In the Loop with Andy Andrews

On this week's episode, I answer a listener question on how to identify a principle and overcome the doubt of making it work.   A principle is something that works every time. It’s the foundational truth. It’s not just true. It is the truth. Principles work whether you know of them or not. You don’t have to understand or even agree with it, but ignorance of principle is no protection from the consequences of violating that principle.   If you took a blind person who didn’t have any idea what an elephant was and you said, “Here’s an elephant. Make your determinations…” Well, if they are standing in the front and the person touched the trunk, they would say an elephant is kind of like a snake. If they grabbed onto a leg, they might say it’s like a tree trunk. Everything they said is true—it just wouldn’t be the truth. The more wisdom you gain about principles and the more you align with them in your life, the easier your life will become and the easier it will be to have a level of belief about where you’re going and what you want to do.   Tune in this week to hear an example we can all relate to about why our will is stronger than our emotional state.   Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, we’re celebrating the Christmas season by talking about some of my favorite (and not-so-favorite) traditions.   Tune in this week to hear about… Where the Andrews family will be for Christmas Jesus’s birthday party Austin’s and Adam’s letter to Santa Claus My favorite and least favorite Christmas foods Movies that I love (and some I’ve grown tired of) And last but not least, my favorite Christmas books and albums   I also wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas songs this year. It is Kenny Rogers performing the song Children, Go Where I Send Thee with a cappella group Home Free.   Merry Christmas!   Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com com/AndyAndrews com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about online resources that can help awaken the outdoorsman in you and your kids.   I am not a fly fisherman, but Adam has really become interested in it. He’ll go on YouTube and search for different fly fishing topics and show me what he’s learning. My favorite channel on YouTube is called GrowingDeer.tv If you’re a deer hunter, or really just an outdoorsman, it covers a lot of topics like feeding, nutrition, what to do with your land, predator control, etc. It’s produced by wildlife biologist Dr. Grant Woods and is a great testament to the spirit of entrepreneurship. I see such a great dad and husband in him. There are probably 40 or 50 hunting shows on TV, and GrowingDeer.tv on YouTube is by far better than any of them.   I can’t find anything to do with my sons that has more time attached to it or is more intimate than sitting in a box with nothing to do but talk. Deer hunting is different than fishing or bird hunting—you’ve got to be still and quiet. When you’re sitting shoulder to shoulder and whispering, there’s time to talk about things that might not normally come up or things that need time for you to think over to answer.   Some friends of ours have a farm that they hunt on, and over the past 20 years they’ve given away several thousand pounds of meat. My dad brought me up that if you do harvest an animal, you eat it or give it to a family in need. It’s great for families that don’t have anything, and there are drop-off places that hunters can take a deer to give away to families in need.   Tune in to hear the statistics on why a certain kind of meat (you can probably guess which one) is so healthy compared to beef and other popular meats.   ~~~~~ Side note: If you’ve experienced a problem with In The Loop updating on your podcast feed, simply unsubscribe and resubscribe to the feed. We ran into an issue several weeks back that caused some subscribers to lose connection with the most recent episodes. Thanks for listening and sorry for the inconvenience!   Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I talk about our family’s Thanksgiving traditions, and why it pays to express your gratefulness.   We almost always have Thanksgiving at our house. We’ve maybe only spent Thanksgiving away once or twice since the boys were born. The parade is always on. We don’t really sit and watch it, but we’re in and out of the room with the cooking and playing outside. I will smoke the turkey on the Kamado Joe and make “Cranberry Whomp.” Polly makes “Green” (which is a Jell-O salad), dressing (not to be confused with stuffing), and cornbread—plus other family members bring treats as well.   Gratefulness is a daily thing to express. Unexpressed gratefulness is not gratefulness. It’s an honorable way to live your life and it also has great benefits, too. People don’t understand that their lives would be so much easier, better, and more filled with opportunity if they just lived their lives expressing grate Learn to look for reasons to express your gratefulness. One of the things I learned when I was working regularly with the military is that on the holidays they will always prepare an empty place setting—symbolizing the kids whose mom or dad won’t be with them because they’re overseas or in H It’s one more way to remember how thankful we are that we’re all together and to remember them and thank them for their sacrifice for us.   Tune in to hear about a special deal for the listeners of this episode. Hint: it will help you develop an opportunity-attracting mindset—and save you $100 on a special item! ~~~~~ Side note: If you’ve experienced a problem with In The Loop updating on your podcast feed, simply unsubscribe and resubscribe to the feed. We ran into an issue several weeks back that caused some subscribers to lose connection with the most recent episodes. Thanks for listening and sorry for the inconvenience!   Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on overcoming faulty thinking, and taking action when someone close to you has pulled you down.   This is one of those things where the first step is clearing the negativity out of your mind and heart. Forgiveness is the reset button you’ve been given to take care of this. I cannot find any book or expert who says that for one person to forgive another person, the person being forgiven has to ask for it, deserve it, or even be aware that it’s happening. God made you with a certain level of skills, abilities, and talents, and for you to deny who you are is to deny the God who made you.   All the stuff that’s keeping you from being who you are isn’t your fault, it’s the fault of the negative people you’re dragging around with you. You truly need to cut them loose, and the only way that will happen is by choosing forgiveness. Remember, it’s about your thinking—and you can choose how you think. Make sure the people you surround yourself with are telling you the truth about who you are and what you can become. You may need to forgive yourself. People stay away from people they sense bitterness in.   Tune in to hear some ideas for easy entry points to forgiveness, and to learn the method Andy has found to forgive people inside and outside your life.   Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

  On this week’s episode, I discuss my family mission statement and how to come up with your own for your family or business.    I think it’s very necessary to have a mission statement for your family and business. A mission statement creates boundaries that allow you to play freely, create freely, and deal freely within those boundaries. You can learn where those boundaries are because all your activities and everything you do should fit within the boundaries of the mission statement. Questions to ask: Is this part of who I am, and who I am working to become? Is this part of my mission in life? If it’s not—it’s “outside the fence”—then to me, I don’t even have a decision to make.   Living your life according to a mission statement is a more narrowly focused version of living your life according to principles. A number of years ago when finances were very tight, Robert and I were offered a deal from a very famous beer company to put a sign behind me when performing at college campuses. The offer they made was more than we had made in the previous 2 years combined, but Robert and I made the decision in about 60 seconds—we had already decided we were not going to be a part of advertising alcohol. We hadn’t established a mission statement at that point, but we were establishing principles about how we were going to run our business.   Tune in to hear a breakdown of the Andrews family mission statement, to hear about an addiction Andy developed early in his life, and to hear Andy deliver a brilliant musical performance!  ~~~~~ Please share this email and this podcast with anyone who might benefit from hearing it! Side note: If you’ve experienced a problem with In The Loop updating on your podcast feed, simply unsubscribe and resubscribe to the feed. We ran into an issue several weeks back that caused some subscribers to lose connection with the most recent episodes. Thanks for listening and sorry for the inconvenience! Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on how parenting principles translate to respectfully dealing with the negative people in your business or personal life.   I don’t think distancing yourself from negative people is disrespectful. You can remain respectful and honoring of people by telling them the truth. People react negatively to us when we put them off or try to get away from them. I think it’s much more respectful to say, “Thank you so much for the opportunity, but I’m not going to be able to do it.”   Here is a great example that I’ve thought about for years: A friend of mine and I were standing outside of a hotel in Orlando and my friend had on a very cool hat. A kid about 12 years old walks up and says, “Hey, that’s a great hat. Can I have it?” My friend, cool as a cucumber says, “No, but thanks for asking. I appreciate it.” He said no, but I thought that was very respectful.   The things that you have on your priority list are the things that are making you who you are. If you spent all your time in situations that you shouldn’t be in, you would not be the kind of person these people want to be with in the first place. I think your very first responsibility is to God. Your second responsibility is to your family. You cannot allow somebody else’s crazy thinking to infect yours.   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Tune in to hear about the piano prodigy we had visit our office this week who’s played on SIXTY Number One hit songs!   Side note: If you’ve experienced a problem with In The Loop updating on your podcast feed, simply unsubscribe and resubscribe to the feed. We ran into an issue several weeks back that caused some subscribers to lose connection with the most recent episodes.   Thanks for listening and sorry for the inconvenience!   Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about how Polly and I determined the names of our boys; we also discuss how incorrect writing can become your style. We all have seen names where we think, “What in the world? Did you not think this through for a second?” I love names, but there are some that should no longer be in use (you don’t see any little Attilas running around anymore). You don’t want to name your kids: Something someone is going to make fun of. A name that has a weird connotation. Something they’ll have to spell out for the rest of their lives.   