Yesterday I drove more than 100 miles to see Andy Andrews speak at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL. Was it worth it?

You bet!

Andy is one of my favorite writers, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a citizen of the great state of Alabama like me. He’s also a great speaker and didn’t fail to entertain the gathered masses while challenging us as well.

Here are just a few choice sound bites (beware…some of them are so simply you may miss the point):

• Proof is better than encouragement.
• Little things make a big difference.
• Sometimes there isn’t an answer when we’re in the midst of a bad moment. But if we gain some Perspective, we can be Calm, which leads to Clear Thinking, where Ideas form and Answers develop.
• You have to ask good questions to get good answers.
• Discipline is the mortar that holds the Seven Decisions together.
• Intention don’t mean nothin’.
• The Church is at a point in history where it is the most educated and the least active.
• It takes discipline to do something. Nobody likes or wants it, but our attitude toward it is irrelevant. Discipline always pays off and brings with it progress and joy. After exercising it, no one regrets having had discipline.
• Can you make yourself do something you don’t want to do in order to get a result that you want to have?
• Can you start doing something now in order to get a result down the road?
• Seeking wisdom is difficult. What result are you after in your life? What are the actions in your life indicating? Do your actions match the results you want?
• Few live lives asking for the truth on a daily basis about themselves and their value and the results of discipline applied.
• When people don’t know what to do they do nothing. He told about tent cities all over the US (including 35 in Nashville, TN!) where people are doing nothing…they may occasionally put out a resume, but otherwise are sitting around doing nothing, going nowhere!
• The answer to not knowing what to do starts with doing something. Always remember to do something. Get up and do something NOW!
• Don’t doubt the value God places on your life.
• Just go out and do something to add value. Don’t worry about getting paid. Just serve people. They will take notice and value you, and offer encouragement and opportunities.
• Our country is very divided right now, politically, racially, financially, culturally…but we are divided because we have forgotten the value of a human being.
• How can we see what God places in a person’s heart and tell them it’s not valuable?
• Thirty years ago political enemies during the day still had dinner together and were friends. We looked after each other’s kids, including disciplining them if it was warranted. Back then we valued each other.
• Half the truth is a lie. Principles work every time. Just tell the truth.
• A politician is only an actor delivering lines determined by the audience.
• When we know what is right, we need only stand for it and smile…there is no need to yell or be angry because we know the truth. (see story on Frank Lay)
• It’s okay to disagree, but be respectful and you will be heard. This is one reason why the boy at the temple was able to talk with the elders and amaze them with is understanding of the law…it wasn’t just because the boy was Jesus.
• Be the kind of person people want to be around.
• Smile when you talk.
• Likeability helps.
• We want to create a community that has influence that’s writing the script for our nation.
• Everything you do matters to all of us for all time. Check out this video on the Law of Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions (aka the Butterfly Effect).
• Who will have discipline, who will move and who will act…to cause a positive change?
• Generations are yet unborn that will be affected by every move we make.

If you just scanned through those bullets, please go back and actually read them. Chew on them. I know there’s a lot there, but I wrote down so many notes because there was so much said. It’s worth your time. If you can’t do it now, hit print or bookmark the site and come back.

If you ever have the opportunity to see Andy Andrews speak, don’t miss it! You can learn more about him at AndyAndrews.com, and there you can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

I can highly recommend Andy’s books, The Traveler’s Gift and The Noticer, and I bought Island of Saints and will review it in the coming weeks (the first chapter is intriguing).

Thanks to Andy for signing all three books…my only regret was in not having the opportunity to sit down with him and talk. So Andy…if by some miracle a butterfly flaps his wings and you read this, know that I’m buying dinner if you show up! After all, we’re practically neighbors and you pretty much wrote this entire article!