_Questions_on_Time_Travel_Wisdom_and_My_Career.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, I give my two cents on some of my favorite responses to our previous listener question: “If you could have a five-minute phone call with your 18-year-old self, what would you tell yourself to be aware of?” 

From our listener…

"Just pick up the phone and make the needed phone call. Just do it. Returning needed phone calls, or calling to confirm, cancel or postpone appointments is part of the process of becoming a responsible, dependable person.  Don't shut the door on yourself through negligence caused by shyness and procrastination. Keeping doors open or ensuring good closure is crucial for maintaining good relationships.  Faithfulness in little things will lead to bigger things."

Have a decided heart.

You will get stuck in an ongoing state of analysis. 

I see so many people who spend so much time analyzing decisions they have already made, that they don’t have any emotional or physical energy to do what they have decided. 

The Traveler’s Gift was written four years before it was published. 

If I kept analyzing whether or not the book was worth publishing during the years it was turned down, the book wouldn’t be out yet. 

I’m still learning things about the decisions.

In regard to the shyness… 

Most people think that confidence is something that always came easy for me. 

There were times when I was starting out that I would be sick to my stomach, even when a show was more than a week away. I was scared.

But I knew I wanted people to hear what I had to say. 

Direct download: ITL119_How_to_Make_Decisions_and_Overcome_Shyness.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

On this week’s episode, we have comedian and good friend Jeff Allen on the show to have some laughs and answer a few questions.

 

Jeff is one of my great buddies and, to me, is one of the funniest working stand-up comedians today. 

 

One of my favorite bits of his is the Three-Word Vocabulary

  • It’s the signature piece of trying to argue with a 16-year-old.
  • Pfffff, Khhhhk, and Whatever.
  • “Whatever” comes in different frequencies, but one of them affects my nerves.

 

My son Austin is getting close to getting his drivers license. Jeff shared his experience with having a child at that age:

  • When Jeff’s son started driving, he was so bad that Jeff would let him drive the family to church. That way he got his prayer time in before he got there.
  • Some Sundays had so many miracles on the way to church that they would skip the service and just go straight to Cracker Barrel.  

 

What is Jeff’s favorite product he has produced and why?

  • The first Bananas DVD he did.
  • The first one is the tightest in terms of content because it’s full of stuff he had been working on for years.
  • The DVD also has his testimony.

 

You can find more about Jeff on his website JeffAllenComedy.com

 

Questions for Listeners

Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

 

  • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
  • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
  • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
  • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
    Direct download: ITL118_The_Funny_Side_of_Parenting.mp3
    Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

    On this week’s episode, we answer a fun question from a listener: Would you rather win the lottery or live twice as long?

     

    As history has shown us, winning the lottery can be life changing…but not always in a great way.

                    This is something I think we all have fantasized about.

                    I think we all have a purpose and I’ve asked myself the question…

                    Would I continue to write if I didn’t have the pressure?

     

    How many times in my life am I not aware of what is going to happen next week?

                    You can sometimes get a little fearful looking ahead, but…

                    Don’t expect to know what is coming.

                    Allow God to direct our path.

     

    Look back and think about times in your life in which you know your path was being directed.

     

    Question: If you could have a five-minute phone call with your 18-year-old self, what would you tell yourself to be aware of?

    ·      We would love to hear your answers! Send your answers to InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com, and your email response may be featured on a future episode of In The Loop.

     

    Questions for Listeners

    Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

     

                    Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

                    E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

                    Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

                    Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

     

    Direct download: ITL117_Money_Vs_Time.mp3
    Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

    On this week’s episode, Andy discusses a listener question: I’m making an effort in positive personal development, but my spouse is not ready to do the same. What do you do until they’re ready, or how do I continue to nudge them in the right direction without being “pushy” or making them feel inferior?

    This is a huge source of confusion is marriages. We all grow at different…

    Rates

    Times

    Areas

    Confidence or Arrogance? 

    Don’t brag about the improvements that you are making.

    It is hard for a spouse to listen to someone whom they perceive as arrogant.

    What you are doing speaks louder than anything you could say.

    A good marriage is a work in progress. If you and your spouse were exactly alike, one of you would be unnecessary. 

    Questions for Listeners

    Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

    Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

    E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

    Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

    Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

    Direct download: ITL116_What_If_My_Spouse_Doesnt_Want_to_Grow.mp3
    Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

    What is it about you that other people would change if they could? 

    • I’m not saying we should live our lives according to other people. 
    • What I am saying is if you look at your life, business, family, and want people to believe what you believe, it really helps if they like you a little bit. 

    What if 25% of people were not comfortable with swearing? If you’re a business person, would you be okay with having 25% less business just because of the way you talk?

    • I had a friend who wanted to quit cursing around his boys.
    • He decided that he would pay a quarter every time he did.
    • It made him more aware of his words.

    The other day one of my boys had a look on his face, and I could tell something was wrong. I asked:

    • Can you do anything about it?
    • Since you can’t do anything about it, how are you going to deal with it?
    • Since you can see an end to it, you can either put a smile on your face or walk around looking sad for the next two weeks.  
    • What I’m trying to do is not just tell him what to do, but explain why this is something that he needs to learn.

    People can sense when something is wrong, but most people aren’t going to say anything to you. 

    • When you’re older, this can be something that affects you getting hired, promoted, or given new opportunities. 

    People will never change long term just because you say so. They will change long term when you…

    • Provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt of what’s in it for them. 

    Back in the ‘80s when I was doing comedy, I was booking more shows than just about anybody, and was even given the award as campus entertainer of the year.

    • I’m not saying this is brag on myself, because I know I was not the funniest comedian. 
    • The difference was that, before and after the shows, I hung out with the students who were booking me and developed friendly relationships with them. 

    Questions for Listeners


    Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show! 

    • Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY
    • E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com
    • Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
    • Twitter.com/AndyAndrews
    Direct download: ITL115_Are_You_Attracting_Opportunity...or_Repelling_It.mp3
    Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT

    On this week's episode, I talk about the surprising benefits of spending time alone.

    Why is it important to spend time alone?

    Spending time alone is the best way to concentrate my thoughts.

    It’s a good way to stimulate creativity.

    If I can wake up before my family and refrain from checking email, my phone, or turning on the news, I can have amazing results. 

    This isn’t so much about being alone as it is about spending time with my boys, but while driving the boys to school, I reach my hand back and say, “Hands!” and we pray for…

    Teachers

    Friends

    Mom

    Our day

    Sometimes, it’s necessary to leave the house in order to be alone. Here are some of the places I go:

    The woods are a great place for me to get away.

    I’ll go alone to a cabin sometimes and spend several days by myself. 

    Most of my novels are not written while I’m at home. 

    The water is not a particularly good place for me, as I’m always wondering what is in the water. 

    As much as you may be thinking, I wouldn’t say that I am alone a lot. 

    It doesn’t have to be for long periods of time every single day.

    It’s important to make a habit of finding at least small portions of the day during which you can be alone.

    We also had an interesting question come in: would I rather spend a year alone in a box, or 15 years alone in a hotel room? Tune in for my answer!

    Questions for Listeners

     

    Do you have a question? Call in and your question might be featured on the show!

    Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

    E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

    Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

    Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

    Direct download: ITL114_Time_Spent_Alone.mp3
    Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:00am CDT