I told Polly that she can name the boys whatever she wants, but they have to start with an “A.” We always liked “Austin,” and his middle name, Gray, was one of my grandfathers’ names. When Adam was about 9 years old, he asked where his name came from. It just came out of my mouth: “Well buddy, we named you Adam because it must be God’s favorite name.”   The second question I’m answering in this episode is, what advice do you have for young writers on how to perfect their craft? This sounds silly, but one of the major things to do is to write. I don’t know any profession that doesn’t benefit from repetition and deep thought. What others may see as incorrect may develop into a style. For instance, because I try to write in a conversational way, I’ll sometimes start a sentence with “And…” Editors used to mark this out, but now they leave it because they understand that’s part of my style.   Tune in to hear about a family that named their son after a character from one of Andy’s books, and find out what milestone an Andrews family member just reached. And please share this free content with any family, friends, or co-workers who might be inspired by it!   Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I talk about how to cast a vision for your marriage, family, and finances.   Casting a vision is critical. This is a very powerful tool, and if you’re not doing this with your family, you’re missing out. You don’t just stumble your way into greatness and awesome results. I sat down with Austin when he was 13 and asked, “Have you ever noticed how many kids are alike in what they do after graduating school?” There are variations on the theme, but people pretty much do the same (usually average) things and get the same (usually average) results. You must visualize a long-term target to shoot for.   A lot of people say “I’m just doing the best I can” when asked where they’re going in life. Doing the best you can is not a standard. That effort and direction can vary by the hour and does not get you anywhere specific. You want your life to instead be an arrow with kinetic energy that will force its way into places that others would not get into. Whatever you believe your potential to be, you’ll never achieve beyond it because that belief is so powerful.   Tune in to hear the method and questions to ask yourself that will help you cast a complete vision for all aspects of your life.   Questions for Andy  Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on how I’ve chosen not to focus on being a victim and how you, too, can keep away from this mentality.   There are challenging things happening in all our lives that give us the opportunity to “check out.” However, you can choose what mentality you focus on. There isn’t really a how. You either choose your mentality or you do not.   Society continues to believe that choice is the foundation of everything we do. That is like flipping a coin if you don’t know the foundation of what a good choice is or why choices yield certain results. Your thinking is the foundation. Every choice you’ll ever make is based on it. Because you have free will, you can choose how you think by deciding who you spend time with, what you read or watch, and what you spend time thinking about. Choosing your thinking requires you to act against your instincts.   I have never seen an incredible leader who was not incredible at leading themselves. You have been created with a will that is stronger than your emotions. You have been created with the ability to act a certain way despite how you feel.   Tune in to the episode to hear the songs Andy turns on when he needs to hear something that brings up fun memories.   And please share this free content with any family, friends, or co-workers who would be inspired by it!   Questions for Andy  Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: InTheLoop@AndyAndrews.com Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on what to do when someone asks for a letter of recommendation when you wouldn’t recommend them.   How authentic are we going to be in our lives? This dials down into who we are as much as who they are. There is pain and confrontation that could be avoided, but should it? There is the opportunity for retreat or deceit. This is an odd situation that many of us have found ourselves in.   When we are asked to write a letter of recommendation for someone we absolutely love, we’re excited and we start thinking of other ways we could possibly help. Think about your Would you like somebody to throw a hand grenade into it? When we write a letter of recommendation and that person fails miserably because of a character flaw or bad habits, it’s not just them who gets the bad mark—it’s you.   What kind of people are you wanting to be around, and who are you wanting to become? If this person is someone you would not recommend for a job, they’re probably more of an acquaintance, or at least someone you shouldn’t be spending a lot of time with anyway. You have the opportunity to tell the truth with concern, love, and the possibility of their life being set on a different, more positive course.   Tune in to hear how the response you receive from someone you wouldn’t recommend ultimately determines whether that person is wise or foolish.   Questions for Andy  Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us 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 talk about a football player who impacted my life, and a new movie about his life that you should see with your family this fall.   