
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
impact

The film has been taking on a different meaning for me since its inception. People are responding in ways I didn’t predict. I got an email from a guy who has a terminal illness, saying that the film gave him inspiration. On the other hand, one woman watched the movie and the next day got together with her friends and they had a break-up party, where they all broke up with their boyfriends simultaneously. It was kind of comical.
Creating something that has had an impact on other people and has meaning for other people is meaningful to me.
My mission statement was that if someone watched the film, left the theater, and did one thing, took action, then the film would have done its job. I suppose that’s what’s happening, but I never really thought about the concrete actions that people would take. I didn’t think, “Go watch this movie and break up with your boyfriend.”
Every time I get an email from someone saying that the film changed his or her life, it’s so fulfilling. I’m really in a great mental and spiritual space. I have my priorities straight and I credit that to the journey and the process of making the film.
What gets me going is my son. I spend as much time with him as possible. Every morning we go surfing. When I was young, I jumped in the ocean and surfed, and that took care of everything. Now, I have a mental space that I get to by just closing my eyes and going back to the time when I was a child.
Children think they’re going to live forever. They don’t see time the same way we do. There’s something magical about that. I close my eyes and picture those moments as a child, trying to recreate the feeling of how magical and wonderful life was, and I start to feel like a twelve-year-old again. As I get older, I’m able to conjure that more and more, and I’m able to do it faster and faster.
When I get that emotional memory going, I instantly feel better, and I’m ready to get going with my day.
– Pat Solomon
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