This week, Andy highlights the lessons we can take away from the Olympics and apply to our own lives.

Why are we so compelled to watch the Olympics?

·      They give us more than normal sports do the rest of the other four years.

·      They mark times in our lives. Everyone has memories connected to the Olympics. 

·      The Olympics give us a glimpse into the private lives of those who have amazing discipline.  

Nothing great happens without discipline.

·      Business

·      Raising children

·      Sports

·      Writing

·      Anytime you see anyone who has accomplished anything great, you find that they have great amounts of discipline.

Why watch the Olympics?

·      You will find a "hero," someone who will be highlighted everywhere. Someone you will admire.

·      To see real life examples of people who went out and created success without anyone else paying them to do what they were gifted to do. In spite of      challenges, they still succeeded.

While having a conversation with his son after his son’s guitar lessons, Andy illustrated the challenges that one might face as they pursue something they are passionate about. 

·      The fear of not being any good.

·      There is already so much out there, why should anyone want what I have?

·      More than just passion, you need to have something that offers value to others and helps them.

·      Once you have success, it can be hard to get out there and push yourself again to be better. 

·      Once you learn the process of being successful in one area of life, you can then apply that to every other area of life when you encounter hard                  situations.

·      Once you've accomplished something great, the world will see it because there are not a lot of other people doing it.

Few people do something great with their lives because when things get hard they think:

·      That it's just not for them.

·      This is God telling me that I should do something else.

·      This is hard, so it must not be something that I can do.

Most people will not ever have success because:

·      They avoid challenges.

·      They don't push themselves.

·      They don't like conflict.

·      They make excuses.

The Olympics gives you the example of people who fought through all the excuses to arrive where they are today. It also gives parents the opportunity to teach their kids what it takes to be successful in life.

Questions for Listeners

·      What would you like to hear on future episodes of In the Loop? Let us know!

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

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This week’s special guest, Melinda Leake, is a middle school English teacher from Tennessee who has integrated Andy’s books into her classroom. She discusses the potential that the books can unlock in young people. 

Three summers ago, Melinda had an emergency appendectomy and was hospitalized for 10 days.

·      Around day seven, she was in a state of depression.

·      She was looking out a window and realized that her perspective was totally wrong. She saw all the people in the hospital who were worse off, and realized she had many amazing things in her life.

·      When she got out of the hospital, she and her family went on vacation to the gulf.

·      While in a local bookstore in Seaside, she saw The Noticer and decided to pick it up, especially once she noticed the subtitle—“Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective.”

·      That book is what caused her to fall in love with Andy’s writing.

She realized there were lessons that, not only adults, but also kids could take away from The Noticer.

·      She used it in her classroom and the kids absolutely loved it.

·      They shared the book with their parents and friends and grandparents.

·      She has gone on to teach The Young Traveler’s Gift, The Traveler’s Gift, The Heart Mender, and How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

·      Teaching is a lot different now. It used to be about just pouring knowledge in. Now, it’s about preparing kids to enter a society that doesn’t really want to know everything they know…they want to know what the kids can actually do with what they know. And Andy’s books show kids how they can actually do things.

Andy asks, “What do you actually do with the books in your class?”

·      She sets the stage for what the students are about to read.

·      With The Heart Mender, they learn a lot about WWII and what the country and world was like during the time in which the book is set.

·      They explore the books’ characters.

·      Then, they simply start going through the book together.

·      The quotes from the books that can be applied to the kids’ lives are huge for her.

A lot of the concepts in Andy’s books are things that all adults wish they had known when they were younger.

·      The books can set teenagers up to make better choices as they get older.

·      Wisdom, worry, and the love dialects are all huge concepts that Melinda’s students have latched onto when they read The Noticer.

There are free curriculums on AndyAndrews.com/Education that teachers can use to plan or supplement lessons about each book. There are also large quantity discounts available for educators.

Questions for Listeners

   ·      Have you seen Andy’s books have a positive impact on a young person’s life? Tell us about it!

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

In honor of Andy Griffith’s passing, Andy and A.T. discuss The Andy Griffith Show and what it can teach modern families.

How did The Andy Griffith Show have an impact on Andy growing up?

·      He watched the show with his family. They would laugh and be entertained and have a good time while they watched.

·      At the end of the show, Andy’s dad would always say, “Now what was the moral of that show?”

·      There was always a bit of wisdom or a lesson in every episode, and those lessons still hold up to this day.

·      Andy thinks the first 5 years of The Andy Griffith Show was the best programming in the history of television.

·      To this day, Andy and his family will still quote lines from the show to each other.

·      The show was still the number one show in the nation when Andy Griffith left it after eight years.

The show had a very natural sense of comedy.

·      Opie was funny in the way kids in real life are actually funny.

·      That’s not what kids on modern sitcoms are like. Now, they try to make the kids seem smarter than the adults and wittier than actual comedians.

Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) talked about the responsibility that people on television have for what they produce.

·      A.T. is finding that it’s harder and harder to find quality programming for his children on TV, especially because of what is shown on commercials now.

·      The Andy Griffith Show is a great alternative that families can still enjoy on TV.

·      The atmosphere and sense of community on the show is something that Andy and Polly are trying to create for the environment in which their boys grow up.

·      Andy really encourages moms and dads to get this show to watch with their family.

·      Season four is the best, and season three is awesome too.

Andy’s Top 10 episodes of all time:

·      “Citizen’s Arrest”

·      “The Pickle Story”

·      “Man in the Middle”

·      “Barney and the Governor”

·      “The Loaded Goat”

·      “Opie the Birdman” (one of the best father/son discipline moments of all time)

·      “Ernest T. Joins the Army”

·      “Mountain Wedding”

·      “Haunted House”

·      “A Black Day for Mayberry”

Questions for Listeners

·      Do you have an idea for a future show, or just a question you’d like Andy to answer? Let us know!

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

Pierce Marrs, the voiceover for In the Loop, is the guest on this week’s podcast. Pierce is a big part of what has made this podcast successful.

Pierce met Dan Miller (who has also been a guest on the podcast) about four years ago. He met A.T. through Dan.

·      Pierce is the person who first introduced A.T. to Andy’s books.

·      He told A.T. he had to get The Traveler’s Gift.

Pierce has been pretty much on his own since the age of 16 when his parents divorced.

·      Throughout his life, he has encountered “Jones”-like mentors who taught him to make good decisions.

·      Pierce has spent the last few years teaching people sales techniques and how to serve people.

·      He thinks serving people is becoming a lost art in our country.

·      Most people miss the idea that service is the key to success and leadership. It seems like a contradiction to most, but it’s not.

·      We are all in sales, regardless of our profession. We are all trying to get people to buy into something.

Sometimes our worst times become our best times.

·      The pits of our lives exist to make us become something better.

·      If you read about the lives of great people, you will discover that their greatness was born from situations in life they never would have chosen.

“Sales” isn’t about getting someone to buy something.

·      It’s about communicating a thought process to someone.

·      The goal is to put value into people’s lives, regardless of whether money is involved or not.

Pierce has started a new podcast about the television show Shark Tank.

·      The podcast came out of conversations Pierce was having with a high school friend after watching each episode of the show.

·      They discuss communication, sales, and leadership skills based on the concepts from the show.

·      This podcast is a great example of starting a business basically from nothing.

You can find Pierce at MarrsCoaching.com and VoiceFromMarrs.com. Check him out!

Questions for Listeners

·          What are you trying to “sell” to others? What techniques have proven successful?

o   Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY

o   E-Mail: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com

o   Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

o   Twitter.com/AndyAndrews