Harvesting Happiness

Eric Handler, Positively Positive

An innovator in the field of personal growth and transformative thinking, Eric Handler is the co-founder of Positively Positive -- an online multimedia platform known for its creative content designed to challenge readers to live a life worth sharing. Beginning as a Facebook page that quickly grew into a community of more than 1 million fans, the full platform was launched in October 2011 by Eric and his wife and business partner, Julie. Together they seek out the strongest voices and storyte...

Rex Pratt, Between Iraq and a Hard Place and Dr. Paula Caplan, When Johnny and Jane Come Marching Home

Rex Pratt has been involved in various film and video projects over the past decade. His interest in a project is always based upon the ability of the film to move and inspire the viewer. Between Iraq and A Hard Place is a project that became personal as it progressed. It began by documenting the difficulties of troops' transitioning back to normal life after combat. After almost 2 years of meeting with returning troops, Rex has developed a special attachment to the troops. He defines himself...

Danielle LaPorte, The Desire Map

Danielle LaPorte is the outspoken creator of The Desire Map, author of The Fire Starter Sessions, and co-creator of Your Big Beautiful Book Plan. She is an inspirational speaker, former think tank exec and business strategist, she writes weekly at DanielleLaPorte.com, where over a million visitors have gone for her straight-up advice offering white hot truth. Her site has been deemed "the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality", and was named one of the "Top 100 Websites for Women" by F...

John Havens, The H(app)athon Project

John C. Havens is Founder of the H(app)athon Project, a contributing writer for Mashable, and author of, H(app)y - The Value of Well-Being in a Digital Economy .The H(app)athon Project is an initiative that utilizes emerging technology to improve human well-being and drive positive social change. He is a former professional actor and current blues musician.

Janice Kamenir-Reznik, Naama Haviv, and Julie Bram, Jewish World Watch

Janice Kamenir-Reznik is Co-founder and President of Jewish World Watch (JWW), an organization she co-founded with Rabbi Harold Schulweis to mobilize Americans to fight against genocides and mass atrocities, and to provide relief and support to survivors. Janice served as President of California Women Lawyers, President of the California Women's Law Center, and as trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar and trustee of the California State Bar's Trust Fund. Janice travels to the Darfuri refugee...

Sallie Culbreth, Patricia Lee Stotter, and BriGette McCoy, Service The Film: When Women Come Marching Home

James Clear, The Art of Becoming Better

James Clear is on a mission to make the world well and the founder of The Art of Becoming Better. He is an entrepreneur, writer, and travel photographer in 18 countries. His writing has been featured by US News & World Report, American Express, Yahoo, Lifehacker, and dozens of other businesses and media outlets. His photography was nominated for the Travel Photographer of the Year award for his work covering the September 11th Memorial in New York City.

Tanya Geisler, Stepping Into Your Starring Role

Tanya Geisler is certified Life and Business Coach (CPCC, ACC) with a penchant for clarity (and her Clarity Sessions have been likened to “divining rods”). She’s coached hundreds of people who were ready to step into the spotlight of their lives and businesses. She wrote The Joy Pages, created Board of Your Life, is a blogger for the wildly popular The Daily Love, has served as contributor and was featured in Canadian Living, and is an in-demand speaker who talks with great passion on all thi...

Kathy Kinney and Dr. Benjamin LaBrot , Living Outrageously Outloud

Kathy Kinney is best known for her iconic role as Mimi Bobeck on the long running The Drew Carey Show. She has acted in over a dozen films and guest-starred on numerous television shows and may currently be seen in a recurring role on the ABC Family hit series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Kathy toured with Drew Carey and the Improv All Stars for the USO in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and may still be seen performing with them around the country. She and her longtime friend Cindy Rat...

Tips to Beat the Winter Blues

Claire Wineland and Eric Lumiere, Living With Purpose

Claire Wineland was born with cystic fibrosis or "CF", a genetic disease that causes excessive mucus secretions and collection, especially in the lungs. In her short life, Claire has undergone dozens of surgeries and has spent weeks at a time in the hospital. This is not, however, what characterizes her. Claire is a singer, an artist, a composer, and a natural-born comedian and speaker. She radiates with a warmth and wisdom beyond her years. She has been called a "little Buddha" a "bridge amo...

