The Principle of the Path

How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

By: Andy Stanley

Narrated by: Jon Gauger

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

©2021 Andy Stanley (P)2021 Thomas Nelson

Practical and Challenging!

This is one of the most challenging books I’ve read. One simple message. I really appreciate the way Andy is kind of a straight forward author. Just say it like it is brother! Also, I know Jon Gauger is the best reader of an audio book I’ve ever listened to. Kept my attention big time!

Principle not laws

Firstly, the narrator was very engaging. This really helped the book to move along. Second, the examples Andy provided really brought home the points made in the book. It was not redundant, and every chapter built on the last to produce a cohesive argument for the truth of this principle. Would recommend to people with a Christian background as well as interfaith people who may not relate to the scriptures, but may relate to the stories.

Great Reminder that every decision counts

Loved this book from page 1. Life doesn’t just happen to us. We have choices every day and those decisions put us on a path. Wisdom and keeping our eye on the implications of today’s decisions for the future is critical.

God has a great sense of humor.

My son is being given a second chance and one of the conditions to finishing what he started is to read this book and write a 500 word essay about what he had learned from it. I titled this review “ God has a sense of humor” because my son has always had a difficult time reading and writing. Having a read a 200+ page book and write a 500 word essay was worse than death itself, to him. So I decided to listen to the book on audible and found it very inviting and pleasant to listen to. I loved all the references back to the Bible all the stories from the Bible and stories from his life it just made it so real and will hit home with my son. I had no idea that this was a Christian based book and to my pleasant surprise how fitting this book is for my son at this moment in his life. He hasn’t begun it yet but I told him that he will carry this lesson through his entire life. Gods plans are not our plans and I pray my son will not only use these lessons but share them.

Grateful or my book club (danielsden)

I am in this book club and very grateful because I would not have stumbled on such a helpful book on my own. This book has helped me relocate what matters to God in my life and set a new principle in my relational spiritual ,financial and professional path . Again grateful!

great book

I am going to pay my teenage son to read this. It will be money well spent!

Simple, powerful, practical

In retrospect, the principle of the path is quite obvious (essentially that every choice we make is not isolated, but rather a step in specific direction, down a path that will lead somewhere and the outcome is generally predictable based on the path we choose), but having it framed this way and explored in detail really impacted me. I bought a few paperback copies of this book - one for myself to reread, highlight, study, and implement in my life, and one to give a friend who I believe could also benefit from it’s wisdom. I would highly recommend this book. It’s well thought out and concise.

Good stuff, but redundant at times.

Worth the read. I would suggest for those stuck in their ways and keep getting poor results. I did enjoy the comment about "paying the cost" and what it means to indeed "pay."

Wisdom

This book contains practical wisdom for evaluating your paths in life; spiritual, financial, occupational, etc. Not surprisingly, most of us are on at least one path that does not lead us to our desired destination. Stanley offers deep and sound reasonings for why we are so off track and practical solutions for getting on course. One nugget is to seek wise counsel from those who are where we want to be. Why don’t we all do this? Pride. We don’t like being told what to do. We don’t like being wrong. We want to delude ourselves into thinking we are right. I wasted too much time and energy on wrong courses and I greatly value this book, Stanley’s clear writing, meaningful examples and time tested solutions will resonate with many audiences.

Great Book…

Very interesting perspectives…second read…I have questions about some of his suggested ideals…we are where we are…but our story is not finished until it’s over…plant the equivalent seed…for external life. This is not the end…just a stop on the journey for eternity…and this stop does determine what that looks like….As a believer I know that this is the “setup” strategy…upward movement…if we remember that works itself can’t get us there…