When I was in high school, we were across town from another high school named Woodlawn. We had heard about racially motivated riots there and how some of the kids had to be bussed into school. During the football season, I became aware of a student on Woodlawn’s team named Tony Nathan. He was unbelievable—a running back no one could stop. In the fall of my 10th grade year I would get the newspaper every Saturday and read the articles about Tony.   They announced that undefeated Woodlawn would play Banks, another undefeated powerhouse, in the playoffs. The game would be played at Legion Field where at the time Auburn and Alabama played each other every year. I talked my dad into going, and when we got there, 20,000 people must have been standing outside the gate. They delayed the game so they could keep bringing people in; once we got in, you could see lines of cars stuck on the interstate. There were 40,000 people in the stadium, 20,000 were turned away, and they estimated another 40,000 were stuck on the interstate.   The upcoming movie Woodlawn centers around the whole Woodlawn team’s spiritual awakening around this time and has so many lessons for the whole family. It’s really not a football movie. It’s built around a football team, but it’s a movie about family, decisions, hardship, and overcoming. You will want your teenagers to see this. The only reason I would talk about this on the podcast is because I think it will be a great resource for your family.   Click here to learn more about the major motion picture Woodlawn, in theaters October 16, 2015, and tune in to the podcast to hear more from Andy about his personal connection with the film.

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about the “treasure chest” that Polly and I have for our boys.   The boys know that we have treasure chests for them, and it’s something we will probably give them when they are around 21. The treasure chest has things that they will need to know or want to have. They don’t get to go in these chests, but I’ll occasionally show them something that’s going inside, or tease that something has been added.   When you have some kind of awesome family moment, take something from that place and write a note explaining what it is. Wrap it up and put it in a box. When you’re gone, instead of having a vague memory of that day, your kids will having something tangible—a treasure. There are very few things that I have of my parents, who passed within months of each other when I was young. I can picture my dad’s handwriting, but I don’t have any of it. It will be very important and comforting for the boys to know how much we loved them; the “treasures” make it obvious that we thought about them all the time.   Tune in to hear about some of the books, recordings, and other items we have already added—but don’t tell Austin or Adam!   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 com/AndyAndrews com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I talk about why it’s important to let your kids make mistakes, and how “treading water” in life means you’re not only failing to get ahead but actually losing ground.   Not too long ago the boys had a movie they brought to me and asked if they could watch it. I looked at it and kind of paused before saying, “yes, you can watch it.” As they walked away I said, “You can watch it if you want to.” They stopped and of course wondered why I said it like that. I told them that we choose what we watch and read, and we also choose what we won’t watch and read. How we think becomes who we are. The movie wasn’t really good or bad, just a time-waster. But in the current of life you’re either swimming upstream or you are being swept away. If you’re just treading water, you’re headed downstream.   We want our kids to grow up to be productive, influential, and purposeful adults. Sometimes it’s okay to let our kids lose money or time. It’s much better that they learn these things at a younger age when we as parents can be there with the net to catch them.   Tune in to the full episode to hear the direction I intentionally face in my office, and who is always looking down on me from my office ceiling.   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 com/AndyAndrews com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer two listener questions on how fear shapes your life and how to balance belief in yourself against pride.   I find many instances indicating that God can use tragedy and bad choices to fulfill His purposes, but I don’t find any evidence that God decides to make you scared. The times that I have been scared have usually been instances that I’ve kind of brought on myself. I can’t imagine God would say “Fear not” so many times but still try to instill fear in us anyway.   Adam started at a new school this year and he was fearful. I talked to him about purpose and we broke down all the things he might have to be fearful of. When he came home from school I asked how it was and he said it was different. I said, “Good different?” He said, “It was.” So, if it’s different, and it’s good, then it’s probably better.   The old saying is that God made you with a purpose. If you’re out there speaking thoughts and truths that you’ve spent time struggling with, you’re wide open to criticism. But if He made you that way—with a purpose—then He believes in you. And if you believe in Him then you believe in His creation...yourself.   Tune in to the full episode to hear Andy tell a story about the night former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer was elected into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.   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