Sarah Steffen and Shanna McCord, Reaching out to Others

Sarah Steffen is the Marketing Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity for San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys. She attended San Diego State University and interned for the San Diego State Marketing and Communications Department, working on news and profile stories. She graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with an emphasis in Media Studies and a minor in English. She enjoys doing what she loves while giving back and advocating for the community. Shanna McCord is currently a Jou...

Bekah Eden and David Ari Leon, The Power of Music to Heal

In 2010, Bekah Eden began to work as a successful small business owner developing musical skills and songwriting talent for her students in Virginia Beach and California. She also began writing original material for other artists nationwide and built a reputation as a well known cause artist, working for charitable organizations such as Harvesting Happiness for Heroes ®, a national 501© (3) nonprofit organization, benefiting post combat veterans and their families challenged with the invisib...

Sophie Chiche and Shannon Bindler, Parenting and Raising Live Out Loud (LOL) Children

Sophie Chiche is the founder and curator of lifebyme.com, a website gathering eclectic people answering the question, “what is most meaningful to you”. Nobel Prizes, media moguls, fishermen, midwives, global leaders, spiritual teachers, artists, and teenagers share their original meaningful words every day. Sophie is an author, speaker, coach and entrepreneur. She holds Masters in Business, Journalism and Psychology. You can always find her asking game-changer deep questions about life. Sophi...

Adam Leipzig and Laurel Airica, Finding Purpose

Adam Leipzig has overseen more than 25 movies as a producer, executive, and distributor, including March of the Penguins and Dead Poets Society, and has worked with legendary directors Robert Altman, Peter Yates, and Peter Weir. Most recently, he served as the president of National Geographic Films, and is a former senior vice president at Walt Disney Pictures. Today, Adam trains entrepreneurs, filmmakers, and other members of the creative economy, and also publishes Cultural Weekly, a fast-...

Jodi Delaney, Vets Yoga and Debbie Gregory Military Connection

Jodi Delaney is the Founder of Yatra Yoga International (YYI) and VetsYoga. Jodi combined her passions for yoga and travel with YYI, facilitating yoga and wellness retreats in Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica. In 2010, she assisted New Mexico's first Veterans Wellness Conference. This experience, along with a visit to the amputee unit at Walter Reed Medical Center, inspired the creation of VetsYoga, as a route for military personnel to explore the benefits of yoga to enhance mental and physic...

Mark Harradine and Leah Jantzen, Sports and Business

Mark Harradine teaches Conscious Leadership to leaders who want to profoundly impact their world for a greater good, by raising consciousness for powerful socio-economic impact for a sustainable future. Using his unique understanding of human potential and inner development, along with his deep experience as a mental coach for elite athletes, Mark applies himself to the complex systems of the business and political worlds. He views challenges as a puzzle, rather than a problem. Then has fun ...

Daniel Chidiac, Purpose and Clarity

Daniel Chidiac is the Author of "Who Says You Can't? YOU DO: How to unchain your greatness within and take instant charge of your life." He has dedicated his life to finding the answers to "why some people are living an extraordinary life, while others are never really fulfilled?" Through his journey he has modeled the most successful people known to man, traveled overseas to meet with leaders who have the strongest mindset on the planet, interacted with exceptional achievers and coached peop...

Gina Ross, International Trauma-Healing Institute and Debbie Gregory, Military Connection and VAMBOA

Gina Ross, MFCC, is founder and president of International Trauma-Healing Institute in the United States and Israel. An internationally respected psychotherapist, she is the co-founder of the Israeli Trauma Center at Herzog Hospital in Jerusalem and has specialized in trauma and the understanding and treatment of trauma since 1990. She is trained in cognitive, behavioral, and somatic treatment approaches and is certified in the more innovative techniques of Somatic Experiencing® (SE), Eye M...

Catherine Ryan Hyde and Charley Johnson, Pay It Forward Foundation

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 18 published and forthcoming books. Her newest releases are When You Were Older, Don't Let Me Go, Jumpstart the World , When I Found You and Second Hand Heart. She authored the national bestseller, Pay It Forward, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, and was chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list. She is also the founder and former president (2000-2009) of the Pay...

