
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
peace

1. Change doesn’t start on the surface. It’s generated from consciousness. If both Buddhism and Christianity could begin with one person, let’s not think in terms of numbers and odds. Our strength comes from critical mass.
2. We aren’t here to make the world evolve. We’re here to evolve as individuals and then to spread that influence. We don’t have to struggle to grow.
3. Societies get into the grip of their own self-created story. We can choose not to participate in that story. Let’s not try to change anyone’s story. Let’s only notice and observe ourselves when we buy into it and then back away from participating in it.
4. Let’s not demand of ourselves that we alone must be the agent of change. In a fire brigade, everyone passes along a bucket, but only the last person puts out the fire. None of us know where we stand in line. Let’s direct our thoughts, words, and actions to peace. Let the results be what they will be.
5. Let’s realize that engagement and detachment aren’t opposite. The more engaged we become, the more detached we will have to be. Otherwise, we’ll lose ourselves in conflict, obsessiveness, anxiety over the future, and feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Our joyous moments will come from riding the wave, not asking to get off at the next station.
6. Since most misery is born of failed expectations, let’s learn to minimize expectations so that we’ll feel far less guilt and disappointment.
7. We aren’t here to be good or perfect. We’re here as antennas for signals from the future. We’re here to be midwives to something that wants to be born. As one wise teacher said, “You aren’t here to be as good as possible. You are here to be as real as possible.”
8. I know this sounds difficult, but let us try to be tolerant of intolerance. If we do the opposite – show a hard heart against those with hard hearts of their own – all we’ve done is expand the problem. Everyone’s doing the best they can from their own level of consciousness. All we can realistically do is seek openings for higher awareness.
9. Let’s resist the lure of dualities. These include us versus them, civilized versus barbarians, good versus evil. In reality, we’re all in the same boat of human conflict and confusion. Sometimes it helps to admit that the doctor is not far from being a patient.
10. Let’s create an atmosphere of peace around ourselves. Simplistic as it may sound, the male principle of aggression can only be healed by the feminine principle of nurturing and love.
– Deepak Chopra


Explore More Meaning
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moving actor. encouraging coach. forgiveness advocator.
Brenda Adelman is the recipient of a Hero of Forgiveness award from the Hawaii Forgiveness Project. She facilitates workshops based on her ebook, My Father Killed My Mother and Married My Aunt: Forgiving the Unforgivable. [www.forgivenessandfreedom.com]
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