
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
courage

The knowledge of our impending failure and the courage with which we meet it offers a normal life the potential to be sublime and beautiful. The paired demons and angels of my journey have always been my attempts to please each side of myself – the man of action and responsibility and the man of invention. The key struggle at this middle point is to remain true to my intention in life and remain bold in the face of my limitations.
My new family is a joyful revelation of purpose, but the struggle to create has always driven me. This results in a dilemma because I must deliver according to my responsibilities while retaining a lightness and non-mindfulness of outcome, which are mandatory ingredients of creation. We must always struggle to honor what is most meaningful to us. We all have to fight for our lives, meaning fight for the particular/potential life that we think we should live. The thousand compromises of each hour attempt to pull us away from our intention. This is not to say that we should not compromise. We must compromise – but we must be careful.
I try to structure big empty blocks of time into my schedule, during which I have no obligations. David Lynch stresses that, in order to be creative, you must have big open spaces in your life. Space to fuck around, read, stare into space, dream, watch movies, wander. The funny thing is that I always find that it is during these completely empty times that I am able to make quantum leaps.
Courage is the cardinal virtue. Without it nothing else is possible. This is okay, though. Our actual lives are so insignificant. This will sound mystical, but I think our intention and actions toward that intention are the only important things. Pema Chodran distills this into a phrase that I’ve kept with me for many years: “Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible in us be found.” To do anything of value, we must be willing to be absolutely destroyed.
Meaning is not “found” in this world. It is imposed by one’s will. Everything of value about our lives must be brought into being by us and nurtured by us. We all need to be creators. We create meaning in our lives by action. Decision, commitment and action precede meaning.
– Richard C. Arthur
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