
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
soul

“Don’t cry for me. There are things worse than dying, like living half-way.”
Dying people, like the man who said those words to his family, have so much to teach the living. The extraordinary thing they’ve taught me is to live all the way, without reserve or hesitation. The terminal patients I’ve worked with showed me that fear snatches more life than any disease or traumatic accident.
One bedside conversation at a time, I was entrusted with end-of-life secrets, longings, regrets, and celebrations. Those soulful dialogues implanted in me a deep disenchantment with small talk, shallow connection, and meaninglessness – the flimsy stuff of which our dominant culture is made.
Which is why it’s so vital that those of us who perceive more insist on more. In all our spheres of influence, it is wholly up to us to host the depth and the texture we crave.
When I connect with people, I see the sapphires behind their stories, the pearl behind their pain, the lapis lazuli behind their loss. This grants me the assurance that nothing is wasted in the soul’s economy. Seeing myself and others without distortion or decay is breathtaking. And breathgiving.
We are all terminal. Perhaps we could develop a healthy sense of urgency around this fact. Time and breath are angels’ envy. Why? Because it’s an exquisite privilege to be encased in flesh, with neural activity that permits the taste of melon, the pleasure of moist kisses, the sound of thunder and giggles, the sight of nature’s art, the scent of the beloved, and, perhaps most of all, the chance to risk our hearts on someone or something we adore.
Eternity, housed in physicality, is the most highly prized gift in all the ages. We are the two-legged intersection between heaven and earth and we get to savor, bless, and beautify both realms. The great quickening – also called the shift – is an invitation to allow our souls to expand and express in our human life. Our souls are intended for visibility and action, not docile containment. Be aroused. Be awake. Be alive.
– Erika Harris


Explore More Meaning
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compassionate pianist. musical communicator. moment enjoyer.
Pianist Vanessa Perez, praised for her passionate performing style and keenly sensitive musicianship, is a product of the energized musical culture in Venezuela that produced international stars like conductor Gustavo Dudamel and pianist Gabriela Montero. [www.vanessaperez.com]
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