
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
study

The way I live my life is by focusing on what I don’t know. Our consciousness is extremely minute as compared to our unconsciousness. We live our lives in a constant state of knowing and expecting. Living my life by expectations is necessary for my human survival, but it also traps me in old beliefs and inhibits my ability to explore the unknown aspects of life and of myself. By looking at the opposite of everything in life, challenging my thoughts, and asking myself why I think the way I think, I’m given limited answers to mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional questions such as, Who am I and why do I think the way I think? This provides me an opportunity to tap into my unconsciousness.
One of my Melvinisms (my way of expressing a personal insight) is “You can’t see your eyebrows!” I can only see a speck of the universe. Seeing life with curiosity and respect allows me the right of entry into my unconsciousness. The way I see the world is an inside-out projection. Asking others for authentic feedback and coaching about my thinking and actions provides a way for me to see the world through the eyes of others, which is a powerful mirror of how I express myself in the world. When I stop and become cognizant of how unconscious I am, I become more conscious and affirming of the miracle of life and Spirit.
The universe is always informing me, showing me what actions I should take and in which direction I should go. Trusting my inner guidance system, my intuition, is a way of listening to my unconsciousness. Images, sounds, feelings, and thoughts are portals into the unconsciousness. My belief that nothing is an accident and my surrender to my unconsciousness are the ways I study my own unconsciousness in order to serve and be a conduit for others in my work of studying the unconsciousness for the highest good of all concerned.
Since the unknown is so vast, it makes sense to me to study and respect the unconsciousness, which I don’t know, as compared to studying the consciousness, which I do know … a little!
– Melvin Allen
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