
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
heart

The things that have the most meaning for me and the things I’m committed to have heart. They have loving at their core. If something doesn’t have that central theme, I’m not interested. That’s the richness that inspires me.
I spent a lot of years seeking success through other people’s eyes, doing what they thought would be best for me, and feeling a sense of emptiness and a lack of fulfillment. Then I really reached in and fully embedded myself in the work I do now – helping individuals, couples, and entrepreneurs. I feel like the work I do creates a ripple effect. I cast pebbles into the water and watch the waves spread.
When I’m working with a couple, what I see and what it all comes down to is this: I see the men suffering from not-enoughness and the women challenged by lovability. The other day, a client told me her nine-year-old daughter walked into the room one day and said, “You know, Mom, when I look in the mirror, I see fabulous!” Obviously, there are times when we look in the mirror and don’t see fabulous. We’re either caught up in the past of why we can’t do something or projecting ahead to the future about how it’s not going to work. The goal is to ask: What can I do? What’s available to me on a daily basis to pop myself back into a greater sense of presence?
A great grounding point for me is my kids, because they don’t let me get away with anything. When I have those moments when I’m feeling less than fabulous, I focus my energy on my kids. They’ll say, “Put down your iPhone. I’m talking.” They just tell it like it is. They cut through. Sometimes, all I need to do is spend time with them and that jumps me back into what was missing, into this immediate moment.
I do a lot of work with myself around gratitude, around being grateful for everything I’m blessed with. There isn’t a night that goes by that I don’t I run through my list of things I’m grateful for before I go to sleep. The list starts with my breath and my beating heart. It extends out to my wife and my girls and my dog, to my home and my friends and clients, and to all the things I get to do every day to make a difference in the world.
– Mitch Newman
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