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, 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.
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
nature

The most powerful and meaningful thing for me, and one of my greatest teachers, is nature. Nature is where I’m most at home. It’s where connection begins and ends for me. Being out in nature stops the rat race and the stress. When I challenge myself to be silent in nature and really take in all that nature has to give, I find a sense of inner peace and connection. I find out who I really am. I tune in to the rhythm of nature and the biorhythms of the planet.
We tend to think of animals as having an innate sense of what’s going on with the Earth, but we’re animals too. We have the same sensibilities as other animals, but we get wrapped up in our technological lives and forget that we need to take our shoes off and walk in the sand and the dirt. We need to feel the energetic connection we have with the earth. That energetic connection actually has something to teach us.
The whole universe is changing and the world is spinning faster. Our need to get outside and slow down and connect is more imperative than ever before. And it’s not too late. If you’ve been out of touch with nature for a long time, or have never taken the time, you can still do it. There’s still time. Find a form of nature you feel a connection to, whether it’s the desert or the mountains or the beach, or your own back yard. Go there. Spend some time being quiet there. Then you’ll remember, “Oh, right. I forgot I’m an animal. I forgot it’s this simple.”
It’s sometimes difficult for people to love themselves, but it’s easy to go outside and walk around. We can do that simple thing. Self love is taking time for yourself and realizing that you deserve to connect. Nature helps.
Though we humans think of ourselves as very complex and extremely intelligent – and we are – there’s a level of intelligence which comes from nature that we’re wise to connect with. We each have a piece that can connect to nature so that nature can change us for the better.
- Mariel Hemingway
Explore More Meaning
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leadership consultant. author. storm chaser.
Deidre Combs provides leadership and cross-cultural conflict skills as a consultant, coach, author, mediator, and professor. She developed the core foundations course for Montana State University’s Leadership Fellows Certificate Program. www.combsandcompany.com
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