The following contains excerpts from the book, The Principle Path (Andy Stanley).
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. When dealing with the subject of relationships, Leadership matters. And when discussing the subject of leadership, the first principle is that successful leadership starts with leading one’s self well.
The main premise of the book is that the choices we make on a daily basis, as small as they may seem, are actually setting our lives on a course towards a specific destination. Most people have a tendency to somehow rationalize that these decisions are ‘disconnected’ or unrelated to the entirety of their lives, but the truth is, they are leading them down a specific path. To reach a successful end, we must think carefully and clearly about the small decisions of each day, analyzing them to ascertain whether or not they are congruent with the destination we truly desire.
“Embracing the principle of the path is the key to avoiding regret…Regret has the potential to create powerful emotions- emotions with the potential to drive a person right back to the behavior that created the regret to begin with.”
“Recognizing the distinction between a solution and a path is the first step in understanding the principle of the path…When someone is where he doesn’t want to be, he already knows the solution; what he needs is direction. There is no fix for being lost. To get from where we don’t want to be to where we do want to be requires two things: time and a change of direction. There isn’t a quick fix.”
We teach students at our music school in Midland, Texas that the path to achieving mastery of one’s musical discipline starts by making successful daily habits.
“Looking ahead we are often deceived into thinking that life is a series of unrelated decisions, and somehow we will end up were we want to be simply by force of will or luck. Or as I’ve heard so many people say, ‘It’ll work out somehow.’”
“Direction- not intention- determines our destination…Direction- not intentions, hopes, dreams, prayers, beliefs, intellect, or education- determines destination. I know it’s tempting to believe that our good intentions, aspirations, and dreams somehow have the ability to do an end run around the decisions that we make on a daily basis. But at the end of the day, the principle of the path determines the outcome. Simply put, you and I will win or lose in life by the paths we choose.”
One of the benefits of studying at our music school in Midland, Texas is that our teachers help students to chart their course, through objective insight based upon years of experience.
It seems like this principle is so basic that everyone should be able to live their lives accordingly. However, most people are blindly going through life, missing their potential success. Stanley, for the remainder of the book delves into the why of people’s inability to leverage the ‘principle of the path.’
“Generally speaking, we don’t abandon the clearly marked paths because we are looking for trouble. There’s always something about the alternate routes that is powerfully appealing. They promise shortcuts of more direct and oftentimes pleasurable routes to wherever it is we are trying to go…You don’t’ have problems to fix; you have directions that need to change.”
Stanley, throughout the book, periodically has the reader pause and ask himself introspective questions. The first set is as follows:
- Are there disconnects in your life?
- Are there discrepancies between what you desire in your heart and what you are doing with your life?
- Is there alignment between your intentions and your direction?”
He continues to add clarity to the premise, “We should break the habit of drawing a circle around individual decision and events and dismissing them as isolated occurrences. These are steps. Steps that lead somewhere. Because life is connected…The principle of the path is operating in your life every minute of every day.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we encourage students to ‘play the long game,’ with patience and daily routine. Each succeeding day of successful practice ultimately leads to exponential growth and success.
“Prudent people look as far down the road as possible when making decisions. Every decision. After all, they understand that today and tomorrow are connected…The primary difference between the prudent and the simple is not what they see but how they respond to what they see. The prudent see danger and take refuge. The simple see danger and keep going. The prudent see danger and change their course…The prudent act as if then is now; as if the future is the present. The simple respond as though tomorrow will always be tomorrow. The prudent respond now. ”
“What feels like a sacrifice now will feel like an investment later on.”
It is with a vision to the future that we can inspire students in our music school in Midland, Texas to pursue their dreams, helping them to see the big picture and how seemingly small daily, incremental progress leads to their ultimate goal.
The author submits a prayer his family handed down to him, based upon Proverbs 27:12, “Lord, help us to see trouble coming long before it gets here. And give us the wisdom to know what to do and the courage to do it.”
“The destination isn’t always clear. But when we are given an early warning sign, that’s our cue to act. To do something. To take refuge. And there will be awkward moments. There will be decisions that even those closest to you will never fully understand. But in the end there will be relief. In the end you will have avoided unnecessary regret…Todays’ decisions create tomorrow’s experiences.”
Getting more specific about why most people don’t live this way, Stanley writes, “Our problem rarely stems from a lack of information or insight. It’s something else. Something we don’t outgrow. Something that another academic degree won’t resolve. Our problem stems from the fact that we are not on a truth quest. That is, we don’t’ wake up every morning with a burning desire to know what’s true, what’s right, what’s honorable. We are on a happiness quest. We want to be- as in feel– happy. And our quest for happiness often trumps our appreciation for and pursuit of what’s true.”
“Why do I knowingly choose paths that take me where I’ve already decided I don’t want to go? The answer is, when we stand at the crossroads between prudent and happy, we lie to ourselves. We turn into dishonest salespeople. We begin selling ourselves on what we want to do rather than what we ought to do. We listen to ourselves until we believe our own lies, and then we opt for happiness.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we hope to inspire our students to take the path many are unwilling to take, so that they can achieve the greatness they know is possible. It is with patience and care that we endeavor to help students connect their vision for the future with their daily decisions and habits that are formed.