The Principle of the Path: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be [Paperback]

Andy Stanley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2011

Not where you want to be? 

Wondering how to get there?

Why is it that smart people with admirable life goals often end up far from where they intended to be? Why is it that so many people start out with a clear mental picture of where they want to be relationally, financially, and professionally and yet years later

find themselves far from their desired destination? Why do our expectations about our own future often go unmet? 

What if you knew the answer to those questions? What if there was one simple idea that explained why so many people get lost along the way?

There is. It’s called the principle of the path. And not only does it explain the disappointment and regret that characterize the lives of so many, it provides a way for you to be the exception.

As you are about to discover, the principle of the path is at work in your life every single day. Once embraced, this compelling principle will empower you to identify and follow the path that leads to your desired destination. And this same principle will enable you to avoid life-wasting detours along the way.

“If you’re ready to break the bad habits, bad behaviors, and bad decisions that have been leading you into trouble, you need Andy Stanley’s The Principle of the Path.”

–Dave Ramsey, host of The Dave Ramsey Show

and best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andy Stanley is a pastor, communicator, author, and the founder of North Point Ministries, Inc. (NPM). Each Sunday, more than 30,000 people attend worship services at one of NPM’s five Atlanta-area campuses: Buckhead Church, Browns Bridge Community Church, Gwinnett Church, North Point Community Church, and Watermarke Church. Andy’s books include When Work and Family Collide and The Grace of God. Andy and his wife, Sandra have three teenagers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849946360
• ISBN-13: 978-0849946363
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (286 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andy Stanley is a pastor, communicator, author, and the founder of North Point Ministries (NPM). Since its inception in 1995, North Point Ministries has grown from one church to five in the Atlanta area and has developed a global network of more than 30 churches. Each Sunday, more than 33,000 people attend worship services at NPM's five Atlanta-area churches: Browns Bridge Community Church, Buckhead Church, Gwinnett Church, North Point Community Church, and Watermarke Church.

Andy's books include the recently released Deep & Wide, as well as Enemies of the Heart, The Grace of God, The Next Generation Leader, and How Good Is Good Enough? Andy and his wife, Sandra, live in Alpharetta, Georgia, and have three children.

For more information about Andy Stanley and North Point Ministries, visit www.northpointministries.org.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#70 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#70 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate Self Help Book March 29, 2009

By W. Easley TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

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.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you want to get unstuck? August 16, 2009

By Tony Morgan

Format:Hardcover

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Encouragement for the New Year January 2, 2010

By M. Nightingale

Format:Hardcover

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.