
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
euphoria

When I started racing in 5k’s, I never thought I’d complete an Ironman. But after finishing each race, I was left with this euphoric high from pushing through and completing my goal. Then I thought, imagine feeling that euphoria and accomplishment 30 times more at the end of an Ironman!
I believe the principles of endurance sports can be applied to most areas of life. There’s a lot of crossover. The first step in accomplishing any goal is to figure out how to break it into manageable chunks that our minds can comprehend. Running a marathon can seem insurmountable, but by starting small we can build that feeling of achievement.
Obviously, I didn’t start out with an Ironman. I started with a 5k. When I built myself up to run my first marathon, my goal was to “not walk”. I just wanted to run the whole thing, no matter how slow I went. That marathon was probably one of the most painful experiences of my life. The next day, I thought to myself I never want to run again. Of course, I did.
The other important part of accomplishing any goal is to know why you want to accomplish it. For me it’s that feeling at the finish line when I look back and think wow, I just covered 140.6 miles! It doesn’t matter if it took 10, 11, 12 hours. It’s about the euphoria that comes from that feeling of accomplishment. That’s what gets me through. That’s what I think about when it’s 4:30am and I’m hitting my workouts.
Training is not always comfortable, but I know that I have to go through the hard times to have a successful race. Life is very similar. There are certain things we may not like doing, but sometimes those things that seem like limitations are really pathways to future freedom. It’s when we stay on track and push through that we allow ourselves to build a successful life.
– Jonathan Hippensteel


Explore More Meaning
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tv host. satisfied customer. car washin' smiler.
Melissa Francis, author of Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter, hosts two daily business shows on the Fox Business Network, including Money with Melissa Francis. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Harvard University. [www.melissafrancisofficial.com]
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