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
grace
Michael Neill
bestselling author. childhood reconnector. messy laugher.
Michael Neill is an internationally renowned transformative coach and creative sparkplug to CEOs, celebrities, and royalty. His books have been translated into thirteen languages around the world. [www.insideoutrevolution.com]
In 2007, I thought I was at the top of my game. My coaching practice was thriving. I was well respected in my particular field of applied psychology. My first book had been a bestseller, and my second book was just about to come out in America. My wife, Nina, and I were in our twentieth year together and our three kids were everything we could have hoped for and more.
Then one night as part of a program I was attending, I popped a recording of a man named Syd Banks talking about the power of Thought into the DVD player in my hotel room. Halfway through my second beer, I heard something so profound that the beer came spurting out my nose as I burst into fits of laughter.
All he said (and I’ve gone back and played the DVD over again to check) was, “Every human being has innate mental health.”
The reason it struck me as funny was because somehow I knew that it was absolutely and fundamentally true.
I had been a depressed, suicidal teen. And as I learned and practiced many of the self-help techniques that proliferate in our culture, it got better. For over 15 years I studied and practiced every methodology I could find to stave off depression and ‘create’ positive feelings in my body. And I became convinced that the only things preventing me from sliding back into the misery I had fought tooth and nail to escape were my techniques and practices. So for Syd to say that mental health was natural went against everything I’d learned – and taught – in my first forays into the world of self-help.
Yet I could instantly see the truth of it. After all, babies don’t need therapy. While I can’t honestly say I remember what it felt like to be in the womb, I knew from watching my own kids grow up that, other than during periods of physical discomfort, they lived in a pretty continual state of mental well-being for the first few years of their lives. In seeing the original grace of my innate mental health, I felt as though the burden of nearly 40 years of struggle had been lifted off my shoulders.
Well-being is our nature, and the return to this original grace of life is always available to us. It takes no particular effort to attain because it is, in fact, a return to our natural way of being.
There’s nothing you need to do, be, have, get, change, practice, or learn
in order to be happy, loving, and whole.
– Michael Neill
Explore More Meaning
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near-death survivor. critic silencer. natural spirit.
Anita Moorjani is the bestselling author of Dying to be Me, the moving, true story of her near-death experience at the end stage of cancer. [www.anitamoorjani.com]
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bloggers. meditators. partners.
Ed and Deb Shapiro are weekly bloggers on Oprah.com/spirit, HuffingtonPost.com/living and Care2.com, and are the authors of BE THE CHANGE: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World. [www.edanddebshapiro.com]
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military daughter. spontaneous adventurer. student of life.
College freshman Maurina Scott is the daughter of an active duty military member. She has moved frequently, lived overseas, and embraced a life of exploration. Her dad recently returned from a seven-month deployment in Afghanistan. [www.twitter.com/Maurina_Scott]
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writer. traveler. unconventionalist.
Chris Guillebeau travels the world and writes for a small army of remarkable people on his website. His focus is on helping unconventional people do remarkable things. [chrisguillebeau.com]
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author. humanitarian. speaker.
Cynthia Kersey is the author of best-selling books and is the Chief Humanitarian Officer of the Unstoppable Foundation. [www.unstoppablefoundation.org]
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coach. inner travel adventurer. tribal truster.
Jesse Gros, a unique outdoor adventure guide, is just as passionate about the inner journey as he is about the outer adventure. [www.insightadventures.com]
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groupon sales gal. brand ambassador. shaper.
Renee Woodruff is a Groupon Sales Gal, a blogger for a magazine, a LOFT Girl Brand Ambassador, and a CrossFitter, yogi, food lover, and travel enthusiast. [www.shape.com/blogs/girl-go]
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history explorer. renaissance man. moral contributor.
Law professor, writer, film and record producer, musician, and creative risk taker, John Thomas recently penned Kalamazoo Gals which tells the hidden story of the women who built Gibson's WWII guitars. [www.kalamazoogals.com]
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