What could this one man possibly have to say that is important enough for the commander of the Allied Air Forces to ask his help? Why did every senior leader the U.S. Air Force has in Europe and the Middle East recently assemble in one location — at one time — to hear him speak?

Who is this man, that he would walk the golf course with Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lopez as she played her last tournament as a touring professional? Why was he invited to spend an afternoon with General Norman Schwarzkopf and his son, who was about to depart for college? What would he be asked to discuss with 91-year-old Bob Hope, alone by the swimming pool in the entertainer’s backyard? Why would Augusta National Golf Club—Home of The Masters—require every single employee (from dishwashers to executives) to listen to this man talk for three hours?

Hailed by The New York Times as a “modern-day Will Rogers who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America,” Andy Andrews is an internationally known speaker and novelist whose combined works have sold millions of copies worldwide. He has been received at the White House and has spoken at the request of four different U.S. presidents. His second PBS special, “Andy Andrews: The Traveler’s Gift,” is now airing nationally to incredible reviews.
The Traveler's Gift

Andrews’ best-selling book, The Traveler’s Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success, is an international sensation, remaining on The New York Times bestseller list for four and a half months and being translated into nearly 20 languages. Featured on ABC’s Good Morning America as a book-of-the-month selection, The Traveler’s Gift is the stunning story of one man’s search for meaning and success in life by traveling back into time and conversing with seven historic individuals. Its message of hope, faith, and perseverance is transforming thousands of lives worldwide every day, spawning a teen version, The Young Traveler’s Gift; The Traveler’s Gift Journal; a home-study audio program, Timeless Wisdom from the Traveler; and life-study curriculums in high schools, mental-health organizations, and prisons nationwide.

Andrews lived a relatively normal life until the age of 19, when both his parents died — his mother from cancer, his father in an automobile accident. “I took a bad situation and made it much worse,” Andrews says with a rueful smile, referring to choices he made during this tragic period of his life. Within a span of several years, the young man found himself literally homeless (“before that was even a word!” he says), sleeping occasionally under a pier on the Gulf Coast or in someone’s garage.

It was then that Andrews asked the question that would focus his search for what would ultimately affect millions of people. The question? “Is life just a lottery ticket, or are there choices one can make to direct his future?” To find the answer, he first went to the library. Over time, he read more than 200 biographies of great men and women. How did they become the people they were? he wondered. Were they born that way, or were there decisions made at critical junctures in their lives that led to their success? The young Andrews finally determined that there were seven characteristics that each person had in common. “What will happen,” he mused, “if I study these seven common denominators and harness them in my own life?”

The rest is history. The “Seven Decisions,” as he calls them, were the engines used to carry Andrews’ life in a different direction. And more than 20 years later, those same Seven Decisions became the outline for The Traveler’s Gift and the basis of his PBS Special.