54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimate Self Help Book, March 29, 2009
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If you could relive your life, what would you change? More importantly, how would you change? Andy Stanley, in The Principle of the Path, gives us a blueprint for a successful life.
This book is not what I expected. When I read that Andy Stanley is a highly successful preacher and pastor in Atlanta, I thought this volume would be full of sermonizing but it is not. Instead, Stanley writes in a conversational style full of stories and humor. This is an easy, delightful narrative that is like chatting over coffee with a good friend.
The Principle of the Path is a self help book for life. Pastor Stanley shares with us his single guiding principle for success and serenity in life. He begins with a relevant story from his own life, explains the principle and then leads us toward implementing that truth in our own lives. Stanley's applications can be useful in our relationships, our finances, our career, and even our parenting.
The wisdom is subtle. When I first read the "Principle" I thought it was a bit simplistic, but the more I read the more profound it became. The Principle and its application is brilliant but practical. Although the author is a Christian minister and often refers to scripture, this book would be useful for anyone who wants to lead a better life. The wisdom is universal.
I highly recommend The Principle of the Path. This has a very valuable message. I intend to give this book to my closest friends.
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do you want to get unstuck?, August 16, 2009
I finished Andy Stanley's most recent book, The Principle of the Path, last week. Andy is one of those guys that seems to have figured out how to get from here to there, so I figured I'd read his book about how to get from where I am to where I want to be.
Here are some of the highlights from my reading:
* "To get from where we don't want to be to where we do want to be requires two things: time and a change of direction."
* "Direction-not intentions, hopes, dreams, prayers, beliefs, intellect, or education-determines destination."
* "We should break the habit of drawing a circle around individual decisions and events and dismissing them as isolated occurrences. These are steps. Steps that lead somewhere."
* "Prudent people look as far down the road as possible when making decisions."
* "Christians start talking about forgiveness as if somehow forgiveness serves as an escape hatch from the outcome of bad decisions."
* "When happiness points in one direction while wisdom, truth, integrity, and common sense point in another, that's when really smart people start doing really stupid things."
* "Your heart can't be trusted... The truth is, if you let it, your heart will direct you down a path that leads to the very spot you most want to avoid."
* "The choices are now. The outcomes are later. The decisions you make today have ramifications down the road."
* "One never accomplishes the will of God by breaking the law of God, violating the principles of God, or ignoring the wisdom of God."
* "I am constantly amazed at how resistant folks are to take their cues from people who are where they want to be."
* "We don't drift in good directions. We discipline and prioritize ourselves there."
Simple principles in this book, but their implications have an enormous impact on the outcomes of our lives.
I encourage you to pick up the book. I'm leaving lots of great quotes and stories out of this post. Among other things, I cracked up when I read Andy's version of "The Italian Job"...and it made me want to visit Italy that much more.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Encouragement for the New Year, January 2, 2010
Andy Stanley is the senior pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.
His book, The Principle of the Path: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is the ultimate self-help book. To be honest, I normally can't stand books like this. I just find them to be simplistic. I feel like the authors are talking down to me.
But there was something different about this book. Maybe it just hit me at the right time. His point is this: Good intentions are all well and good, but in the end it's the PATH you take that determines where you end up. Am I on the right path?
Am I following the right map? Are my fellow travelers going where I want to go? What changes in direction to I need to make in order to end up in the right place?
Proverbs 3:5-6 says it well: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
I've heard it said that my systems are perfectly tuned to get the results that I'm getting right now. I've also heard it said that insanity is doing the same things again and again and expecting different results.
Sounds like a simple concept, and it is. But I found it to be a challenging and encouraging read. It's the perfect thing to remember as we start a new year.
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