GULF SHORES, Ala. — “I don’t know what you expect, but this won’t be it,” Andy Andrews warned a crowded Erie H. Meyer Civic Center Wednesday morning.

Droves of residents in this coastal community turned out this week to see the nationally recognized speaker present “Proof of Hope in Tough Economic Times.”

As a gift to his community Andrews, a New York Times Bestselling author, lent words of wisdom to his friends and fellow islanders about making it through these trying times.

“An amazing thing about crazy times is that people think in crazy times we have to make wholesale changes,” Andrews said. “The good news is, no we don’t. It’s the little bitty shifts that make a huge difference.”

To guide weary souls and worried minds, Andrews presented his “Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success.”

Mayors Robert Craft, Gulf Shores; Tony Kennon, Orange Beach and John Koniar, Foley, assisted Andrews with the presentation.

“It’s only a loss if you don’t take something away from it,” Kennon said of experiencing the economic downturn. “Andy made me understand that is all a frame of mind and that every setback offered me something to help me. There is something positive to be taken away from this economic chaos.”

As a young adult, Andrews faced his own trying times. Homeless and penniless Andrews turned to biographies and began identifying principles successful people like Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill lived by.

“I’d read these books trying to think ‘What is it about these people,’” Andrews said. “I identified these seven things. And I wondered ‘What happens to a life who knows all seven?’”

Andrews said these principles apply to every aspect of life and are a necessity to living happily.

“The principles of personal success, the principles of parenting, the principles of relationships, the principles of financial achievement are all floating around out there,”Andrews said. “So why shouldn’t we learn them and harness them and create a future of our choosing?”

The “Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success”:

Take Responsibility

Responsibility leads to hope and control.

“Who among us doesn’t want to have hope for a greater future that we can control?” Andrews asked.

He coached the crowd to respond to a tragedy by making choices that will put you in the right place. Make better choices.

Seek Wisdom

“Seek wisdom as an adult,” Andrews said.

Expose yourself to positive information that will benefit your life. Through reading, listening and observing, a person gains more wisdom about their situation.

“We can all whistle the Andy Griffith theme,” Andrews said. “If something’s going to be in (your head) anyway, why not have it be something you choose? Why not have it be something that can affect your family’s life for generations? Why not have it be something that will literally affect the choices you make?”

Take Action

Every time you do something it counts forever, Andrews said. He explained that every move a person makes creates a ripple effect that alters the course of life forever.

It’s important to make those changes positive rather than negative.

Have a Decided Heart

Andrews said more people fail because they can’t make a decision.

“Life becomes an ongoing state of analysis,” Andrews said. “The purpose of analysis is to get a solution.”

Andrews said that so much energy is spent making a decision, there’s no energy left to carry out that decision.

“Successful people make there decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Unsuccessful people make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly,” he said.

He explained that there’s no way to have the information to make right decisions all the time. Instead, make a decision then work to ensure that it’s right.

Choose to be happy

“As bad as it can be, there is so much to be grateful for,” Andrews said. “We can choose to be actively grateful.”

He said that seeds of depression have a hard time taking root in a grateful heart.

Andrews said re-evaluating your life will give you reason to be happy and will change your perception of your life.

Greet each day with a forgiving heart

Forgiveness doesn’t have to be asked for or deserved. Forgiveness is a decision we make, not an emotion we have.

Andrews said forgiveness is about releasing the pressure within us, rather than showing mercy to someone.

“Forgiveness is about us, trust is about them. Forgiveness is about past, trust is about future,” Andrews said. “Do we forgive somebody who lies to us? Yes. Do we continue to believe everything they say? No.”

Andrews said the most important person to forgive is ourselves.

Persist without exception

“When you persist without exception, there is where the miracles occur,” Andrews said. “You will find a way where there is no way.”

He explained that people have three defaults to validate quitting. Lack of funds, insufficient time and blaming others for failing allows people to walk away without success. But Andrews said it’s never a problem with these issues, instead it’s a lack of ideas.

“One idea will change things for you,” Andrews said.

Andrews said he expects his fellow residents to take the tools he gave them and create a brighter future for themselves, their family and the community.

“I’ve got friends right here in town that are having a tough time and I don’t ever get to talk to them,” Andrews said. “There are good things that you can take out of tough times. You can profit from it and gain from it.”

He said he wants to see people carry hope into the New Year.