
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
transform

As a grief and trauma therapist, one of my roles is to help people step fully into a new beginning after they have healed from a life crisis. I am often involved in the discovery of what is now meaningful and in guiding the search for the purpose for the rest of their lives.
I often start by asking the person to ponder the following questions:
- Is there something you always wanted to do, but somehow that never happened?
- If money were no object, what would you do?
- If you were to die tomorrow, what would you regret not having accomplished?
- If you were listening to your own obituary, what else would you want said about your life and what you have accomplished?
I also give two sets of homework. The first is to create a collage. I encourage them to sit for a few moments in silence and ponder, “What do I want my future to look like?” Then they cut pictures from magazines that represent what would be important to have as a part of their future. As they paste them onto construction paper, they continue pondering, “What do I want my future to look like?”
I ask them to identify how each picture represents a part of what they want and how that picture fits into the overall theme of the entire collage. I pay particular attention to what is in the immediate center of the collage. I know that is where a great amount of attention is now being soulfully focused. I invite the person to journal their experience and what they discovered as they created the piece.
The second is “Morning pages.” I adapted this exercise from one described by Julia Cameron in The Artist Way. Each morning, just after waking, sit in a peaceful place to write in a non-stop fashion, three pages answering the question “What am I to do with the rest of my life.” When the three pages are completed they are tucked away, unread, until after three pages have been written each morning for a month. At the end of the month the person reads the entire narrative.
Morning pages have proven a successful process for me and for each person who has completed this exercise with me. Each has been amazed at how their thirty-day reading provided clarity to the answer they were seeking to “What am I to do with the rest of my life?”
– Jane Simington
Your Turn
- You don’t have to wait until you have magazines and scissors lying around. Do you have a Pinterest account?
- When you have one, would you be up for making one of your tabs a “Vision Board.”
- Now scour the Internet for pictures and words that will help you create your vision. Why not set this as your home page for a month?
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