Andy Andrews Quotes About Succeeding In Life

Andy Andrews is a famous American author, and many of these Andy Andrews quotes come from his books.

He is most known for his international bestseller, The Traveler’s Gift.

However, he has written more than 25 books, including The Heart Mender, Just Jones, and The Little Things.

He has some high-profile fans.

Dave Ramsey has referred to him as “this generation’s Mark Twain.”

He writes both fiction and non-fiction stories, often about business, how-to, or advice.

Who is Andy Andrews though, and is why should we read his books?

Well, Andy Andrews has had quite the interesting life.

Both of his parents died with in a few months of each other when Andy was only 19-years-old.

After his parent’s tragic deaths, Andy found himself homeless.

During that period he reportedly read over 200 biographies.

These books not only provided him with knowledge and useful tips, but they helped him form his “seven decisions.”

These would become the premise for The Traveler’s Gift. 

Keep reading these Andy Andrews quotes to learn more about his books, life, and philosophies! 

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Check out our inspirational quotes category page for more inspirational life quotes.

Andy Andrews quotes to live by

1. “Life itself is a privilege, but to live life to the fullest… well, that is a choice.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: Most all of us take the critical moment of waking up in the morning for granted. This is our first opportunity to be grateful for the day. We are alive and that is not guaranteed to anyone. Now, what you do with your life while you are living it is entirely a matter of choices: how do you respond to others, what gives you meaning, who do you associate with? These are all things that will have you either living life to the fullest, or just skating through.

2. “When faced with a decision, many people say they are waiting for God. But I understand, in most cases, God is waiting for me.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: The universe, a higher power, God, or whatever name you give to describe your spiritual beliefs might put something in your path. It might also help you discover a path. However, the decision to open the door and step inside will have to come from you. God can lead you to water, but will not make you drink. Action will be required from you at some point! 

3. “I will not waste time on second thoughts. My life will not be an apology. It will be a statement.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: Be a statement! Life your life in a way that fuels your passions and impacts the world around you. If you make a decision and it is the wrong one, do not waste time doubting and apologizing. Learn the lesson, implement what you have learned, and try again. Keep going and show the world who you are! 

4. “When you know that everything matters—that every move counts as much as any other—you will begin living a life of permanent purpose.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: Each choice and decision has weight. They are like little dominoes that effect one another. Start to put value in how you spend your time, what you eat, what you think, and what you do. These things all matter and they make up the bigger picture.

5. “Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: Don’t let fear hold you back from making a decision. You are likely never going to have all the information you want to make a decision. However, if something is aligned with your purpose, has the potential to move you closer to your goals, and seems sound, then just go with it! 

6. “There are generations yet unborn, whose very lives will be shifted and shaped by the moves you make and the actions you take.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: It is crazy to think about connected we all are. The decisions we make and actions we take in our own lives have the power to influence the lives of people you might not even know. Do what you can to reach your goals and make the world better, you never know the impact it will have! 

7. “Most people think it takes a long time to change. It doesn’t. Change is immediate! Instantaneous! It may take a long time to decide to change…but change happens in a heartbeat!” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: Deciding to change can take a long time, because it requires people to admit they are wrong, leave their comfort zones, or walk away from relationships. These things are not always easy to implement. However, once you begin to do these things or make any decision to change, then you have already begun to change. Your initial attempts might not be successful immediately, but the change is instant in your mind and heart, even if it is incremental.

8. “One way to define wisdom is the ability to see, into the future, the consequences of your choices in the present. That ability can give you a completely different perspective on what the future might look like.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: Weighing the future outcomes of your decisions is a sign of maturity and wisdom. Forethought is a valuable like skill because it enables us to imagine what our future selves might encounter. It also helps us to create the future we envision by planning for it.

9. “My life – my personality, my habits, even my speech – is a combination of the books I choose to read, the people I choose to listen to, and the thoughts I choose to tolerate in my mind.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: the simple truth is that we become what we consume. Like Jim Rohn pointed out, “We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.” We are also changed by the books we read and the TV shows we watch. What kind of thoughts are you consuming in your life? 

10. “Remember, young man, experience is not the best teacher. Other people’s experience is the best teacher. By reading about the lives of great people, you can unlock the secrets to what made them great.” – Andy Andrews

Everyday Application: People really like to learn lessons the hard way. We think we have to experience everything ourselves, in order to learn the lesson. However, we have the gift of hearing or reading about other people’s successes (and mistakes). This knowledge is valuable and has a much lower personal cost.

