Jack Canfield 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]

Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington 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]

Seth Godin

Seth Godin author. speaker. linchpin.

Seth Godin is a prominent author, blogger and speaker. [www.squidoo.com/linchpin]

Krishna Kaur

Krishna Kaur 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]

Norman Lear

Norman Lear 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]

Leilani Münter

Leilani Münter 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]

Kevin Bales

Kevin Bales 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]

Sophie Chiche

Sophie Chiche 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]

Mastin Kipp

Mastin Kipp 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]

Liz Phair

Liz Phair singer. musician. crier.

Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. [www.lizphair.com]

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu 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]

Zainab Salbi

Zainab Salbi 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]

Sean Stephenson

Sean Stephenson 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]

Kia Miller

Kia Miller 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]

Simon Mainwaring

Simon Mainwaring 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]

Shannon Bindler

Shannon Bindler 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]

Mathieu Bitton

Mathieu Bitton 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]

Jorge Perez

Jorge Perez 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

courageously

Mark Leruste question asker. superhero maker. broccoli activist.

Understanding what a busy lifestyle can do to both your emotional and physical state, Mark Leruste is passionate about creating radical shifts in people’s lives by empowering them to drop toxic habits, adopt healthy mindsets, and achieve breakthroughs. [www.lifeinshape.co.uk/about]

When asked what was meaningful to me, today, my head started spinning. Where to begin? Speak your truth. Give yourself full permission to be you. Love and accept yourself for who you are. But somehow this came up instead: Don’t let fear take over your heart.

Have the courage to face your fears, head on, despite being scared, and act upon them, regardless. Trust your heart to be right.

Maybe to quit your job, leave your partner, start your business, or travel abroad. Why? Because we let our “what ifs” and “that just won’t work” dictate what we can and cannot achieve, leaving us feeling both unfulfilled and scared of going after what we really want in life. Which isn’t on.

Staying put and being comfortable is a much safer option than going after what we don’t know, right?

Wrong.

Having spent the last decade trying to figure out what the hell I’m meant to do with my life, splashing tens of thousands of pounds on self development courses, coaches and mentors, while also coaching budding entrepreneurs on this very topic, it has become clear to me that fear is the very thing (along with self-love and a sense of self-worth) that holds us back from being (truly) free to experience life, fully.

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m not saying you should be living fearlessly, but rather I believe you should be living courageously. Building our courage muscle enables us to move beyond our fears. And beyond our fears is where the magic stuff takes place. It might take weeks, months, or years. But the payoff at the end of the road is so worth it. Trust me, it’s taken me years to realise it.

Daniel Terry, a London based European Muay Thai champion once told me that having a healthy dose of fear is perfectly normal. Every fighter experiences it. No matter what they say. However what’s not healthy is letting your fear dictate what you can and cannot do.

So please, do me a (huge) favor. Do one thing today that scares you. No matter how big or small it may seem (maybe dance in public with no music on!). Notice what happens when you do. Now repeat this exercise every single day. Because overcoming your fears, like anything, takes time, practice and commitment.

Imagine what would be possible for you if fear wasn’t holding you back?

– Mark Leruste

Go Back

Your Turn

the biggest dream you want for yourself right now. go!
the biggest fear keeping you from going for it?
now here’s the tough part. do one thing this week to face that fear and move toward that desire.

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Emily Montez writer. free mama. weirdness embracer.
Emily Montez is a mama, creator, writer, and the founder of MamaFusion: Merging Mom & Me. She believes in following God with purpose, embracing her own weirdness, and becoming the Foxy Mama she was created to be. [www.mamafusion.com]
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John Selby, author of more than twenty books, has worked as a therapist and mindfulness coach for two decades. [www.tappingdaily.org]
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Jack Canfield 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]
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Sean Stephenson 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]
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