
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, lifebyme.com founder and curator, enjoys asking deep questions and living a life of meaning. Today she's launching Shape House, an urban sweat lodge, a place to melt away fears and fat. [www.shapehousela.com]

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
well-being

From an early age, I’ve been fascinated by the exploration of our selves and our well-being, although I probably didn’t call it that when I was 15. It wasn’t that I was an enlightened guru before I hit puberty; in fact, it was quite the opposite. I had my share of struggles, including losing my dad to cancer, losing three of my grandparents before I turned 16, and experiencing panic attacks and other maladies. But I believed there was something that held a key to surviving it all … and thriving.
This all hit home in the summer of 2009, when I worked with the coaches at Pransky & Associates, in Washington State, for a few days. When I began, I felt calm and centered in my own well-being. Although I was excited to learn what they had to share, my confident (and perhaps cocky) self was pretty certain I already knew a great deal of what they were going to teach me.
It wasn’t so much that I was wrong about knowing things, but in those four days I learned an enormous amount about myself. By the end of the second day, I was a mess. I couldn’t stop crying, I was scared and panicky, I felt lost, and I didn’t know how they would be able to “fix” me in the two days before I was due to leave.
What I learned was that I didn’t have to do anything to take care of my well-being – my well-being would actually take care of me. The analogy that changed my way of thinking is one about a sailboat’s compass. When you look at the bubble-shaped compass on the sailboat, it appears broken. The needle bounces around, seemingly all over the place, never actually settling on north. However, like my well-being, it is always pointing basically in the right direction, towards true north. There is nothing to be done to fix the compass. It simply is.
After I released the need to do anything to fix my well-being, I felt calmer and more relaxed. And I knew I was moving towards my true north.
Well-being is the part of you that knows that everything will be okay, no matter what’s going on around you. You’re born with well-being, just as you’re born happy. Neither happiness nor well-being is outside of you, so there’s nothing to chase. They just are. You don’t need to take care of your well-being. It’s innate. Your well-being actually takes care of you.
– Bevin Lynch
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