
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
devotion

Where I experience and share the greatest love has always been with my family. My wife and I have a devotion to each other, and through that, a devotion to realize a greater oneness within ourselves. It’s the same with my son. There’s a lot of love and support there. When I think about what I couldn’t do without, they’re first on the list.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife was diagnosed with Stage 1 uterine cancer. That has put things into even more perspective. We often live life not realizing that we’re mortal. Consequently, we go about our lives taking people, situations, our health, and whatever we have in our lives as assumed. When something like this cancer gets introduced, it shocks us into a state of deeper understanding and appreciation for the importance certain people play in our lives.
I’ve questioned how much of my identity is tied up in this relationship with my wife. What would I be if she was gone? This situation really causes me to pause. It reinforces for me that this is a relationship of a lifetime. This is the center of my life.
Sometimes we have a hard time feeling the love in our hearts. For me, that means frantic activity or fear or concern. Centering myself brings me back into love. I tense then relax my whole body to move out some of that stress. I sit in a posture with an erect spine so energy can move up and down my spine. Then I do some deep breathing, usually in sets of twelve breaths. I inhale for twelve seconds, hold it for twelve, and then exhale for twelve.
When I started my business, we had the saying “You have all the time you need.” All of us have all the time there is, and so we have all the time we need. If we live with that philosophy, then we’re all doing our best.
What are you passionate about? What do you do effortlessly? What do you gravitate towards? If time or money weren’t a concern, where would you find yourself? What would you be doing? Who would you be with? What’s the thread that flows through your whole life that says, “This is who I am. This is what I do. This brings me fulfillment.”
What is that?
– Andrew Papageorge
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