
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
listen

From the time I could first speak, I couldn’t. Back in the early 1960s, the speech experts categorized me as a “notorious stutterer.” I couldn’t say a single word without repeating it about 10 times. Given that I was predictably ridiculed by the unforgiving world of other children, I discovered a very useful coping strategy: I didn’t say anything. But in my silent protest, something unexpected happened.
I listened.
I became fascinated with what the world had to say and with how so many people loved to talk, but few seemed to truly receive their words, to listen with a sense of honesty. As difficult as it was to be the silent one, the universe was giving me a magical and miraculous gift. I use it to this day, and every day.
I believe in James Hillman’s “acorn theory.” He turned the world of psychology upside-down when he suggested that all of our dysfunctional past, all the hurts and boo-boos we’ve endured aren’t so much our awful upbringing that needs to be fixed, but the muck, the fertilizer that’s the necessary nutrition to help the acorn that we are become the oak we’re designed and destined to be.
Life calls us. Whenever I falter or lose faith, I remember there’s a greater wisdom beckoning me, calling me, and if need be, it will track me down like a ruthless hunter, capture me, and release me back onto my path. The better we can listen, the better we can hear the whisperings of destiny.
At some point in my early teens, I heard my calling. I felt a timeless urge to study nutrition, to understand healing, and to help people. My soul signed up on the spot. After a lifetime of work and study, I founded the Institute for the Psychology of Eating.
I’ve learned that when we allow the challenges we face to be our teachers, magic can happen. The divine whispers its hidden messages in the form of our struggles. And within those dark or difficult places, a light comes on, and healing is born.
– Marc Davd
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