
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
expression

Being an expressive person has always been my nature, but I’ve learned to value my connection to self-expression over time, as I’ve grown out of my own insecurities and learned to shine my self-expression more fully.
When I see people really connecting with who they are and shining forth from there, when I see how that inspires others and how it inspires me, that bursts my heart open. It ripples out into more possibilities, more creativity, more connection between people, more value and freedom.
People seem to feel they have to be someone else in order to be successful or accepted. One of my mentors recently reminded me of a story: A student of the founder of aikido asked, “Sensei, how is it that you’re always in balance?” The sensei replied, “I am never in balance. I am always moving towards balance.” We are constantly moving, changing, and evolving. Knowing that gives me relief. It reminds the parts of me that want to beat me up for not being in a better place that I’m always evolving.
Because I’m always moving toward centeredness, I’m not always on top of the game and so I’m easier to relate to because I’m real. Sometimes I talk to myself out loud. I check in and ask myself how I’m feeling (What’s going on?) and allow myself to feel and experience what’s going on. Nine times out of ten, not long after that, it’s past, because I’ve responded to it. I don’t try to push it away. As soon as I allow it, it goes away.
One of the biggest things I’ve been learning in the past couple of months is that even though I’m a free-spirited, creative whirlwind, the more structure I have, the more freedom I have. Having a structured schedule helps me see the bigger picture of what’s important versus what’s not. It’s profound! It removes the feeling that I have to be more and do more. With structure, I gain free time for being creative, doing nothing, sleeping, and spending time with my family. All of a sudden, things manifest without effort.
To find meaning, I start with questions: What do I care about? What brings me joy? What am I afraid of? What pisses me off? Why? If I could change it, how would I? Sometimes it’s easier to describe what we’re afraid of. Asking why we’re afraid leads to what we’ve been hiding from, which turns out to be something we’d love to do or express.
– Tbird Luv


Explore More Meaning
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publishing pioneer. novelist. dot aficionado.
William Gladstone is a bestselling novelist, a literary agent for exceptional authors, and a publishing pioneer. He contributed to the creation of the first print-on-demand book publishing company and the first eBook publishing company. [http://12thebook.com]
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fearless lady. radio inspirer. challenge acceptor.
Fenesha Hubbard helps women use their innate intuitive abilities to create profound changes in their lives. Find her teaching Kemetic Yoga, facilitating group learning sessions, and serving up fuel for your mind and soul on her radio show. [fenesha.com]
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