
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
community

I just turned 40 and I’m realizing that I have a voice. It hasn’t been until recently that I’ve found the issues and people I want to speak about, connect with, and promote. I’m so in alignment and so excited to be doing these projects that I don’t feel like I’m working anymore. I’m beginning to understand all those clichés, like “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” They always sounded cheesy before, but now that I’m experiencing them they’ve become guideposts.
I used to think I was doing the work I was supposed to be doing, and yet I always felt tired just thinking about it. When I started doing things on the side that I wasn’t getting paid for, like volunteering for programs and organizations I felt in alignment with, creative ideas came to light and time seemed to disappear.
I found it very helpful to create a new inventory of strengths that empower and enliven me. It’s also been important to surround myself with people who support me as a person rather than as my title or status.
Focusing on getting clear about what we want and asking for it saves a lot of time on the journey. Once you’re clear about what you want, ask the question Who do I know who could help me with this? The clearer we are about what we want to do, the more people we’ll find who are able to help us.
As a mindset and a practice, I try to reach out once a week in a way that connects me to somebody and builds my network. That means I’m creating over 50 opportunities a year for myself. If you can do it more often, that’s even better.
I’ve had so much help from people who were connected to me in ways I had no idea about. They were related to somebody or connected to something or involved somehow, and I’d helped them along the way. Maybe I’d talked with their child before they headed off to college. I’ve been honored and happy to do the kinds of things that build a reputation of giving. Then when I ask my community to show up at one of my events or to support something I believe is a worthy cause, they step up.
I know that if I can help people along the way, it helps our community.
– Jodi Womack
Comments