
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
success

Success has many meanings. To me, success is enjoying what we do and it’s the best of what we do. Financial success is great, but the success I’m talking about here is more about knowing that what I do – personally and professionally – provides me with happiness.
For me, with my kids, their happiness is my happiness. A lot of what my parents instilled in me I want to instill in my children. The main thing is to love what you do, whether you’re in sales or marketing, working as a waiter or a golf caddy. Just love what you do and be the best at what you do.
When I was growing up, I was a waiter at a resort and worked in a bakery, but I always loved and believed in what I did. It’s important not only to love what you do, but to know that what you’re doing is providing a service, providing value to the people you work with and the people you serve.
I’d also like to instill in my children a resistance to the pressures modern-day society puts on children. I never want them to feel that they have to prove themselves or do something they don’t want to do. I want them to love what they do because success will breed from that happiness. That’s what happened with me and my company.
The people who inspire me are business owner-operators who really understood their business models and knew all aspects of their models and their media – like Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone magazine, Malcolm Forbes of Forbes magazine, and Andy Warhol. I’d love to have had a conversation with Andy Warhol. I’ve been intrigued by him my entire career. I love how he brought to life the pages of his magazines in a physical way that created a sense of community. These and other hard-driving CEOs knew their consumers and their advertisers. They knew how to create niches and make brands out of themselves and what they did. Their brands were almost like their DNA. Arianna Huffington is that kind of person today. It’s those people and that business model that drive me every day when I wake up.
– Jason Binn
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