Tim Freke, The Mystery Experience

Tim Freke, The Mystery Experience

Tim Freke is a 'standup philosopher' who makes profound ideas fun and easily accessible. He is an internationally respected authority on world spirituality and is often featured in documentaries on the BBC, the History Channel, and other global media. He is the bestselling author of many groundbreaking books translated into 15 languages, including Lucid Living and The Jesus Mysteries, which was a Daily Telegraph 'Book of the Year'. He runs ‘mystery experience retreats' internationally, in whi...

Gotham Chopra and Scott Carlin, Decoding Deepak

Gotham Chopra is a multi-media voice in the worlds of entertainment, news, spirituality, and pop-culture. Recently he published Walking Wisdom which portrays all the love and licks that go along with being a dad, a dude, a dog-owner, and son of Deepak Chopra.His latest feature documentary, which he has written, directed, and produced, titled, Decoding Deepak, is the first long-form look at Deepak Chopra's life, told by Gotham. It is honest, revealing, and different than what many people expe...

LIVE from Bulgaria, Yariv Lerner, The Ultimate Yogi

Yariv Lerner is the founder of Udaya Entertainment and producer of purpose-driven cinematic film for yoga, meditation, and wellbeing coaching, with an emphasis on integrated healing arts designed to condition users physically, mentally, and emotionally to achieve greater happiness, life-satisfaction, and wellness. Yariv is trailblazing through his creation of artfully produced training programs, such as The Ultimate Yogi, in partnership with well-known teachers and change agents. He holds a B...

Dr. Kelly McGonigal, The Willpower Instinct and The Neuroscience of Change

Dr. Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, and a leading expert in the new field of “science-help.” She is passionate about translating cutting-edge research from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine into practical strategies for health, happiness, and personal success.

Agapi Stassinopoulos, Unbinding the Heart

Agapi Stassinopoulos is the author of the best-selling book: Unbinding the Heart, where readers embark on an inspiring journey of inner exploration to reconnect with their true selves. Born and raised in Athens, Greece, she entered the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London at age 18. She moved to the United States to do film and television, and later attended the University of the Santa Monica, where she completed her Master's in Psychology. An inspiring speaker, Agapi teaches ...

Don Joseph Goewey, Mystic Cool

Don Joseph Goewey has had a long career in human potential. He's been an executive at Stanford University Medical School and worked closely with two of the pioneers in human potential - Carl Rogers, father of humanistic psychology and Gerald Jampolsky, founder a school of psychology based on attitude.Don has written a book titled Mystic Cool: A proven approach to transcend stress, achieve optimal brain function, and maximize your creative intelligence. His work focuses on helping people trans...

Marty Papazian, Least Among Saints and Michele Rosenthal, Heal My PTSD

Martin Papazian is an actor, writer, and director of feature films. Previously, Martin directed the award winning short film IN THE WIND, about a soldier's return to a Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. As an actor, Martin burst onto the screen in Universal Picture's, JARHEAD, THE BURNING PLAIN, and THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. On the small screen you may have seen him featured in 24, Lie To Me, CSI:NY, and DEXTER, amongst others. LEAST AMONG SAINTS marks his debut as a feature director and ...

Austin Vickers, Writer/Producer, People v. The State of Illusion

Austin Vickers is the writer and producer of People v. The State of Illusion, a docudrama based on his work and the science and power of perception and imagination, which was released in the fall of 2011. He is also the founder of The Stepping Up Foundation, a non-profit organization helping people and organizations in need. He is the author of the personal leadership book and program "Stepping Up: to a Life of Vision, Passion and Authentic Power" and is a professional speaker who has educat...

Wayne Hankin and Jeffrey Pflaum, Music and Human Flourishing

Wayne Hankin is a period instrument specialist who has played 400 different instruments over a 30 year career. Specializing in medieval, renaissance, and baroque periods, Wayne has mastered instruments played only by a small handful of people in the world, including various bagpipes, hornpipes, flutes, whistles, gemshorns, trumps, bone flutes, double reeds, and others. There are also instruments made exclusively for his talents of which he is the sole performer. With over 4000 concerts to his ...

Dr. Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

Barry Schwartz has been a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania since receiving his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971. He has written ten books and more than 100 articles for professional journals. In 2004, Barry published The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, which was named one of the top business books of the year by both Business Week and Forbes Magazine. He has appeared on dozens of radio shows, including NPR’s Morning Edition, and Talk of the N...

