What Do You Know for Sure?

Looking for Words to Live By?

O, The Oprah Magazine | From the November 2008 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

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Illustration: Stephen Doyle

We asked a notable group of men and women, "What do you know for sure?" and discovered 22 simple, surprising, brilliant rules to live by, starting with Oprah's reason she loves this question.

On...
Certainty: Elizabeth Gilbert finds peace with it
Other People: Tony Bennett gets a life-changing gift
Competition: Dara Torres talks truth about age and sport
Expectations: Simon Baker learns to go with the flow
Family: Daniel Mendelsohn celebrates his own
Women: Mark Leyner admires the divine feminine
Silence: John Francis explores the power of quiet
Disaster: Amanda Ripley reveals how to survive
Leadership: Rachel Maddow knows who to follow
Coming Home: Eleni Gabre-Madhin dreams big
Justice: Alberto Mora doles out justice
Discovery: Alicia Soderberg sees stars
The Word No: Liya Kebede rejects rejection
The Tax Code: Carolyn Maloney clears it up
Solitary Confinement: Haleh Esfandiari survived
Meeting the Pope: Kerry Kennedy makes her case
Marriage: Patrick Wilson has three things to say
Life and Death: Julie Freischlag, MD, operates by one principle

Plus: Three designers and a poet illustrated what they know. Read the poem by Bob Hicok and view artwork by Stephen Doyle, Bonnie Siegler and Emily Oberman of Number Seventeen Design, and Marian Bantjes.

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