
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
song of love

My highest value, and the value I think is most important, is love, along with all its different aspects. At the end of the day and at the end of our life journey, what we retain from the relationships we’ve had, the people we’ve loved, and what we’ve done with our lives is the expression of love.
I don’t think of love as primarily a feeling, although that’s one of its components, but as the ground for being. It’s who we are at the core. Through my choices and actions, I can go beyond the abstract idea of love.
For the past 32 years, I’ve directed most of my life’s energy into my work, building a company as a collective, collaborative enterprise – with that song of love in mind. The company has been and is my expression of love in the world, built the way an artist paints a picture or a novelist writes a book. It’s a love song that reflects my deepest values and what I care most about.
It’s only as the business grew and I grew as a person that I became more conscious of the values moving me forward and more aware of how much I value love. I’m convinced it’s only in retrospect that we become conscious of a lot of the reasons behind our impulses. Thankfully, consciousness is something that continues to grow.
When I get off track, when I forget about love and enter a space of judgment, fear, or anger, what I do to get back on track is tune in to the moment, through meditation, by focusing and listening and being quiet, or by spending time with my wife. I always find my way back then, to the song of love that’s in my heart.
My wife and I have been together 21 years now. The universe played a trick on me when I fell in love with her. I’m an entrepreneur and independent and self-willed in many ways. I have to do things my way, I can’t follow directions very well, and I’ve got authority issues. But I fell in love with and married an amazing woman who’s like a guru. She’s an awake, spiritually conscious person. Her energy is always very yen, sweet, nurturing, and healing. She doesn’t boss me around, but she helps me find the song of love. I like talking with her every day.
Whether its a business or a marriage or anything else, everyone needs to find and sing their song of love in the world.
– John Mackey
Comments