author. speaker. motivator.
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]
political powerhouse. media mogul. author.
Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and Editor in Chief of the Huffington Post and the author of twelve books. [www.huffingtonpost.com]
author. speaker. linchpin.
Seth Godin is a prominent author, blogger and speaker. [www.squidoo.com/linchpin]
yogi. philanthropist. dynamic teacher.
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]
producer. philanthropist. tv legend.
Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film. He is also a political and social activist and philanthropist. [www.normanlear.com]
race car driver. activist. carbon free girl.
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]
Freedom Fighter. Philanthropist. Game Changer.
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]
mom. big dreamer. lady in red.
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]
Writer. Entrepreneur. Daily Lover.
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]
singer. musician. crier.
Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. [www.lizphair.com]
archbishop. author. peaceful leader.
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]
author. ceo. humanitarian.
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]
speaker. psychotherapist. life embracer.
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]
yogi. meditator. teacher.
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]
creator. writer. idea geek.
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]
Strategist. Writer. Life Coach.
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]
Designer. Art Director. Passionate Creator.
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]
Agent. Producer. Photography Enthusiast.
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
found
Davy Rothbart
publisher. contributor. FOUNDer
Davy Rothbart, creator of Found Magazine, is an author, frequent contributor to the radio program This American Life, and the subject of a documentary released in 2011. [www.foundmagazine.com]
I have a strong curiosity about the people I share the world with. And I like connecting people who wouldn’t ordinarily connect. One of the ways I play with this is through Found Magazine, an online collection of notes and things people have found on the ground, in the street, on the sidewalk, on the floor of a city bus or subway.
People find very personal, raw, and intimate notes and send them to me from all around the world. Reading these notes is a window into a deep and personal aspect of people, allowing us to really get to know strangers. We don’t know who they are, but we get to know them in a powerful way through the love letters, to-do lists, and journal entries they write and lose. They express themselves unselfconsciously – there’s often something beautiful and moving about the found notes. Some are heartbreaking. Some are hilarious. I feel I’m crossing paths with people in a powerful and intense way as I get a sense of what they’re going through.
I think it’s natural to be curious about what other people’s experiences of being human are like. Sometimes, when I pick up the Found Magazine mail, I go through it and laugh. Other times, I sit there laughing at myself, recognizing the same kind of pitiful note I myself have written a hundred times. Sometimes, I find myself crying, reading a note that’s particularly heartbreaking or full of longing. For the past nine years, these peeks into other people’s lives have brought me great meaning.
I also make documentary films. Right now I’m in southern Indiana making a documentary about a high school basketball team in this small, struggling town. What I love about making documentaries is the chance to meet people, to be in their homes, to see where they work, and to ask them what I want to know. It’s kind of like doing Found Magazine, but instead of being introduced to a stranger through a note they wrote and lost, the person is sitting right in front of me.
I’m always noticing the similarities between people, how alike everyone’s experiences are, whether they’re in a small town in Indiana or writing a note that’s found in a prison yard or in a fancy bank in Connecticut. What’s on people’s minds – love and loss and all those emotions – is noticeably universal.
– Davy Rothbart
Explore More Meaning
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educator. author. discoverer.
Author and producer Shajen Joy Aziz is a founding member of the Southern California Association of Transformational Leaders. [www.discoverthegift.com]
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idea advocate. circle breaker. survivor.
Mohammad Ruhul Kader is completing an MBA in Bangladesh. He intends to live life to the fullest while helping others do the same. To inspire new entrepreneurs, Mohammad created Future Start Up. [www.futurestartup.com]
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designer. athlete. lifelong trainer.
Artist and published author Ashley Tudor is a design strategist who helps create new businesses and innovate in the area of health. [www.sweetpotatopower.com]
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health coach. happiness rediscoverer. budding jokester.
Catherine Chen, Ph.D. is a health coach who supports busy people to achieve with ease, have time for what they love, and have self-compassion. [catherinechenwellness.com]
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expresser. body attender. dream catcher.
Dyana Valentine works closely and intensely with people and companies truly ready to make something happen. Through a platform of community psychology, she helps high-performing creatives move and shake. [www.dyanavalentine.com]
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avid creator. free time scheduler. man of action.
Richard Arthur is a Navy commander, filmmaker, and self-described "opinionated bastard." He has worked on NCIS, Commander in Chief, Hawaii Five-O, several features and he has just returned from a humanitarian mission to Southeast Asia aboard the hospital ship, MERCY. [www.ricarthur.com]
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body image expert. passionate voice. true beauty embracer.
Amber Krzys is on a mission to change the way women see and relate to their bodies. Bodyheart, which she founded, is her way of doing that. [www.bodyheart.com]
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street dancer. teenager inspirer. brave decider.
Always the consummate student, Melvin Roberts is committed to the quest for knowledge and human uplift. He's making his dreams come true with the debut of his one-man show in Hollywood. [www.plays411.com/secondact]
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