In the Loop with Andy Andrews

On this week’s episode, I discuss the little-known benefit of the hard times in our lives—and how my greatest struggles led me to my most important realizations.

During the time I was living under the pier and reading biographies, I was graphing out in my mind what had worked to make these people turn out like they did.

• I was at a point in my life when I had a tough time with, “Is there more?”
• I thought, were these people born this way, or was it something they did? What did they do and how long did it take them to do it?
• After reading that many of them, you start to realize the things these people have in common.
• I realized they weren’t habits, or theories, or really even mine. But I saw that they worked every time, and that they were principles.
• I began to think what happens to somebody who knows all seven?

A lot of people don’t understand there is huge value in tough times.

• To back this up this statement, my idea for the Seven Decisions came from a horrible time in my own life.
• I would not have read these biographies had I not been living under a pier.
• When you’re struggling in a certain area, you build muscle in that area. For the rest of your life, you are able to call upon that muscle.
• Tough times can often force us into different ways of thinking.

The situations that have been the biggest wins for me have been because I was forced to think differently.

• If everything were always in our control, none of us would ever struggle.
• The “worst” thing can actually turn out to be the greatest thing that ever happened to you, but ONLY if you allow it.

If you know people who would benefit from Andy’s books or materials, this episode would be a great one to share. It’s a great entry point to get people up to speed on who Andy is and what he wants to help you accomplish. Take a moment and forward this episode to a friend!

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

In previous episodes, I’ve talked about how you can only achieve the level of success that you truly believe. This week, I’ll tell you how you can expand this level of belief.

When you have an expanded level of belief in yourself, it allows you a different level of belief in others.

• Money is a very easy way to provide a gauge.
• I’ve found that if you can expand your level of belief in other areas, your money goes up—largely because you have become more valuable to other people.

Sometimes people ask if I really believe that anyone can be successful.

• I don’t just believe it. I know you can.
• I know that because I was the guy in the ditch.
• Do you think God made any person thinking they’ll never be able to do anything, or thinking they’ll be a failure from the beginning? No.

There is a huge level of belief that you can grab ahold of, but it will come about by shaping how you think.

• Your beliefs are totally governed by how you think.
• How you think is determined by what you subject yourself to (books, movies, people you spend time with).
• Choose wisely what goes into your mind and your presence.

Your level of belief will not be expanded in a day. It will be expanded daily.

• I think expanding your belief has to do with your relationship with God and your purpose.
• You should spend time determining what will move you forward and what things you can ease out of your life.

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I talk about passion, procrastination, and how they will shape your future.

I believe passion is a lot like momentum.

•When you have momentum, you perform better than normal.

•You produce at a level far beyond what you normally would if we measured you.

•When you lack momentum, you produce at a lower level than normal.

•People don’t generally stay on a level playing field. They either have momentum or they don’t.

I see people who have amazing abilities and opportunities but they won’t get out of their own way.

•They will not discipline themselves.

•Overcoming procrastination is saying, “I’m not going to live my life according to a feeling. I’m not going to let a feeling dictate the way I act. Instead, I’m going to let the way I act dictate my feelings.”

What do you like to do more than anything in the world?

•Can you make yourself do something you don’t want to do for a little while to get something you’d like to have for the rest of your life?

•Would it be worth it to you if for three years you never do some things that you like to do, but at the end of those three years you can do whatever you want whenever you want?

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: [email protected]

•Facebook.com/AndyAndrews

•Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, David Loy has several holiday related questions for Andy,

Listen in to hear Andy’s answers to:

• What is your favorite Christmas carol?
• Who is the most unique family member from your childhood?
• What’s your favorite Thanksgiving and New Years food?
• What’s your favorite indoor and outdoor holiday activities?
• Do you own any tacky pieces of holiday clothing?
• What’s your favorite tradition from when you were a kid?
• What’s the topper on your tree?
• What is your favorite gift you’ve ever received?
• What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

In this episode, I talk about selfishness, and how it can keep you and everyone around you from growing.

One of the top three most important things Jones ever told me was, “Most people live their entire lives and never understand that you can’t always believe everything you think.”

• I received a call a few months ago from a company that lost one of their executives to another company offering more money, and it was a big problem.
• The company let him go because they wouldn’t match the offer for a reason that they may think is true, but it’s not.
• I think if Moses spent more time on the mountain he would have come back with the 11th decision, “Thou shalt not kid thyself.”

The truth isn’t that they couldn’t match the offer; the truth is that they chose not to match the offer.

• The deeper issue is… what is in your belief system or plans for the future that causes you to choose not to match that offer?
• Did that person start developing bad habits or peak with what they were bringing to the company?

You want to increase your value, but watch the people you work with and keep an eye on their value.

• As an example let’s say that you’ve made $100,000 for many years.
• There is an opportunity to bring someone new to the team, but they will be making $350,000.
• In turn, they bring enough value to raise your salary to $175,000.
• Don’t let jealousy get in the way of something that could be great for the company and great for you.
• The bottom line is there are many ways to increase your value.

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I discuss when to eliminate negative people from your life.

We hear that we need to eliminate negative people from our lives.

• Yet, if we know that we are consistently negative, we certainly hope everybody is not eliminating us.

What if Jones eliminated negative people from his life?

• He would have certainly eliminated me.
• But Jones didn’t have to consider dropping me from his life.
• He had moved so far beyond where I was that I had no influence on him at all.
• His challenge with me was figuring out how to say things to me so that I could understand them and so they would resonate with me.

When I was living under the pier, I really needed to eliminate the negative influences in my life.

