Book Review: The Principle of the Path

Andy Stanley is a favorite author of mine. He’s the pastor of a church down in Atlanta, but he writes from a very personal level that is very real, drawn from personal expertise, and much more helpful than your typical self-help book.

(Sidebar: One of my favorite books that Andy has written a book for busy business leaders struggling with work-life balance, and it’s provocatively called “Choosing to Cheat.” Perhaps I’ll blog about that book at some point, but it’s a great read, too.)

In “Principle of the Path,” Andy makes the case that our intentions have no measurable affect on the outcome of our lives, but rather the choices we make and the paths we put ourselves on do instead.

And how true is that? We’ve seen so many people who were smart, had admirable goals in life, and ended up a long ways away from where they intended to be. Not to single people out, but Governors Rod Blagojevich (corruption) and Mark Sanford (cheating on his wife) come to mind.

I doubt either of those governors intended to be where they are today, but a long time ago, they made tiny decisions that set them on a path to their current outcome.

And that’s Andy’s point: intentions matter little. The path you’re on determines where you end up. So make wise decisions about the paths you take, and you have a much greater chance of ending up where you want to go.

» Find “The Principle of the Path” on Amazon