
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
words matter

When my comfortable life fell apart, I discovered the difference between comfort and meaning. Feeling comfortable never made me feel better, but finding meaning makes me feel deeply content, no matter what’s happening around me.
Here are my keys to having a life of meaning:
Know what I care about. When everything I’d gathered for a cushy life disappeared, I realized I had nothing left that sustained my life. I didn’t want to look back on an empty but “comfortable” life. I saw that meaning was deeper than comfort and maybe even deeper than happiness. Then I learned that a meaningful life is one brimming with what I truly care about. Now I ask, “Does this matter?” and, if it does, I do more of that. (And I’m deeply happy. Go figure).
Drop my mask. One ingredient that had been missing my entire life was … me. I’d made an art and profession of not being me. I lived through so many personas! But who cares if people love the mask? To live meaningfully, I have to take it off.
Listen to my inner mumble. I turn my attention from outside to inside. Focused outside, we always see something that promises to make us feel better. Meaning isn’t about “feeling better.” I noticed that I literally entertained thoughts. And I saw that I have choices. So I began to speak and think with loving-kindness toward others and myself. Today, I know how to observe, step back, and inquire into my thinking – and peace of mind is never far.
Practice makes perfect experience. We can connect with a sense of our own innate wellbeing at any moment. But even instantaneous shifts take practice. I seek out new ideas and I road test them myself. When I experience a change in myself, the truth is undeniable. Personal truth creates meaning.
Create conversations of possibility. A huge part of my life is about creating meaningful conversations with other people (as well as within myself). These conversations open up a place to “be with” differently and to see in a brand new way. They allow insights to float up. I facilitate conversations that create space for the buoyancy of insight. Having these conversations gives my life meaning. And if I get mixed up, I just remember: I care about this.
– Elese Coit
lifebyme would like to congratulate Elese on her Foundations of Wellbeing Teleclass Sessions starting this month! These sessions create a Spa for the Mind, notching down zooming brains to hear, see and realize what’s going on within and create our own state of mind. We love the idea of taking a weekly mental spa day with someone as lovely as Elese! www.elesecoit.com/wellbeing-classes
Comments