• I had to determine which people always acted negatively.
• If they were both looking and thinking, I could be friends with those people safely.
• There are people at a very high level of success, and I’m looking to spend more time with them and watch them carefully.
• There are also some people who are just beginning that journey. Those people would not affect me in a negative way, and maybe I could be a Jones to them.

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on staying positive day in and day out.

We’ve talked about this a lot but I really believe that our thinking is the foundation of everything that we become.

• It’s what we accomplish.
• It’s who we are.
• It’s the family we raise.
• It’s the society in which we live.

Frankly, I’m not always positive.

• It’s something that I want to be, but I don’t want to be an idiot.
• I want to be positive because I’ve figured out the version of the truth that I want to live my life with.
• What I mean by “version of the truth” is that sometimes, people are able to look at the same thing and get two totally conclusions, but in a way both of them are true.

A huge thing for me is to have a long view of time.

• A long view of time will generally yield a more positive way of looking at things that is more hopeful, more peaceful for you and your family, and absolutely true.
• When you have a long view of time, you can see the truth easier.

If you feel people are looking to you for everything, I would imagine it’s because you’ve been successful in the past at providing perspective about a situation that was true.

• Jones always told me that if a perspective is well thought out and true, it is life changing.
• In crazy moments, you have to go back to the truth.

There are huge benefits to issues, problems, and failures. You are building a story.

• A story will tell you the truth about what happened.
• What happened will yield a historical record.
• A historical record produces a longer view of time.
• And a longer view of time will reveal how you really need to handle something.

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on the difference between discipline and punishment.

Before getting into that I have a quick story:

• A few weeks ago, I was getting ready to head out of town and Polly asked, “Have you seen Carver?” Now he’s a huge standard black poodle, and it’s unusual not to see him for a few hours.
• As I’m about to leave, Polly says that they found him. He was under the garage with Skippy, our outdoor cat. It turns out the cat was sick, and Carver been under there with it for hours taking care of it.
• Polly took Skippy to the vet and he didn’t make it, but it’s amazing how intelligent these dogs can be.
• These moments can be times to talk to your kids about death, and give them comfort with how small of an amount of time they will be without someone in the grand scheme of eternity.

So, what is the difference between discipline and punishment?

• Discipline is what you are creating in a child.
• Punishment is a necessary part of discipline to get to an end result that you want, which is that this person doesn’t have to be punished or disciplined again because they now understand the concept of self-discipline.
• King Solomon said, “Discipline a child while he is young, or YOU will ruin his life.”

You want to make sure that a child knows to obey now, and if they are outside the circle of discipline then there will be a punishment.

• When you make sure the child knows to obey, there will come a time that you can say, “stop” and they stop. Subconsciously, this child is aware that they stopped but that they still want to continue moving forward.
• Subconsciously, this child is beginning to connect that they can make themselves do something that they don’t want to do, to get a result they want…not be punished.
• That is the very beginning of a thought process leading to self-discipline.

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I discuss money and the influence it should have on your parenting style.

How does the amount of money you have (or don’t have) affect your parenting style?

• Obviously both can create issues and both have to do with the thinking of the parents.
• If you have more money, there are more places you can go or vacation, but that stuff isn’t necessary under the umbrella of “parenting.”
• Our goal is to raise kids who become great adults.
• I’ve seen situations where having a lot of money created more problems with kids than situations where money was scarce.

Austin just turned 15, and he was aware at 10 years old that he would be buying his own car.

• I’ve talked with him a lot about why it is important for him.
• He understands that we are after him having an awesome adult life.

For a child to become a great adult, it’s easier to reach your potential if you have the confidence that you are capable of doing things yourself.

• That will give you some pride (not in the egotistical way).
• And generally, if you buy a car yourself, you take better care of it.

As far as parenting, I really believe that our quality time, and even our gifts, do NOT have to be about having money.

• I urge you to find something that your kids love to do, that you can not only do with them, but it’s also something that causes you to wait.
• If you can somehow get them interested in the woods and the water, that will bring a lot of opportunities to sit.
• It teaches us to be patient and that we don’t always catch something, but we can always have an awesome time. Catching something is just a bonus.
• The last thing about this is you want to have time with your children that they can sit and think of questions to ask you and you can sit and think about your answers. That doesn’t come in any other setting.

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews

On this week’s episode, I give some advice to a family with two boys gifted in different ways, and I give suggestions on how the parents can help guide them to the right career paths.

My wife says I have been gifted with being able to remember every single thing I’ve ever seen or heard, and I do have one very odd gift that I will display on occasion.

• I can listen to someone and repeat almost instantly what they are saying with some of the inflections and barely miss a beat.
• My teachers used to say my mouth could run by itself.

Isn't it odd how the same parents can raise children the same way, but they still can turn out so different?

• I try to direct my boys toward thinking about the benefits of being brothers.
• “You will always have each other, and being different is a good thing. You can fill the empty spaces that the other one has.”

When it comes to picking a career path, take a breath.

• When I was twenty, I was living under a pier.
• I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be working, but I thought I was supposed to be a veterinarian, then a comedian, then a businessperson, now…
• You could probably say about me that I haven’t identified a main career path yet.

For teens and young adults having trouble identifying the direction they want to go in, ask them these questions (if it won’t discourage them):

• What is it that you just love, and if money were no object what would you get up and do everyday?
• What value does that have for other people?
• And when you figure that out, prove it by getting out there and doing it.
• If you can do this, you will never be without work again.

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: [email protected]
• Facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• Twitter.com/AndyAndrews