
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
current

I’ve always loved staying current.
I like to empty my whole house once a year. The whole thing—every closet, drawer, cabinet gets emptied in the middle of each room. I purge. I sort in four piles. Do I love this? Is it in working condition? Can someone else use it if I don’t? Pile 1 I keep. Pile 2 I take to get fixed. Pile 3 I give away. Pile 4 goes in the trash. It takes spring cleaning to a whole new dimension!
I also like to check if I am current with people and conversations. Is there any conversation I need to have? Are there any friends I am neglecting? Is there any friendship that does not feel mutually beneficial? And I take actions on that…
And of course I do it with myself. Am I loving what I am doing? Am I loving who I am doing it with? Am I able to do it well with all of my heart engaged?
And that is where this post is going. I am no longer feeling able to maintain Life by Me as well as I would like. I’ve started a new business, Shape House. It is growing and wanting more and more of my attention, time, and resources. So that is what is current for me. And I have to have the courage and the guts to act on what is true for me.
I loved every minute (okay, almost every minute!) I’ve spent on Life by Me.
I loved the people that I’ve interviewed. I loved the people I created it with and worked with every day to publish it. I loved birthing it with Drai, Cari, Shannon, Val, Erick, and my dear friend Mikey who has carried most of the torch the past few months with such talent, willingness, and humor. And last but definitely not least, I loved bringing my daughter Leah into the adventure with me. Not one word of the past hundreds of posts was published without her care and eagle eye and genius tech ability. To watch her learn and be so dependable and accountable and caring and talented and willing to get it done every day has truly been one of the favorite things I have ever witnessed.
And okay, now the last thing: YOU. The reader. The interviewee. The very heart of what Life by Me is about. YOU who gave us a few minutes of your day, of your life, to share, to be inspired, to be the receiver of what we were doing. As I type these words to thank you, I feel my eyes welling up. I know you will continue to have a great life. You will continue to be the most interesting and loving and meaningful human being you can be. This website was created for you—so that you had a place to come and deepen your conversations. So that you had a place to share and get inspired by the hundred of voices we have captured here. So that you can know that this world is full of cool people doing really cool things just like you. So that if your eyes ever well up and you are not sure if you are doing the right thing, you can look back into your life and KNOW that following what is true for you has always yielded great magic.
To being honest and courageous.
To being current.
I so love you.
– Soph


Explore More Meaning
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Author. Conscious Capitalist. Father.
When not focused on parenting his daughter, Jeff Klein runs Working for Good, a conscious marketing and business development company. He's the author of Working for Good and recently produced the 2010 Catalyzing Conscious Capitalism Summit. [www.workingforgood.com]
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joyous author. inspiring speaker. dream accomplisher.
Dr. Jin Robertson has been a factory laborer, an immigrant housemaid, a battered wife, and a U.S. army major. Jin received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University. She is an international inspirational speaker and bestselling author. [www.drjinrobertson.com]
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