
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
inspire

We’re social animals. Our survival, happiness, and safety depend on others – not only those we elect to look after us, but the average human next to us. That’s really interesting to me. Every day I ask myself how we can amplify that so we feel safer, more fulfilled, and more willing to explore because we trust the people around us and they trust us.
Five years ago, I hit rock bottom as a struggling young entrepreneur. Superficially, everything was fine, but I had a twisted notion that I had to know all the answers, when secretly I thought I was wrong most of the time. I was in the bottom of a ditch, thinking I knew everything. The problem was, I was still in the bottom of a ditch. Then someone offered me a hand. Intellectually, I knew I needed help. Was I willing to actually grab their hand? … I was, and that changed my life. As they pulled me out, someone grabbed them from behind so they didn’t fall in, and someone else grabbed that person to make sure they didn’t fall in and before I knew it, I was out of the hole and there were hundreds of people who’d helped me, a whole network, more than I could know.
That was so powerful that I committed the rest of my life to helping people when they fall into holes and when they want to go even higher. That was when I realized leadership is only one thing: someone with followers. And a follower is someone who volunteers to go in the direction a leader is going. We lead when we inspire people to go in a certain direction.
When we focus on our purpose and our cause, we continue to inspire and fuel that vast network of helpers. But the minute I lose sight of that which means the most to me, I put up a brick wall I can’t grow beyond. The test I use to keep living a life focused on what means the most to me is a simple one: Do I agree with myself?
As I live in this way, I come to know people who align with my cause. Then, if I fall into a ditch, there’s someone there to pull me out. If someone I’m walking next to falls into a ditch, the first thing I do is lean over and offer my hand. That’s how it works.
– Simon Sinek


Explore More Meaning
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17 cents dreamer. adversity ignorer. julie's daddy.
Daniel Milstein recently chronicled his rise from cleaning bathrooms while enduring hunger and relentless bullying to becoming the #1 loan officer in the U.S. and head of one of America's fastest-growing finance companies. [http://danmilstein.com/book/]
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runner. country crosser. first stepper.
Katie Visco created Pave Your Lane, a campaign to enliven our world through connection to ourselves and each other. The second-youngest person and the 13th woman to run across America, Katie is now running her message across all 50 states. [www.paveyourlane.com]
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