
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
family

Every day starts with family. What gets me up in the morning are three young children pounding on my head saying, “Get out of bed!” It’s like being in the eye of a hurricane.
What I do professionally is a trade-off between being at home and pursuing my various other passions. Especially while the kids are young, each hour I spend on a creative project can feel like time lost with my family. That tricky balance is at the core of everything I choose to do. Having fun on my own and doing other fulfilling activities is definitely important – it just isn’t as important as being with my family.
When my second son was born he was really sick and had to be in the hospital for a month. I’d just taken on partners in my business. I basically handed the office keys to my new partners and said, “Look, I’m not in any sort of emotional state to handle the business right now, so do the best you can.” By the time I came back, they’d not only saved the business in my absence, but it was doing better than when I left. So I took some of my responsibilities back, but left others with my partners.
That changed my perspective. I learned that I don’t have to do it all by myself and that sometimes letting go actually brings the best possible result. It gave me a more stable sense of how to run things in my life.
More than ever, with each passing month, I’ve been realizing that I’m a much better person, a better writer, and a better CEO when I’m rested and at ease, so sleep and ease are a big priority.
One of the big things for me this year is realizing that a lot of people I’ve idolized are just human beings. They failed in so many different ways, even though they succeeded in others. That’s actually uplifting for me. It’s a mixed bag of failure and success with everyone. We all struggle.
– Sandeep Sood
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