
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
poetry

In January 2011, I was inspired by my friend Grace to skip New Year’s resolutions and decide on one theme instead. After much deliberation, I decided my theme would be to be present. As a new mother, I figured this was a tricky way to get me to make sure the subtleties of my son’s first year didn’t go unnoticed.
But how does one just be present? I’m a lousy meditator and a compulsive list-maker, both of which launch me into daydreaming about the future much of the time. What does – and always has – grounded me to the very pinpoint of the present is writing. And so it was that I decided to make it my Year of Being a Poet.
I pledged to write one poem a day. Not to rack up reams of poetry – that was just a lovely side-effect. No, the real goal was to train myself to see the world constantly with the eyes of a poet, which means to slow down, savor, take delight in, and note the very essence of the world around me.
To be present.
It wasn’t long before I realized I had become addicted. What was meant to be a one-year experiment threaded its way into my being. I wouldn’t know how to stop now even if I wanted to.
With a new baby to care for, a publishing company to run, a marriage to nurture, and all the other wondrous and mundane rituals of a life, like book clubs and grocery shopping, there are days when I ache to skip the poem and climb into bed.
But I’ve learned that it’s not about writing the perfect poem. It’s about burrowing my way inside a moment in time and noticing exactly how the world looks, feels, smells, sounds. It’s about paying attention to my life – the exquisite, the difficult, the joyful and the routine. It’s about letting that practice take me to the very center of myself.
I am deeply flattered by the community of readers who like the poems on my blog. But more than that, I hope people try it themselves. Be a poet for a day. I dare you. Let the world in and watch as it tumbles out from your fingertips onto the page, revealing shades of the day you would otherwise surely have missed.
– Samantha Reynolds


Explore More Meaning
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spiritual psychologist. philanthropist. happiness harvester.
Lisa Cypers Kamen is a filmmaker, positive psychology coach, author, radio show host, professor, and lecturer specializing in happiness, filmography, felicitation and philanthropy. She is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, InspireMeToday.com and PositivelyPositive.com. [www.HarvestingHappiness.com]
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