
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
love

If there has been any one secret to my success, it is that I have always had love as the guiding principle of my life – self-love, love for others, only doing work that I love, love of God, and love of life. In all things I have devoted myself to love. For years I conducted seminars on self-esteem, teaching more than a million people in more than 30 countries how to know themselves, love themselves, and express themselves more fully. Then I compiled and edited more than 200 Chicken Soup for the Soul books containing inspirational stories of love, faith, and courage. Later, I discovered that my life purpose is “to inspire and empower people to live their highest vision in a context of love and joy in harmony with the highest good of all concerned.” Everything I do is to that end.
I believe it all starts with the love of self. We all have to learn to love ourselves just the way we are. We need to stop trying to live up to other people’s expectations and learn to trust our own wants and desires, trust our feelings, trust our intuition, follow our heart, and trust our internal guidance system. I have long been a believer in the idea “Do what you love and the money will follow.” I have always followed my passions, doing what I love—teaching. I started out as a high school teacher in an inner city high school in Chicago. I discovered that I loved teaching, and I especially love teaching people how to create the life of their dreams. I love to watch people’s eyes light up as they reconnect to the essence of who they really are, reclaim their power, make authentic contact with others, rekindle their dreams, and commit to goals that will grow and stretch them.
I’ve also learned that my life works better and I am more fulfilled when I truly love other people and treat them as I want to be treated. The more I open my heart to people, the more magical my life becomes. The more I commit myself to a life of service to others through writing, speaking, and training, the more abundance pours into my life. The guiding questions that we are always asking in our company are “How can we serve our clients and students more fully?” and “How can we reach more people to serve?” It’s never been “How can we make more money?”
The deeper I drop into love, the more my love expands – ultimately to include all life, not just other humans, but all animals and plants. When I meditate, I send a blessing for happiness and abundance for all beings. When I do this, I always experience a deep and profound inner peace and happiness myself. The more I radiate it, the more it radiates back to me.
– Jack Canfield
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