Sallie Culbreth, Commited To Freedom

Sallie Culbreth is the founder of Committed to Freedom Ministries, which offers retreats, seminars, and resources for survivors of childhood/adolescent sexual abuse. She has authored several books including Despising the Shame - the story of her own childhood sexual abuse; No Longer Alone (NavPress) - a narrative between abuse survivors and Christ; The Uncaged Project - a self-help workbook for men and women who experienced childhood abuse, and many other resources. She holds a B.A. in Pasto...

Bonnie Carroll, TAPS and Debbie Gregory,Military Connection

Bonnie Carroll is the president and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), the national organization offering comfort and care to anyone grieving the death of someone who died while serving in the Armed Forces. Ms. Carroll is a Major in the Air Force Reserves. She served for 16 years in the Air National Guard as a Transportation Officer, Logistics Officer, and Executive Officer. In the federal government, Ms. Carroll held presidential appointments in the Reagan and B...

Sophie Chiche, Life By Me

Sophie Chiche is the founder and curator of lifebyme.com, a website gathering eclectic people who are answering the question, "What is most meaningful to you?"On the site, Nobel Prize winners, media moguls, fishermen, midwives, global leaders, spiritual teachers, artists, and teenagers share their original meaningful words every day. Sophie is also an author, speaker, coach and entrepreneur. She holds Masters in Business, Journalism and Psychology. Visit lifebyme.com for more.

Kenneth Cloke, Power of Forgiveness

Kenneth Cloke is the Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution, where he has served as a mediator, arbitrator, attorney, coach, consultant and trainer. He has taught at universities throughout California, including USC and UCLA, and is an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University's School of Law and Harvard University School of Law, among others. He has provided conflict resolution services around the world and is the President and co-founder of Mediators Beyond Borders. Kenneth received...

Gail Lynne Goodwin, Inspire Me Today

Gail Lynne Goodwin is the founder of InspireMeToday.com, bringing the best inspiration to the world. With members in more than 120 countries, InspireMeToday.com provides free inspiration- each day from a new Inspirational Luminary. Gail has interviewed many well-known names including Sir Richard Branson, Guy Laliberte, Seth Godin, Tony Hseih and hundreds more. According to Mashable, Gail was one of 2009's Top 25 Most Inspirational People on Twitter. Prior to InspireMeToday.com, and after year...

Jerry Yellin, Operation Warrior Wellness and Debbie Gregory, Military Connection

Jerry Yellin, a distinguished veteran of World War II, is the author of "The Resilient Warrior," and co-chair of the David Lynch Foundation's new program, Operation Warrior Wellness, which offers Transcendental Meditation to veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Jerry is also the author of “Of War and Weddings,” published in 1995, which has been published in English and Japanese. As both the CEO of MilitaryConnection.com and the founder of the Veteran and Military Busines...

Dr. O.Raye Adkins

For more than 35 years, Adkins has participated in the education of children of poverty, working in all levels of public education (elementary, middle, high school, central office administration), as well as an elementary school principal. She has also worked at the college level as an adjunct professor. Presently, she contracts as a consultant, presenting workshops to teachers working with children in poverty. She holds a master's degree and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. As the fou...

Dr .Benjamin LaBrot, Floating Doctors

Dr. Benjamin La Brot is a native Southern Californian who learned to swim before he could walk. He has worked on sport and commercial fishing boats, on the Floating Marine Science Laboratory vessel, in classrooms across southern California for the Los Angeles County Office of Marine Education, and for Pacific Biomarine Laboratories as a research diver. He also qualified as an EMT, a Handicapped SCUBA Association Dive Buddy, and completed a B.S. in Marine Biology, a B.A. in History, and a Geo...

Patricia Stotter and Debbie Gregory

An Emmy Award winning composer and writer, Patricia Lee Stotter lends her tremendous talents in TV, film and social media to furthering awareness of PTSD and Veteran reintegration struggles. Stotter first became interested in Veteran issues while working on a theatre testimonial project that discussed suicide rates among Vietnam Veterans. She has since worked to bring awareness to Veteran issues through True Rep, a repertory company that explores trauma and resilience through testimonial thea...

