
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
choice

We all have negative thoughts and doubts that come up every waking second of every day. They bombard us all the time. What I do is acknowledge whatever comes up. I acknowledge it and honor it, no matter how negative it is. I say, “Oh, hello old thought or doubt, there you are again!” By observing it, it floats away. The more we try to ignore or fight those negative thoughts and doubts, the more energy we give them and the more they grow. I just let them come up, because what we resist persists. I don’t resist those thoughts that still come up telling me I can’t do it, I’m not worthy, not good enough, skinny enough, smart enough, cool enough, etc. I don’t fight them. I just chose not to believe them.
The truth is, such thoughts will always come up, no matter how spiritual or conscious we are or how much work we do on ourselves. What changes is how we handle those thoughts. We can choose to let them keep us from living the life we want. We can choose to let them keep us unhappy or unfulfilled. Or we can choose not to believe them.
Integrity in dealing with myself and others is a driving force in my life. It’s become very important to me to keep my word. In today’s society, we’re almost programmed to assume not to take anyone at their word. We assume people are going to flake – and that’s usually because we flake on ourselves!
I decided to make a choice to keep commitments to myself and others – no matter what – after I realized I was making commitments to myself to do all sorts of things, big and small, but not following through. I’d commit to going to yoga four times a week, meeting a friend for coffee, writing one blog post every day, or starting a new project … but then not do it. I always had an excuse. I started really feeling icky about it.
Now, even if I’m tired, even if I don’t want to, even if other things come up, I do what I say I’m going to do. And I feel empowered and confident. That feeling carries over into every area of my life.
I encourage you to make the choice to keep your word, too, to yourself and to others, no matter how small a thing you commit to. See how you feel when you do. I bet you’ll feel empowered!
– Holly Sidell
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