Affectionately known as "America's #1 Success Coach," Jack Canfield is the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and a leading authority in the areas of self-esteem, achievement motivation, and peak performance. www.jackcanfield.com
Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and Editor in Chief of the Huffington Post and the author of twelve books. www.huffingtonpost.com
Seth Godin is a prominent author, blogger and speaker. www.squidoo.com/linchpin
Krishna Kaur is the founder of YOGA for Youth, a program that takes yoga, meditation, and stimulating discussions on the philosophy of yoga to urban youth. www.yogaforyouth.org
Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film. He is also a political and social activist and philanthropist. www.normanlear.com
Leilani Münter is a professional race car driver and an environmental activist who uses her voice in the number one spectator sport in America as a catalyst for change. www.leilanimunter.com
By going undercover to meet slaves and slaveholders, Kevin Bales exposed modern slavery’s penetration into the global economy. He co-founded Free the Slaves, which has helped to liberate thousands of slaves. www.freetheslaves.net
Sophie Chiche, founder of lifebyme.com, is the single mom of an amazing 16-year-old, Leah, and wicked step-mom of 22-year-old, Sarah. They all live in LA. You can find them boxing, cooking, collaging, hosting brunches, laughing their head off or bickering over who’s washing and who’s drying the dishes.
Entrepreneur and writer Mastin Kipp founded TheDailyLove.com, which merges pop culture with inspiration, and co-founded The Love Yourself Company, an apparel company that has started a global self-esteem movement. www.TheDailyLove.com
Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. www.lizphair.com
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is Chairman of The Elders, a group of world leaders who address some of the world's most pressing problems. He works energetically for human-rights and in his ministry. www.tutu.org
Zainab Salbi is the founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a group dedicated to helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives. www.womenforwomen.org
Despite his physical challenges, Sean Stephenson has taken a stand for a quality of life that has inspired millions of people around the world. He’s a professional speaker, psychotherapist, and author. www.timetostand.com
Kia Miller teaches Yoga at Yoga Works in Los Angeles, leads teacher trainings, and runs retreats and workshops on meditation, chakras, pranayam, and mantras, and other practices. www.kiamiller.com
Simon Mainwaring is an ex-Nike/Wieden creative, former Worldwide Creative Director at Motorola/Ogilvy, branding/advertising writer, author/speaker/blogger, Australian, idea geek. www.simonmainwaring.com
Shannon Bindler is a style editor, life coach, and the co-founder of Get Up Girl, an empowerment company that inspires women to shine. www.getupgirl.com
Grammy-nominated art director/designer/photographer Mathieu Bitton has designed over 450 CDs and movie posters. He’s a renowned collector of and authority on black films and their soundtracks. www.candytangerine.com
Opus Reps founder and agent-producer Jorge Perez travels the world producing photo shoots with great photographers and celebrities. He's also very involved with Meals on Wheels in Los Angeles. www.opusreps.com
laughter

I have such a crazy life. People are like, “How do you do it? How can you handle all those kids, the jobs, the husband?” Having a life full of laughter is how I do it. Because without it, there’s nothing. If it’s not fun, what’s the point?
I have five children. Things can get so serious and stressed – and yet we’re so lucky. You know what? We should just have some fun. Thankfully, I’m not a perfectionist, because that’s when you get into trouble in the midst of all the chaos. I don’t take anything too seriously. I’ve never been someone who worries about what people think of me or say about me. I don’t waste my time on things I can’t do anything about.
This is not to say that my life is perfect. It’s certainly not. We all have ups and downs in life. But I really appreciate my life and part of why is that it’s full of a lot of happiness and laughter.
I grew up with a mother who wasn’t driven the way I am. I’ve always been driven to succeed in sports and school. She would say, “Enjoy your passion. Know what you’re good at and what you’re not good at. You’re not good at everything, so surround yourself with people who are better than you at those things.” The attitude in the house when I was growing up was, “Do your best and work hard.” That was all very good advice.
What I do that helps me a lot is I get outside and exercise. I run. I don’t care if it’s 100 below zero – I am outside running. I don’t like being cooped up. It clears my head to be outdoors.
I’ve continued to work while raising all five kids, because I’ve always felt it to be important for them to see me doing something good. I’m passing that on. They see that it’s possible to be a parent and laugh and be happy and work – not only to work, but to make a difference.
- Amy Jurkowitz
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