Valerie Sheppard, Sherpa of Happiness

Known as The Sherpa of Happiness, Valerie Rene Sheppard is Founder and CEO of Source Power, a boutique leadership, business strategy and branding consultant agency in Southern California. Through her work as a speaker, author, consultant and host, Valerie shares her diverse business and marketing background with nonprofits, major businesses such as Proctor & Gamble, and the students she instructs as a guest lecturer at the Merage School of Business at the University of California Irvine.

Linda Cohen Author of 1000 Mitzvahs

The acclaimed author of 1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire and Change Your Life, Linda Cohen writes, speaks and consults around the country on the topics of volunteerism, parenting, mitzvahs and happiness. She serves on the Board of Directors for Willowbrook, a nonprofit summer arts program for children. Originally from the east coast, Cohen resides in Portland, Oregon with her husband, two children and their dog. Visit her at www.1000mitzvahs.com.

Amir Zoghi and Lynn Robinson

An internationally renowned speaker on self-awareness and human potential, Amir Zoghi uses his modern age philosophies to teach others how to embody transformation, discover truth, and experience their inner freedom. Amir shares his wisdom through writing, teaching, and speaking platforms, and is critically acclaimed for his ability to deliver a strong, impactful message with simplicity and clarity that resonates with people from all walks of life. Learn more about Amir at www.myintuitivewarr...

Mary Cimiluca and Alexander Vesely

Noted Austrian filmmaker Alexander Vesely strives to produce films that have depth, meaning and substance. He brings this philosophical approach to the U.S. with his American directorial debut, Viktor & I. Chronicling the life of Alexander's grandfather, Viktor & I gives the viewer complete subjectivity as the film moves from family members to friends and others who were close to Viktor Frankl. Alexander Vesely resides in Vienna and recently opened Noetic Films, Inc., in Southern California. ...

Greg Louganis Olympic Gold Medalist

An Olympic Medal winner, five-time world champion, competitive diving legend Greg Louganis has long been celebrated for his spirit of sportsmanship and community service. Greg serves as an advocate for many organizations, including youth's clubs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation groups, and organizations for the dyslexic. Since shedding light on his struggle with HIV in his best-selling autobiography, Breaking the Surface, Greg's inspirational message has reached a whole new audience.

Debbie Gregory, Tara Wise, and Rick Collins

As both the CEO of MilitaryConnection.com and the founder of the Veteran and Military Business Owners Association (VAMBOA), Debbie Gregory covers all the bases when it comes to serving the needs of Military and Veteran Communities. Named Woman Business Owner of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners - Ventura County, Debbie Gregory uses www.MilitaryConnection.com as a platform for doing the work that means most to her: assisting veterans, active-duty military personnel ...

Douglas Kmiec Author of Lift Up Your Hearts

Douglas W. Kmiec is an American legal scholar, author, and former U.S. ambassador. He is the Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University School of Law. Kmiec came to prominence during the United States presidential election, 2008 when, although a Republican, he endorsed Democrat Barack Obama. In July 2009, he was nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Malta.

Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener Author The Courage Quotient

Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener is widely known as the "Indiana Jones of Positive Psychology" because his research on happiness has taken him to such far-flung places as Greenland, India, Kenya and Israel. Dr. Biswas-Diener is a leading authority on strengths, culture, courage, and happiness. He has published dozens of scholarly articles and multiple books, most recently The Courage Quotient. He is managing director of Positive Acorn (www.positiveacorn.com) and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Jenn Lim, Chief Happiness Officer Delivering Happiness

Jenn Lim is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, a company she and Tony Hsieh ,CEO of Zappos, co-created to inspire happiness in work, community, and everyday life. She created the first Culture Book for Zappos - now on its 7th edition .The Culture Book has become a global symbol of how companies can successfully create cultures based on happiness and be profitable at the same time. Jenn also led the launch and management of Tony's first book, Delivering Happiness, w...

Ash Adams, Alison Lighthall, and Debbie Gregory

As a Filmmaker Ash Adams has written, produced, directed, and co-starred in Once Fallen, After The Past, The Distance, and Peter's Hope, all of which won Adams awards. His newest short is In Mexico, about a returning combat vet suffering from PTSD.