Some people call it an internal guidance system, others a gut feeling or internal voice. But no matter how you refer to it, we all have a gauge within us that lets us know when we are on the right path, and when we may have veered into a possible dead end.
But how many of us pay attention to that guidance from within, or recognize it when it’s desperately trying to get our attention? And how many of us even know how or where to start once we do?
"The Compass" book and DVD aim to help those on a spiritual path looking to find their individual compass toward uncovering their purpose, and living a life of accomplishment, peace and meaning.
And it all started with a desire to make a movie offering more than advice about thinking and believing in the power to manifest one's dreams, but that offered an outline of the action steps needed to get there, according to executive producer and healthy living expert John Spencer Ellis, who is also co-author of the book with the same name.
"You can motivate someone all you want, but if they don’t have a sense of direction, or compass, they will just run in circles," he tells Elevated Existence.
The movie features 23 experts on personal success, spirituality and self-improvement, including Joe Vitale, John Assaraf, Dr. John Demartini, Brian Tracy, Dr. Bruce Lipton, and more, who offer tools on how to find your own compass, and how to take the action steps necessary to carry out your desires. The production team interviewed each expert for three hours, according to Ellis.
"You cannot attract unless you act," he says. "The experts give you the tools and suggestions on what to think and do to make your life better."
But what really hit home for us at Elevated Existence are the four real-life stories of people who have overcome a variety of challenges by following their own internal compass.
"We wanted to show how people from all walks of life had overcome tragedy," says Ellis. "We tried to choose people so that no matter who was watching, one of the stories would resonate with them."
From a man whose compass moved him at the age of 34 to trade in a successful career as a rock 'n' roll promoter and travel around the world doing humanitarian work, to a high school teacher who woke up in a hospital to discover he was a quadruple amputee, but returned to teaching, these people serve as inspiring examples of following their inner compass, overcoming life’s obstacles and making a difference.
"People have the ability to change their life a lot more than they think. It's all about application," Ellis explains. "People can watch the DVD and be motivated or entertained, but they need to take action steps. First they need to take an inventory of where they are now, and look at the steps necessary to take in order to get where they want to be."
The DVD is broken into 10 segments to cover a variety of concepts including Focus, Courage, Authenticity, Determination, Spirituality and Gratitude – all foundations to becoming successful, Ellis says.
"When your compass moves because of some type of life-changing circumstance, people are often moved to go inside and find purpose, and it is always found when you are serving other people," Ellis notes.
Complimenting the movie is the release of the book, "The Compass," written by Ellis and co-author Tammy Kling. We read the book before viewing the movie, and once we picked it up, we couldn't put it down.
While the book compliments the movie, it is very different. As a fictional novel, it takes the reader on a journey with a man named Jonathan Taylor, whose life changes in an instant because of a tragic accident involving his wife and daughter. Wanting to escape, he finds himself wandering aimlessly from the deserts of Nevada to the Adirondacks, Romania and Holland, before finally heading back to Los Angeles to face the reality of his life.
What Jonathan – and the reader – learn through the unexpected people he meets along his path, including a mountain main with an MBA, a 10-year old orphan and a bicycle shop keeper in a wheelchair, illustrates the concept of following one's compass, paying attention to the circumstances life and the universe throw into our paths, and learning to connect the synchronicities of life, which continue to show there are no accidents.
As Jonathan awakens in self-awareness and the gifts of the world around him, the reader awakens with him.
"We wanted to develop a new genre of writing called transformational fiction because people tend to remember stories better than facts," Ellis tells Elevated Existence. "By telling the story in the form of the traveler, the hope is people will remember the lessons more easily."
But what makes this project different than other motivational DVDs or books is the follow up coaching available through The Compass Coaching Program via an online community
www.thecompasscoach.tv.
The online program -- which is less than $15 per month -- offers a 30-day free trial, and allows subscribers to utilize online tools and resources to organize their goals. But the best part is "The Compass" team offers one-hour teleclasses every two weeks, featuring experts from the movie talking about topics including fitness, home design, entrepreneurship, family, relationships, teens and more.
And the team is already planning the launch of "The Compass" live events for next year.
The movie can be purchased on DVD – which features bonus material including "The Compass" for teens and their parents -- or can be viewed online at
www.thecompass.tv. And the book is published by Vanguard Press.
Elevated Existence recommends both the book AND the movie, because while they are different, they work in tandem with each other, and both offer something unique. We look forward to more from this group, and hope they do an event in the New York area, because we will definitely be there for it!