Commit to Yourself.

Landmark Worldwide offered a seminar called Commitment: The Pathway to Adventure and being a Landmark graduate, I signed up. See, I'd grown tired of not making big enough progress getting Compass Playbook into the world so I could fulfill my mission:

"I am committed to inspiring people to their ability to live a life they love by connecting them with their inner creative genius."


The very brilliance of this seminar was that it helped me look closely at what I was committed to. And it was eye-opening to say the least. I learned what my true commitments were, and they were more about being safe and protected, which keeps me from being fully engaged with my own work.

This was sobering.

Once I realized that I was not acting as if I was committed to my mission—that I was playing it safe—I got my Compass Playbook out to engage my inner creative genius and I got busy. I wrote, doodled and envisioned people all over the world living inspired, creative lives that THEY designed. That people were stepping into their personal power, saying "thank you, goodbye" to beliefs that didn't serve them and creating new stories that detailed the lives they wanted to live. Lives of abundance and prosperity, vibrant and youthful health, connectedness and relatedness with others, self-love, appreciation and taking the world by storm with their gifts and talents.

storyboard play

I gotta tell ya, it felt SO GOOD. By going through several Plays where I explored possibility and crafted a new story of success, I was able to ease my anxiety around taking bigger risks by putting myself out there. This is where it started for me: defining and designing what I want Compass Playbook and the people who engage with it to look like, and what is possible for them when they do.


Consider your personal mission or what you say you're committed to. How are you acting in the world out of this commitment? What is your end-game? More importantly, WHO is your end-game? Are you playing full-out and wake up every day enlivened by your mission? Or is it all a big act to make you look busy but really not produce the life you love or the mission you want to fulfill on?

In the end, the most important commitment you can have is to yourself. Commit to you. Commit that you will live a life of wonder, appreciation and exploration. That you'll see possibility in every little thing. That you have the freedom to choose the life you want to live and how you'll care for and love those around you and the world through your gifts and talents.



Take it from me: You are a worthy commitment! Spend time reflecting and designing the world you see. Conjure your personal mission. Go after that dream and make every moment along your journey full of wonder. Here are two Plays to get you started:


  • Create a SWOT analysis of your personal mission. Where you stand right now, what are the mission's strengths? Weaknesses? Opportunities? Threats? For example, if your mission is to be a healthy parent to your children, your strengths would be that you go for a three-mile run every morning and have a low-glycemic diet. Your weaknesses could be that you don't maintain your diet when you go out to eat and you binge-snack. Your opportunities could be working with a coach to train for a race and investing in books that will help you teach your kids about nutrition and healthy living. Your threats could be outside influences that impact your time or budget to complete your tasks such as work or your spouse's agreement and support.
  • Don't have a personal mission? Create one! There is no rule on how to write your personal mission. Search the internet for inspiration. Write your thoughts about what you want your mission to be and brainstorm ideas on how you can act on it once you've created it.


  1. Storyboard snapshots of things that you are committed to in your life. Your family, your education, your health, your growth, etc. Be specific.
  2. When you are done with your snapshot doodles, grade yourself 1-10: 1 being not so committed and 10 being fully committed about each one, and write that number above each storyboard box.
  3. On the back or in your journal, write about the outcomes you want that are what you are committed to having for each. For example, if you are committed to your health and vibrancy, write about how you will feel and all that you'll be able to do (fit in those tight jeans, run a half marathon, etc.). Set the stage for your commitment to re-engage.


Terry Pappy is CEO of Better3, creator of Compass Playbook and author of award-winning books on creativity. What she says about Compass: "It's a fun resource that helps people achieve their dreams using creativity—simply by telling a new story." Terry uses humor and straight-talk to inspire breakthroughs in creativity for audiences around the globe.