
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
my compass

I have a compass inside me. It’s a built-in indicator of the directions in my life. When I’m going in the right direction, it provides me with a sense of correctness, and when I drift off course it gives me an internal nudge to correct my path by reevaluating my behaviors, thoughts, and actions. My compass is smart; it can’t be fooled, even when I’ve tried to ignore it from time to time.
It’s not an actual compass, of course. Compass is my metaphor for an innate sense, a kind of inner guide. But compass is a potent metaphor for me, because I’ve often relied on actual compasses to find my way in the wilderness. I’ve come to love compasses. I own six of them. Three of my favorites are on my desk as I write these words and another is on my key chain. Two more are in with my backpacking and camping gear.
Compasses have helped me understand a few of the ways life works. Imagine you’re sailing a boat from San Francisco to Honolulu, a straight-line distance of 2,387 miles. It’s impossible to follow a compass setting exactly and sail a direct course; nearly all the time you’ll be a bit off, right or left. It’s the overall direction that determines whether you wind up at your destination. Your journey will be a continual matter of course-correction because precision is not attainable. Sailing is always like that. So is life.
What is your compass? Does it point you generally in the right direction? Do bells and whistles go off when you drift too far off course? Are you able to live with less than perfection, forgiving yourself when you drift astray and not demanding total precision on your life’s journey? Are you able to forgive others when they drift off course? Do you employ rituals in your life that help you stay sensitive to your main direction? I do. Periodic solitude and immersion in wilderness help provide that sensitivity for me. Without some degree of continual exposure to nature I don’t do well.
Find your compass, chart your course, permit yourself and others the freedom to drift a bit, and create personal rituals that help you stay sensitive to your main direction.
I’ll see you on the journey.
– Larry Dossey
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