
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
life force

Life force is what connects us to everything. Everything that grows, everything that’s alive, is part of the same life force energy. It flows through each of us and guides and nourishes us. People have different names for it, like love or light.
I spent a year as a nurse in Vietnam and saw the horrors of war and what war does to people, to the land, and to everything that’s living. To me, war is about death. My response is to dedicate myself to life and healing. In my work, I hear lots of stories about abuse in the military. I have a huge passion to bring light to this issue, to show it for what it is, and to call for action that brings justice.
When I came back from Vietnam, I saw that a lot of the soldiers had physical wounds that weren’t healing the way we expected them to. My intuition – the life force that flows through me – told me it was because their minds, psyches, and hearts were messed up from the war and by the things they believed. I wanted to help them. In the process of helping them recover what they’d lost and reach harmony and balance within themselves, I’ve had to do a lot of deep work of my own.
If I’m out of harmony, I turn inward to that oneness, the life force that flows through me. I tune in and feel it. Sometimes I ask for help or guidance, but most often I offer thanks for feelings of ease, peace, and harmony in my body, my mind, and my life. I give gratitude as though I already have those things and that draws them to me.
When I was in Vietnam, I lost touch with the ability to reconnect with the life force. It’s so alive in me now that I don’t expect that to happen again, but having lost track of it for a while is why I try to help and guide other people to know it’s there.
I work with a lot of people who’ve been traumatized, who have post-traumatic stress disorder. My intuition gives me images and helps me know what’s happening with them and know what to say and how to say it. I’ve learned to let go of the personal me that questions and doubts and completely trust the connection with life force, which guides me toward what’s right and best for the person. Because of that connection, miracles happen all the time.
– Sarah Blum
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