
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
honesty

I’ve reached a point in my life where I’ve got to be true to myself. That means cutting out the “BS” about how I feel, what I do, what I don’t do, and what I want to do. It means being very honest with myself and with others.
Not being honest with ourselves is very expensive. We end up doing things for the wrong reasons. In the past, there were many times when I wasn’t honest with myself. Once I dated someone for four years because I was scared of being alone. It took me a long time to admit I was with the wrong person.
Today, I’m happy to be in a good relationship where things started in the right way. When my husband and I went on our first date, I dropped my dating agenda. Instead, I decided to be present, so I could clearly see who was in front of me.
I’ve come to realize that even the smallest lies often mean a person is not being honest on so many other levels. Sometimes it’s hard to admit when someone we’re close to is lying because it hurts, but it’s also important to have peace.
If a person close to me lies, I’ll address it. The lying might happen once or twice, but if it continues or if it’s terrible, then I’ll remove myself from that person. Life is short, and I enjoy happiness. So I prefer to surround myself with positive people.
I’m not perfect. Nobody is, but I work at it. I try to be aware. If one day I’m being horrible, which I am sometimes, I admit it.
For instance, I have issues with being on time. Even when it’s not important, I can become very emotional when I’m off schedule. Sometimes, it’s like a monster takes over, and I get upset. Then I’ll recognize that I’m being horrible. I’ll take a time out, apologize, or try a different approach.
Being honest with ourselves is an exercise. One of the things that we learn in yoga is to recognize when we start having negative reactions. Life goes about, and we get pushed into emotions because we remember things from the past. We can’t tolerate our emotions, so instead we react. It’s when we start to catch our reactions that we learn to be with life the way it is. This leads us to greater happiness.
– Claudia Altucher

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