I am a pretty big fan of Andy Stanley. In my experience with podcasts and leadership conferences, he is consistently the source of the most memorable principles. His book, Communicating for Change, has been the most helpful book for me in honing my skills as a communicator.

Recently, I won a copy of his new book, The Principle of the Path, via an online giveaway at Michael Hyatt’s blog (Hyatt is the CEO of Stanely’s publishing company). I devoured the book. Albeit simple, Stanley drills down important concepts.

The big idea of his book is “Direction, not intention, determines destination.” In the pages that follow, he outlines how we often brush off this statement in our lives as we believe that our desires and intentions are really what matter. Stanley reminds us – it only matters what we do, not what we hope or want or aspire to do.

Stanley describes how we ignore the fact that there are paths we move down to destinations we don’t anticipate or prepare for – many of which were very relevant to people I work with (divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure, unemployment, etc.). Every decision is not simply a decision, but in fact, a step in a direction.

One of the biggest personal challenges was Stanely’s discussion of how we think our issue is not having the right information, when, in fact, the issue is not information, but submission. We refuse to believe that the information applies to us; we all believe that we will be the exception to the rule.

Very challenging read; a good reminder that simple concepts can be just as arresting and convicting as complex ones. I strongly recommend this book to everyone – regardless of whether you are a follower of Jesus or not. This principle applies to you. Your direction, not your intention, determines your destination.