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
dreams
Pol Serge Kakon
Songwriter. Painter. Dreamer.
Songwriter, novelist, and painter Pol Serge Kakon was born in Mogador (now Essaouira). He founded The Drunken Boat, in Paris, which became a mecca for poetry and song. www.polsergekakon.com
Our dreams stay with us and shape our relationship to the world. The knowledge others pass on to us is, from childhood, interpreted, revised, altered, and embellished by our childhood dreams. It can be challenging to master the course of our dreamed life when others, those who wish us well and those who don’t, society, and prejudices often force us to sail against the wind of our dreams.
As a kid, I tended to get lost in my dreams. I still do, despite all the silver in my hair. From an early age, words resonated within me like spells, and they still fuel my desires today. Each new word that reaches my ears is projected into a gallery of dreams and bounced from one dream to another. It’s while seeking the meanings of words that I give meaning to my life.
When I was a child, on my first day at school, we spent the entire class monotonously babbling words in unison as we looked at a big board on which were representations of domestic animals. “The goat. The kid,” we all said together. When my mother asked, “What did you do at school?” I answered, “I sang.” That early experience combined singing and learning for me and gave me a passion for words. I made the words my own by singing them and I still use songs to help me learn new languages.
By the time I was twenty, arriving in Paris with my guitar to perform in clubs and on the Left Bank, I had a furious appetite for words and kisses: singing is nothing more that that. That love is why I established Le Bateau Ivre (the Drunken Boat), the cabaret in Paris where I welcomed so many talents. Since then, I’ve followed words and dreams around the world as I sing, paint, and publish novels.
Wherever I go in this vast world, words precede and follow me. They will forever conspire with my dreams, which bounce them onto the facets of the precious gemstone of my life to reflect friendship and love, beauty and desire – all the things without which life would be meaningless.
- Pol Serge Kakon
Explore More Meaning
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budding author. life rewriter. scribble lover.
Kaleigh Somers studies Media Arts & Design and Creative Writing at James Madison University. She wants to publish a young adult novel and work for a non-profit dedicated to empowering young women. www.kaleighsomers.wordpress.com
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juxtaposer. course corrector. chicken soup maker.
Alan Cohen loves to extract lessons from the practical experiences of daily living and find beauty in the seeming mundane. He’s an inspirational leader, author, and contributor for the Chicken Soup series. www.alancohen.com
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enrichment coach. workshop leader. feng shuier.
Anna Cherry is an Enrichment Coach with a background in marketing communications, public relations, and technical writing. She’s also a workshop leader and a qualified feng shui practitioner. www.the9enrichments.com
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campbell resurrector. storyteller. hero inspirer.
Pat Solomon is the producer and director of Finding Joe, an exploration of famed mythologist Joseph Campbell’s studies and how they provide a narrative for living a fully realized life. www.findingjoethemovie.com
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child advocate. breath taker. ketchup hero.
Jennifer Lehr is a mom, author, child advocate, and a student of unconditional parenting. www.goodjobandotherthings.com
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Writer. Philanthropist. Community Transformer.
Brian Center has worked on the issues of violence prevention and strengthening families from many angles. He’s the Executive Director of A Better LA. www.abetterla.org
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moment savorer. recoverer. brave heart.
Once an overachieving executive, Noch Noch’s life was turned upside down by depression. Recovering, she writes about living with depression and self-awareness, and is also developing Bearapy, a creative therapy project. www.nochnoch.com
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author. speaker. productivity guru.
David Allen is a consultant, international lecturer, bestselling author, and the founder of the David Allen Company. www.davidco.com
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