With honesty, humility and humor, Andy Stanley helps us connect our thinking to the direction we set for our lives. In The Principle of the Path a relatively short and easy to read book he tackles the complex issues of decision making and life direction and clarifies it for us in a way that is both accessible and motivating. The major theme of the book is the well packaged phrase “Direction -- not intention -- determines our destination.” The basic idea is that often we (basically smart people) end up far from where we intended to be originally. Andy suggests that we tend to make a lot of little decisions that end up placing us on the wrong path headed in the wrong decision. Our direction, not our good intentions, determines our destination.
I read this book while doing some traveling on a plane, and I was a little bit embarrassed by the “self help” look of the cover and title, but The Principle of the Path has helped me slow down from my harried pace and reflect on the parts of my life that need to be adjusted. The parts that if I don’t adjust are going to cause me to end up at a very different destination than I intended. The principles in this book apply to all parts of life; relationship, health, parenting, marriage, work, church and more.
The Principle of the Path would be a insightful and challenging book for someone who needs to reevaluate the direction their life is headed. But, if what you want is a straight up leadership book then I recommend Andy’s The Next Generation Leader for a more helpful read before jumping to this one.