
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
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I’ve noticed that when I hit a snag, experience a setback, or am somehow knocked off my game, I feel lost. It’s like I landed on someone else’s Boardwalk space in Monopoly and it has two hotels on it. I feel like I have to get back to where I was. And I hope like the devil someone lands on my two-hotel property – twice – so I can feel like I haven’t lost any ground.
As I notice this, I realize I’ve been living most of my life in the get-back state, trying to catch up with something, only I don’t know what it is. I judge myself for losing net worth during a recession – like I should’ve known better. Like I AM the money that’s no longer there. If that’s so, then who am I now? Funny. I’m down on myself because I didn’t know better than the financiers and economists in charge of our monetary system. That doesn’t really make a lot of sense … yet here I am. What’s left for me is to look at the whole thing differently, to ask: “What’s the story I could tell myself?”
If I look at the story I am telling, it presupposes that the past is real. Yes, it did happen. But that’s trying to get back to something that’s no longer here, rather than talking about what’s real here and now. It was in the past, but it’s no longer here now. A better choice is for me is to look at the facts of my current situation and work from here. With that perspective, I’m not trying to get back to anything, I’m just looking to build, like I always have (and hopefully always will!).
The lie we tell ourselves is that there’s any “back” to get to. There is only now. And it’s now when we make plans for the future. My opportunity is to take all the creative energy I’ve been spending on getting back to some past success and apply it to moving forward.
Now the questions are: “What do I want to get to?” and “How do I get there from right here?” Then I do the only thing I or anyone else can do in this or any situation. I take a step. I take action. Here and now.
– Jeff Youngs
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