After his parents died, Andy Andrews was a homeless man living under a pier by the ocean. He recounts the true story of being befriended by a man named Jones (The Noticer) and how he helped him change his life. Jones loaned him autobiographies of successful people and after reading many of them he began to understand what it takes to succeed in life.
One of the most helpful passages in the book identifies the four languages of love (verbal expression, doing things for other people, physical contact and giving time). People prioritize the love they need and the love they give differently. Someone may be expressing love to another person but not in a way that the other person most appreciates. Working this out is another piece in making a relationship work better.
Andy connects a string of events in history: He notes the success of Norman Borlaug was made possible by the support of US Agriculture Secretary, Henry A. Wallace, who developed an interest in agriculture as a young boy while he went on field trips with George Washington Carver. George was saved because a man traded his horse for a sack containing the nearly dead boy from the Klansmen who killed his mother. Through this string of events billions of people's lives were saved because of Borlaug's Green Revolution. The main point is we are all capable of making a big difference. We often do not have the long time reference to to allow us to evaluate it.
This six minute video provides background information about Andy Andrews and his books.
The book, The Noticer: Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective is available from Amazon.com
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