
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
world of art

I’ve always been inspired by the sights, sounds, and things in my everyday life. Even while stuck in traffic or sipping a drink at Starbucks, I’m constantly inhaling the conversations and natural movies being made all around me. Actual people and the crazy things we do and say are still the most interesting TV ever created.
I find many of my best ideas come from just listening and watching. A concept or a format for a show can be strengthened or diminished by a real-life experience. A family drama reality show I currently have in development took flight after I reconnected with my own deadbeat dad and wondered what that would be like for other men. I shared my idea with a well-respected actor and he recounted his own fatherhood struggles and signed on to host and voice the show.
I learned early on how things like music and culture shape the way we feel. In my native Oakland, California, neighborhood, we celebrated our highs and lows through TV and song. When the fridge was full of good food and the living room busy with “grown folk talk,” you could hear the song “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang playing. When my mother was feeling melancholy, the Commodores’ “Easy” stayed in rotation on the turntable. And when times were tough, we escaped through our TV families on the shows we watched.
Politicians are powerful and athletes have sway, but they all need the help from TV to connect with the public. Words and images have power. What we absorb from TV and film is more powerful than we realize. I love being a mirror for a subject, taking what I saw or heard to my viewers.
The older I get the more I realize that there’s great value in producing content that’s true to my heart. When we let life be our inspiration, we’re paid back spiritually and financially beyond our wildest dreams.
– P. Frank Williams
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