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
open heart
Ellen Contente
love-faller. gift finder. receiver.
Ellen Contente is an entrepreneur and a lover of many things. Through her training and coaching company, Heart-Centered Programs, she helps people live from a heart-centered place. www.heartcenteredprograms.com
Falling in love – there’s nothing like it. I’ve been falling in love with the people in my life my whole life. It started when I was a little girl and fell in love with my father. I was definitely Daddy’s little girl. Then I fell in love with a boy in nursery school – I vaguely remember kissing him behind a bush. And falling in love has never stopped. In junior high, high school, college, and beyond, I’ve loved and lost and loved again, many times.
Once I’ve fallen in love, once I’ve connected with someone on a deep level, I stay in love. Those relationships and connections are what sustain me and give my life meaning. My friendships and the community of people I’ve attracted are a testament of my way of loving and living from a heart-centered place. Every person I’ve loved has left an imprint on my heart and opened me up to love even more, and even more deeply.
On my darkest days – days when I feel disconnected, when I feel like my life isn’t working or that things are imploding around me – I realize I’ve isolated myself and stopped loving. I’ve stopped loving myself, stopped loving the people in my life, stopped loving life all together. That’s when I need to find ways to fall in love all over again.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they fall out of love with someone or some situation, is to look for blame. I’ve come to realize that everything happens for a reason. I may not know what that reason is, but if I can look at each day as another opportunity to love, I will find the gifts.
I’ve never had any regrets about relationships that didn’t work out the way I’d thought or hoped they would, because I recognize that they’ve each helped me become who I am. Each relationship has given me something I needed at the time in order to evolve and grow for my own highest good. And, sometimes, it’s not about me, but about what I can give to the other person.
I begin each day with the questions “What gifts can I bring to those I love?” and “What gifts are here for me to receive?” Then I open my heart to all the love that’s around me, everywhere, every day.
- Ellen Contente
Explore More Meaning
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spiritual experimenter. youthful heart. vet elevator.
Maryle Malloy is a conscious business leader, consultant, trainer, and motivational speaker who currently works to provide veterinarians with management techniques and marketing tools that support personal and organizational change. www.dvm-marketplace.com
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neurotransmitter. sound innovator. yummy hummer.
Sound visionary and author Alex Theory draws upon extensive training in psychology, integrative medicine, and psychoacoustic music production to innovate new styles of music and media. www.unifyearth.com
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yoga expert. author. couch yogi.
Tara Stiles is reinventing yoga practice, proving you don't need to call yourself a "yoga person" to make it part of your life. She founded Strala Yoga and is Deepak Chopra’s personal yoga instructor. www.tarastiles.com
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family guy. nature connoisseur. spiritual connector.
Gary Kowalski is a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, a Unitarian Universalist minister, and the author of seven books on nature, spirituality, science, and the environment. www.kowalskibooks.com
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blogger. photographer. joyful spirit.
Jaclyn Welsh is a blogger, photographer, and marketer who strives to walk through life with kindness in her words, joy in her spirit, and peace in her heart. http://polkadotteapot.wordpress.com
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animal lovers. life respecters. angels.
In 1996, Allen and Linda Anderson founded the Angel Animals Network (“Where Pets Are Family”), using the power of stories to increase love and respect for all life. www.angelanimals.net
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body-mind integration pioneer. relationship expert. mover and shaker.
Bestselling author Kathlyn Hendricks, Ph.D., A.D.T.R., has been a pioneer in the field of body-mind integration and body-centered relationship transformation for nearly forty years. www.hendricks.com
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philanthropist. businessman. shoe giver.
Blake Mycoskie is the founder and Chief Shoe-Giver of TOMS Shoes. He started the company in 2006 as a means to give shoes to children in need. www.toms.com
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