The Principle of the Path: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (Hardcover)

~ Andy Stanley (Author)
Key Phrases: prudent see danger, happiness quest, seen that coming, King Solomon, Old Testament (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Your Direction, not Your Intention, Determines Your Destination.

There is often a tension between where we want to end up in life and the path we choose to get there. We fail to see that having good intentions is never good enough. Like Charlie Brown, we wrongly believe there's something to be said for trying hard. We need to understand why, in spite of our good intentions, we may have ended up at the wrong destination with our finances, our marriages, our careers, or a host of other dreams. So how do we get from where we are to where we truly want to be? The Principle of the Path is a road map to proper direction and discipline.

Includes Extensive Study Guide.

About the Author

Andy Stanley is a pastor, communicator, author, and the founder of North Point Ministries, Inc. (NPM). Since its inception in 1995, North Point Ministries has grown from one campus to three in the Atlanta area, and has helped plant fourteen strategic partner churches throughout the United States. Each Sunday, over 20,000 adults attend worship services at one of NPM’s three campuses. Andy’s books include It Came From Within, Communicating for a Change, Making Vision Stick, and The Next Generation Leader. Andy lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, with his wife, Sandra, and their three children.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849920604
• ISBN-13: 978-0849920608
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (164 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,761 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	W. Easley "Opa" (Colorado Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

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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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Tony Morgan (Anderson, SC USA) - See all my reviews

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.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Bible-based Advice, March 27, 2009

By	TexanInWashington (Monroe, WA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

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When I first received this book and looked at the author's photo on the back, inside flap, he looked quite young, and when I read that he was a pastor, I have to admit that I thought, "Oh boy, this is going to be another book by someone that is advising far beyond his understanding."

This preconceived notion was totally wrong in this case. I was VERY impressed with Andy Stanley as an author! He has a flowing, intriguing style of writing that makes you finish an entire chapter in one sitting when you planned to only read four or five pages at a time. The author has numerous stories of his own to highlight his points, but most stories in this book draw from scripture, particularly the Old Testament, and even more particularly, the king of Israel, David.

I would say that the biggest surprise with this book was that it was so entirely Bible-based, but, if you've ever read the Bible at all, even if you aren't particularly religious, you must admit that it is full of wisdom and is certainly an excellent source to draw from.

This book is wonderful, because IT doesn't convict you, or accuse you, or show you your missteps. You come to realize them on your own as you acknowledge the universal truths laid out. For instance, one of the most important, simple facts pointed out in this book that I never had given enough thought to is that paths lead to wherever they end up, and that path followed ends in the same place for everybody that takes it. The author gives an excellent example of when, in his youth, he and a friend decided to go ahead and cruise down an unfinished, barricaded section of highway, only to be warned off and stopped by another person shortly before they reached the unfinished bridge over a swamp! It would not have mattered if the person that disregarded that barricade and charged ahead had been rich, poor, Christian, atheist, young, or old - that path ended in a plunge into a swamp for whomever took it to its completion.

The author points out that paths are unbreakable principles. They are no respecter of persons. This also applies to the positive aspects of life. No matter who you are or how unlucky you have considered yourself in the past, if you follow a path that ends in a good result, when you arrive, you will reap those good things, because that is where the path leads to, for everybody! As Andy Stanley says, cars, computers, lawnmowers - things - have problems that can be fixed, but generally speaking, people have directions that need to be changed.

Perhaps the most important, single quote in this book is:
"Direction - not intention - determines your destination."

This book is an excellent read! It's advice gets entirely centered on doing the will of God for your life by the time you're about halfway through the book, and that is perfectly fine! That is the most important thing anyone can do. However, this may come as a total surprise if you came upon this book by linking from more business-centered success titles in your shopping. I give it four stars because I think the book should be more clearly advertised as what it is: a religion-centered, deep look at yourself. As long as you know that is what you are getting, it's a five-star read. Indeed, seeking a purely secular success book versus a religiously-enriching, self-examination book such as this may be a clear indication of one of these life paths the reader has set himself on. Are you seeking the path to riches or seeking the path to richness? If you're seeking the latter, this book will enrich your life.