Andy Andrews quotes about success

11. “Remember, whatever you focus upon, increases…When you focus on the things you need, you’ll find those needs increasing. If you concentrate your thoughts on what you don’t have, you will soon be concentrating on other things that you had forgotten you don’t have-and feel worse! If you set your mind on loss, you are more likely to lose…But a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person’s life.” – Andy Andrews

12. “Despite popular belief to the contrary, there is absolutely no power in intention. The seagull may intend to fly away, may decide to do so, may talk with the other seagulls about how wonderful it is to fly, but until the seagull flaps his wings and takes to the air, he is still on the dock. There’s no difference between that gull and all the others. Likewise, there is no difference in the person who intends to do things differently and the one who never thinks about it in the first place. Have you ever considered how often we judge ourselves by our intentions while we judge others by their actions? Yet intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.” – Andy Andrews

Andy Andrews quotes about mistakes and actions

13. “If one makes a mistake, then an apology is usually sufficient to get things back on an even keel. However-and this is a big ‘however’- most people do not ever know why their apology did not seem to have any effect. It is simply that they did not make a mistake; they made a choice…and never understood the difference between the two.” – Andy Andrews

14. “While it is true that most people never see or understand the difference they make, or sometimes only imagine their actions having a tiny effect, every single action a person takes has far-reaching consequences.” – Andy Andrews

15. “The longer you’ve known someone- the more history there is between you- the longer it will take to establish in their mind that you have truly changed. Remember, forgiveness is an altogether different thing from trust or respect. Forgiveness is about the past. Trust and respect are about the future. Forgiveness will be in the hands of others and can be given to you, but trust and respect are in your own hands and must be earned.” – Andy Andrews

16. “Your time on this earth is a gift to be used wisely. Don’t squander your words or your thoughts. Consider that even the simplest actions you take for your lives matter beyond measure…and they matter forever.” – Andy Andrews

Andy Andrews quotes about perception and experience

17. “See, the ‘small stuff’ is what makes up the larger picture of our lives. Many people are like you, young man. But their perspective is distorted. They ignore ‘small stuff,’ claiming to have an eye on the bigger picture, never understanding that the bigger picture is composed of nothing more than-are you ready?- ‘small stuff’.” – Andy Andrews

18. “In desperate times, much more than anything else, folks need perspective. For perspective brings calm. Calm leads to clear thinking. Clear thinking yields new ideas. And ideas produce the bloom…of an answer. Keep your head and heart clear. Perspective can just as easily be lost as it can be found.” – Andy Andrews

19. “Whatever you focus upon, increases…When you focus on the things you need, you’ll find those needs increasing…A grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person’s life.” – Andy Andrews

20. “Well, that’s why smart people get tripped up with worry and fear. Worry…fear…is just a misuse of the creative imagination that has been placed in each of us. Because we are smart and creative, we imagine all the things that could happen, that might happen, that will happen if this or that happens. See what I mean?” – Andy Andrews

More Andy Andrews quotes to challenge your thoughts

21. “Circumstances do not push or pull. They are daily lessons to be studied and gleaned for new knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge and wisdom that is applied will bring about a brighter tomorrow. A person who is depressed is spending too much time thinking about the way things are now and not enough time thinking about how he wants things to be.” – Andy Andrews

22. “Listen carefully to me. Despite popular belief to the contrary, there is absolutely no power in intention…There is no difference in the person who intends to do things differently and the one who never thinks about it in the first place. Have you ever considered how often we judge ourselves by out intentions while we judge others by their actions? Yet intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.” – Andy Andrews

23. “Everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you’ll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what’s a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination-our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.” – Andy Andrews

24. “Most people fail at whatever they attempt because of an undecided heart. Should I? Should I not? Go forward? Go back? Success requires the emotional balance of a committed heart. When confronted with a challenge, the committed heart will search for a solution. The undecided heart searches for an escape. A committed heart does not wait for conditions to be exactly right. Why? Because conditions are never exactly right. Indecision limits the Almighty and His ability to perform miracles in your life. He has put the vision in you — proceed. To wait, to wonder, to doubt, to be indecisive is to disobey God. -Andy Andrews, The Traveler’s Gift” – Andy Andrews

25. “We begin to forgive by choosing to forgive . . . by deciding, not by feeling. Our feelings don’t lead us to forgive. Most times, our feelings lead us the other way. That’s why a person has to decide to forgive first. Our feelings always follow along behind our decisions.” – Andy Andrews

Andy Andrews perspective and seven decisions

Andy’s time being homeless, and the reading he did, may have set him up for his writing career.

However, before he got started writing he was a stand up comedian.

He toured with Joan Rivers, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Garth Brooks, Cher, and Chaka Khan.

He attended Auburn University where he worked toward a degree in business.

Andrews published 8 books between 1992 and 2002 before publishing The Traveler’s Gift.

He has written everything from business advice to children’s books.

His biggest life philosophy comes in the form of his seven decisions (which also ended up being another book).

Just what are the seven decisions according to Andy Andrews?

Well, they are as follows:

1. The responsible decision (the buck stops here).
2. The guided decision (seek wisdom).
3. The active decision (take action).
4. The certain decision (be decided).
5. The joyful decision (choose to happy).
6. The compassionate decision (have a forgiving spirit).
7. The persistent decision (persist without exception).

What difference can you see these decisions making in your life?

Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.