
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
stand

Stand.
There are few things more powerful than the simple act of standing.
Gandhi stood for peace. Martin Luther King Jr. stood for equality. Mother Teresa stood for compassion. Hardly pushovers.
So what makes this standing so powerful?
When we stand for something, we have an unwavering commitment toward it. It’s clear and definitive. There’s no wasted energy thinking and rethinking, deciding and un-deciding, hemming then hawing. So those who stand for something enjoy super-concentrated energy.
And that’s just the beginning.
Since the entire universe loves clarity, it naturally and bountifully supports it. For example, a tree is definitive in being a tree. The universe abides by the tree’s decision and thus fully supports the tree by supplying everything it needs – sun and water, etc. The same holds true with us. When we stand for something AUTHENTIC within us, we will be supported by the ENTIRE UNIVERSE. Yeah, baby, yeah … now we’re talking!
Let’s take a look at how it works the other way around. Until we make a conscious commitment to stand for something, we stand for nothing. And when we stand for nothing, we’re lost in no man’s land. And in no man’s land, we can eat up a lot of energy quickly … perhaps by standing then sitting repeatedly, or standing until someone tells us to sit, or standing until someone sees us standing, so we quickly sit in fear of judgment.
What a mess.
No worries though. It’s an easy fix. First, simply get in touch with something that’s AUTHENTIC within the “real you” – your essence. Then make a conscious decision to stand for it.
Simple as that.
Now, here’s the trick: Make this decision when there’s NO PRESSURE to make this decision. Don’t wait for a set of circumstances to come up before you decide what you stand for! For example, if your essence likes the idea of integrity, make a decision right then and there that you stand for integrity. So then when a situation arises that might compromise your integrity, you automatically and effortlessly say no.
No questions asked. No energy leak. The decision has ALREADY been made. If, let’s say, certain circumstances arise before you’ve decided to stand for integrity, you may unconsciously get caught up in a particular story, rationalizing this or that, and ultimately make a dishonest decision.
The standing must come first.
One last thing … sometimes, before we can stand for something authentic, we must surrender something false, which may first require us to … fall to our knees.
– Frank Gjata
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