Taking Time to Buy In (Chapters 1,2)

Let me preface this with the statement that Andy Stanley is in my top four speakers on the face of the planet.  I’d listen to him any day of the week.  But I’m not buying into the premise of his book yet.  In the first two chapters he’s trying to make the distinction between paths, destination, solutions, choices, and (I think) habits.  The picture isn’t clear to me yet.  (And so begins our trip towards vulnerability on this blog.)

I get the part about a principle being discovered - whether you believe it or not the principle still applies to your life.  And I get the idea of the harvest and reaping what you sow.  But what you sow seems to be a series of decisions which lead to the destination.  And that’s where I get confused about where Andy’s going with the path.  Isn't it about the decisions we make and the habits we've formed?

Maybe my confusion is because I feel I’m on the right path.  I’m certainly not at my destination, and some days I’m still debating the path.  But most of the time I feel confident of where I want to go in life – here I’m mostly talking career.  For me this book has begun with career in mind because it dominates so much of my thoughts and time.  I’m working in the tree care industry but I want to work in health and fitness as a medical staff or as a teacher.

I’ve read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People along with a slew of other personal management and leadership books.  I feel I’ve grown and developed into a man who knows where he wants to be and how to get there.  But when I’m not “there” and I read words like “people need a change of direction, not a solution” I get self-conscious that I’m not doing this right.

I guess this book will be a process for me.  I trust Andy’s teaching, writing, and leadership.  So I’m not worried or discouraged, but anxious to see where he’s going with this and how it will adjust my thinking about choices and destination.