author. speaker. motivator.
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]
political powerhouse. media mogul. author.
Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and Editor in Chief of the Huffington Post and the author of twelve books. [www.huffingtonpost.com]
author. speaker. linchpin.
Seth Godin is a prominent author, blogger and speaker. [www.squidoo.com/linchpin]
yogi. philanthropist. dynamic teacher.
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]
producer. philanthropist. tv legend.
Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film. He is also a political and social activist and philanthropist. [www.normanlear.com]
race car driver. activist. carbon free girl.
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]
Freedom Fighter. Philanthropist. Game Changer.
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]
mom. big dreamer. lady in red.
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]
Writer. Entrepreneur. Daily Lover.
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]
singer. musician. crier.
Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. [www.lizphair.com]
archbishop. author. peaceful leader.
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]
author. ceo. humanitarian.
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]
speaker. psychotherapist. life embracer.
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]
yogi. meditator. teacher.
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]
creator. writer. idea geek.
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]
Strategist. Writer. Life Coach.
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]
Designer. Art Director. Passionate Creator.
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]
Agent. Producer. Photography Enthusiast.
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
potential
Joshua Smith
songwriter. artist. full potentialist.
Joshua Smith is an Emmy nominated singer and the creator of "Home on the Road," a gathering of stories shared by common folk about where passion and commitment can lead. [www.listentojoshua.com]
We have to pursue our dreams with reckless abandon sometimes to get to the place where we’ll be happiest. Living life to my fullest potential is definitely the most meaningful and important thing to me.
This came to the forefront for me pretty early on in life. Around the same time I started playing and writing music, my parents divorced. That’s when I decided to start living my life to my fullest potential. I soon discovered that helping others and using my abilities with music to benefit others is my passion. I haven’t stopped since! Most of my music and talents are used to benefit non-profits and causes.
In college, I almost stopped playing music. I took a year off from school and ended up doing relief work on the Gulf Coast after hurricane Katrina. I wanted to be a relief worker the rest of my life. But I couldn’t avoid playing guitar and writing music for long, and when I picked it back up I was encouraged to keep going with using my gifts to help others, as I’d initially set out to do. That’s the best way I know of to be of benefit to others.
I do get off track sometimes. When we lose our sense of awareness about ourselves and our lives, we stop paying attention. We lose track of what real meaning is. Sometimes it’s because our perspective of self is identified too much with what’s on the outside. Most things are meaningless outside of the meaning we put into them. In that case, if we’re not paying direct attention to what meaning we put into things, we’re getting lost in the reflections of life and not life itself.
Even though I wrote a book about living the life I’ve been describing, it’s still easy sometimes to forget why I’m here and what I’m doing. At the end of the day, I remember to take my mom’s advice. She says, “Josh, you should take your own advice.” Ha! She’s my biggest fan and one of my biggest inspirations, and she’s right. You have to follow your own heart and remind yourself to keep on doing it. Just live, wholeheartedly, the way you know is most healthy and beneficial to you.
I’m constantly pursuing new perspectives. Changing our own perspectives is one of the hardest things to do. I’m always looking for new ways of doing it – and finding new ways of living.
– Josh Smith
Explore More Meaning
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loving sister. compassionate nurse. hopeful survivor.
Nicole Krugh is a devoted wife, mother, sister and nurse. She is the founder of a not for profit organization raising awareness on teenage depression and suicide. [www.taylordonnadio.com]
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fisherman. tree surgeon. renaissance man.
John Schindler is a renaissance man. He served in the Army and he owned a natural foods grocery. He's a master butcher, tree surgeon, chef, baker, ?sherman, loving husband, and father.
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strategist. cultivator. interactive media pioneer.
Jeannine Parker founded Infinite Solutions Institute, to educate and advocate for solutions that already exist, and co-founded The Wealth Garden, a global collaborative platform for social entrepreneurs. [www.infinitesolutions.org]
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Producer. Leader. Shifter.
Kenneth Schwenker, has produced over 20 feature films. He founded Leaders Causing Leaders and produced the LeaderShift Conference, a groundbreaking experience that awakens the leader within. [www.leaderscausingleaders.com]
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yogi. truth pursuer. no bs'er.
Claudia Azula Altucher is an ardent student and teacher of yoga, meditation, and philosophy. She has travelled the world in search of truth only to realize that it can only be found within. [www.claudiayoga.com]
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author. business provocateur. right-brainer.
Daniel H. Pink is the best-selling author of four provocative books about the changing world of work. His books have been translated into 32 languages. [www.danpink.com]
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Arielle Ford is a leader in the personal growth and contemporary spirituality movement. She’s been living, teaching, and promoting consciousness through many forms of media.
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new thought minister. author. emissary of peace.
Michael Bernard Beckwith is the founder of Agape International Spiritual Center and a celebrated author. [www.agapelive.com]
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