Seven Decisions Interview - Andy Andrews

self developmentAndy: Writing is definitely noremy fbcus now than the other partsofmy carcer Howevet I'm ableto blend them together; I speak allover the world now, and most ofwhat I'm speaking about is theseprinciples. And even in my previousexistence as a comedian, I couldtakc the principles and lay themout in a palatable way for people,not too scriously, but in a way th^tpeoplc are able to laugh at certainsituations they recognise from theirown lives, and doing it in a fun andconver'sationalway,(htilititrc: Ilt^ &) pu t..t..;trfutllrl4in!u It ftlltttr IttLLtrr?Andy: I de6ne it as living my lifeir hannony wilh the dircction inwhich I bclicve I'm supposed 10 behcadcd. My persotal measure ofsucccss is thAt it is not a destiration- il is an ongoing process - theprocess ofbecoming a better t'ather,ofbccoming a bettcr husband,ofbecoming a wiser and morevaluable friend, and b€coming abetter communicator for the peoplewho might Iook forward to, or evendepend on the work that I do. So it isa proccss olbecoming rathcr than adcstination for me.Chrirtitlt: Whut t( ttu n)tli t)tlit)tlLtn t t h i ng,t tt ) .\'t ) i v nu. l i /c 1Andy: My fa,nily is most i,nportantto me - my family is my connectionChtistine: IYhdt en you tell ,teubot nt ec I i ng i n lhte n I i o I peop le.su(h 0.t pasid0tx and liliknt'Andyr One oithe things that Ialways try to do is ask questions,because it seems to me thatas adults, parents, supervisorsand suchlike we spend a lot oftrmc answering questions, andifI'm around people who haveaccomplished something, I try toremembel that the quality ofnlyanswers will be detennined by thequality ofmy questions. So I tryto ask things thal will allow me toleam something that's beyond them,something that's inside them. So Iask them questions like "ltlr.r/ s Ir?.t'irst thing you do when yu u'akep in the tnorning?" "What do youdo v,hen lou re depressed?" Howdo loa put lo|r children to bedal nighl, trhol do yo sa! Io them,tt,h.tl:t lhe larl lhing you want the]nto hear? l lo co ld go backto age l8 a1d change one thing inlotff lilb what i,ould )'ou change?"''Whal': lhe snartesthinglotr/hthet ever did?" 1a,intotry tobdng wisdom that is in there outinto a tbrm where I can understandand use it.Chtirti e: $ rhqt i.\ thc litst tlti r.r!)u,:lt) \,hu.\ou\dli( t) in th.)to where I comc from, it's my Andy: The first thing I do when Iconnection to where I'ln going, it's get up in the moming is to say amy connection to the legacy that prayer and ask God for his guidanceI'll leave - how I raise my children, for today. I look in on my little boys,how they turn out and what they and makc sur€ everyone is okay,will produce - that's part ofthe IfI'm out oftown, I pick up thelegacy I'm working for now. That'sphone and call, and then go aboutthe most inportant thing for me - [ scheduling what I'm doing. But Igauge my work, my books, and my spend some quiet time in between,speeches by what kind ofimpact where I settle myselfand figurethey will have on my family's lives where I'm going and what I'm100 years fiom now Will things that doing for the day and what I need toI produce still be wo*ing 100 years accomplish.from now, will they still be changinglives and influencing others and .t l.t L) clltLll\t ''ptrlling people out ofdespair - and Andy: Empathy. Leaders wirhwill they still be providing guidanceempathy arc pafiicularly effective.for my own family.The type ofl€ader who, when youlook into their eyes, show that theyunderstand you, and demonstratethat whether or not they have beenwherc you are, they can certainlyfeel what it is like. They haveempathy with the people they lead.Anotho chamcteristic I haveobserved which is very attractive ina leader is people who can acceptrcsponsibility for things that gowrong, and give credit for thethings that go right. We see a lotofleade$hip that does the exactopposite - they give all the blanre forthe things that go wrong, and takeall the credit for the things that gongnr,Chrirtin?: llhdtrot it lili?t),:.t lot t)ting /ir. Ih( |ru)f ?Andy: It has been great - ardpart ofthe reason for that is therealisation that the troops arc doingajob for our world, and that thcyaro not politiciscd. They are outthere, and they arc not Liberals orConservalives - they are peoplcdoing ajob that has been demandedofthem. Whcther we agree that theyshould be there or not, in a verydmstic scnse, the troops arc ,ls- theyare our neighbours, oltf sons anddaughters, our fathers and mothers,and that is a major part ofthc reasonwhy they deserye our support, andour love and praycrs, because theyare l/J, They represenl our nations- and they are not only us, theyare among the best ofus. Most ofthem could make morc money ilrprivate service, but these young menand women are choosing to givethemselves to us, to our nations.Christirre: In to.n: o/ro t.ncnhook, The l.\!.1nLl d Sainrs . tLhichfuLuscs on the po|,er o/lbrgivness,have you t)enonolt, /b nLl thdt/argiveness is wlrut nakes thc nostdillercnce itl yout'own li/a?, Andy: Yes.I believe so, because Imrny olus see forgiveness as anend, but it is huly a beginning. Onccyou understand forgiveness, andunderstand that it is something that