the.com/true north
the direction that doesn't care what your compass thinks it wants.
means the fixed geographic point at the earth's rotational axis, and by extension the value or goal you navigate by even when everything else drifts.
from sailors needed to distinguish it from magnetic north, which wanders because the earth's magnetic field is a moody, shifting thing pulled by molten iron sloshing underground; true north stays put because it's defined by the planet's axis, not its chemistry.
magnetic driftmagnetic north moves roughly 30 miles a year
no needle points therecompasses actually point to magnetic north, not true
metaphor sincebusiness books hijacked it for personal values, 1990s onward