Beyond my Circle of Seven is a broader community of rational thinkers and inspiring voices. If the first circle is emotional support, the wider circle gives reason and purpose, thinking out loud about our current social and political needs. They've entered this circle because they are articulate and able to see through the fog of information overload. I listen to their podcasts, read their articles, appreciate their interviews or watch them on old school legacy media. The first circle personally knows who I am. This wider circle doesn't even know I exist, but understands what I am thinking. Like a trainer to an athlete, the leaders in the wider circle help me stretch my perspective, strengthen the muscles of my mind, and help my endurance against an onslaught of stimulus in a relentless digital world. They are Teachers. Mentors. Sherpas.

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I share this incomplete list of thinkers for two reasons. First, I want to honor and thank them for their leadership. Second, I want full disclosure of the friends I keep. What I write in my blogs is my attempt to articulate what I have learned from them, coupled with my own creativity. I don't always give them direct credit as that becomes too tedious for the reader. I'm not a journalist. Instead I present ideas that should be recognized for their self-evident benefit, practical application and general well-being. The ideas speak for themselves. No one owns them nor has a patent on them. Like choosing food for healthy nutrition, you can take them or leave them!

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This list is random, incomplete and in no particular order of significance. They just are . . .