
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
humanity

Short of killing someone, I believe the worst thing one human being can do to another is to make someone feel small: “You’re not,” “You can’t,” “You won’t ever be.” It drives me crazy in any form it appears – from social abuse to abuse of power by governments and corporations.
I choose to direct my efforts to the world of business because the ripple affect is so large. The passion that drives my company is that nobody should be diminished by business – by working in it or buying from it. Since that’s a little too woo-woo for a profitable enterprise, I’ve turned it into a series of hardcore ROI (return on investment) equations that make the business case for humanity. We’ve all felt what happens when humanity is lost in business. If we save it instead, we save ourselves.
Companies are generally made up of good people – your friends, your neighbors. Seeing some of the decisions companies make and the empathy they’ve abandoned, you have to wonder how that happens. It’s rarely through a deliberate act of moral dyslexia; it’s mostly little paper cuts to the soul that go unnoticed and untreated and affect a true sense of self. This happens at work and outside of work. We’re consumers and constituents and someone is always trying to sell us something. If we can be kept feeling uncertain and angry, helpless and unaccountable for what happens to us, and hungry to be something we’re not, anyone can sell us anything.
This has taken its toll on us all. The only thing we can do – must do – is take it back. Our humanity is activated when we offer it to others. To do that, we have to retain our own humanity. It starts with knowing yourself. If you don’t know what’s true for you, everyone else has unusual influence. This is a matter of living your own values, which are your personal source of safety, hope, and renewal. This is your one and only precious life. Somebody is going to decide how it’s going to be lived. That person had better be you.
– Stan Slap
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