
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
love

It’s fair to say that I’ve taken the road less travelled. At 22, I ventured out into the big, wide world. Disillusioned with the values of Western society, I set off for Japan, where I lived in a remote fishing village and ran an English school.
My next stop changed my life forever. When I landed in India, I felt like I’d come home, like I’d travelled through a time tunnel and landed in biblical times. I fell so in love with India that I thought I’d spend the rest of my life there. I lived in a mud hut in the mountains in the south, at the edge of a 9,000-foot drop, looking out over breathtaking views of endless jungle. Apart from the Indian family I rented a hut from, I was totally isolated. Life was very basic, and though I lived simply, my days were full.
My first child was born in India. My very handsome half-Indian son is now 18 years old. When he was a toddler, we went to Australia and while we were away, my Indian husband died in an accident. Part of me died then, too. My little boy and I stayed in Australia. I had another son. I raised my sons alone, studied alternative therapies, completed a Kinesiology degree, and grieved. For years, I lived with grief. Every day I missed the life I’d had in India.
Then I discovered my passion for surfing. Surfing changed everything. The ocean began to heal my heart and give me direction. Out on my surfboard, I was often surrounded by dolphins. I’d spend hours with them. I couldn’t get enough.
When my oldest son was 10, I saw an ad in the local paper about swimming with the whales in Tonga. We went, and I came face-to-face with 15-metre, 20,000-kilogram humpback whales, those gentle, ancient giants of the ocean.
A mother and baby humpback whale approached me. The baby came so close. The baby’s eyes, only a foot away, looked straight into my soul and my heart burst open. In that moment, I promised I’d do whatever I could to help protect them and their environment. In spite of our human history of killing these angelic beings, they look at us with such immense unconditional love.
Love seems to come when we least expect it, and in many different forms. It gives me a great sense of purpose to spread this message of love through my mission to help save the whales and dolphins.
– Lisa Burke


Explore More Meaning
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afterlife communicator. awakened sister. imperfection embracer.
In her new book, The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How My Bad-Boy Brother Proved to Me There's Life After Death, Dr. Annie Kagan shares the extraordinary story of her after death communications with her brother Billy. [www.anniekagan.com]
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authors. citizens. peacemakers.
Gerda Weissman Klein and Alysa Ullman co-founded Citizenship Counts to promote the importance of multigenerational citizen programs. Alysa is an author and the Executive Director of Citizenship Counts. Gerda is an author, Academy Award winner, Holocaust survivor, and human rights activist. [www.citizenshipcounts.org]
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