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. TED-talker. no-bullsh**er.
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.
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
if then else
Dmitri Leonov
father. entrepreneur. abc conceptualist.
Dmitri Leonov is an entrepreneur working to make the world a better place through technology at Sanebox.com. He spends his free time playing music and thinking about how to make the world a better place in general. www.leonov.org
There are things in our lives we control and things we don’t. Which is which? It can be very difficult to tell them apart and that causes confusion. I used to find myself stressing over things outside my control. At the same time, I’d blame someone or something for things that were clearly under my influence to change.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this and I’ve realized that there’s not much we can do about the things outside our control – what people call “fate” – other than realize what their implications are.
Luckily, most of the problems we face as individuals and collectively as a human race are due to the choices we make about things we can control. The main problem isn’t that we make a lot of wrong choices, but that we don’t understand that we have choices and that there are very specific outcomes attached to the choices we make.
When I was a kid, I dabbled in computer programming. A concept that has really stuck with me from that time is “If A, then B, else C,” which is a core concept in programming. It applies perfectly to life and to things that are within my control.
Here’s how it works. If we start with the desired outcome, which is the B that we want to get to, then A is the choice or the action we need to make to get to B. If A is not chosen, then we get C, an undesired outcome. If something is within our control, an effective change in A will make B happen … or an ineffective change in A will make C happen. We can make problems disappear by putting them through this equation and always making choices that go in the direction of B, the desired outcome.
The biggest thing that gets in the way of living a meaningful life is lack of thinking. If we lack the awareness that we can choose a meaningful life, if we’re stuck in a pattern that we don’t question, then we’re not thinking in a way that would make a meaningful difference in our lives.
What inspires people to expand their thinking? It helps when people who do think about the big picture are vocal about it. As more and more of us ask questions and inspire others to live meaningful lives, there’s going to be a tipping point.
- Dmitri Leonov
Explore More Meaning
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life coach. physician. light source.
Author and life coach Sarah Seidelmann, MD, is a Board-Certified physician who left her practice to live out her destiny. In her work, she loves to ask, “How good are you willing to let it get?” http://whatthewalrusknows.com
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story pirate. avid learner. people person.
Benjamin Salka is the co-founder and CEO of Story Pirates, which celebrates the words, ideas, and stories of children, encouraging and empowering young people to invent big ideas for a new generation. www.storypirates.org
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application strategist. supply chain transformer. tedx-er.
Jennifer Sherman is a Senior Director of Applications Strategy at Oracle Corporation, where she works with public and private sector organizations to transform their supply chains and distribution networks. www.ted.com/tedx
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conversationalist. author. spiritual messenger.
A modern day spiritual messenger, bestselling author Neale Donald Walsch founded the Conversations with God Foundation, dedicated to inspiring the world to move toward peace, clarity, and love. www.nealedonaldwalsch.com
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educator. director of funding + outreach. life changer.
Laurie Grossman co-founded Mindful Schools, a public/private partnership program (one of the largest in the country), sponsored by Park Day School in Oakland, California. www.mindfulschools.org
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marketing expert. calfinder. community builder.
Gabriel Luna-Ostaseski co-founded CalFinder, where he directs global sales and operations. Before that, he managed Varsity Painting, one of the largest construction companies in California. www.linkedin.com/in/gabelunaostaseski
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survivor. fitness motivator. serenity manifester.
In 2000, Jenna Phillips survived a head trauma accident and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. She motivates and inspires people through Mission Possible, her health and fitness company. www.jennaphillips.com
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musician. activist. artistic mentor.
John March is a musician, teacher, producer, writer, activist, Buddhist facilitator in training, and single dad. He mentors artists and develops modern rites of passage for fathers and sons. www.zenguitarguy.com
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What do you do to expand your consciousness?
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