Today’s leading luminaries, visionaries and entrepreneurs share their thoughts on what it takes to live a life of true happiness, personal fulfillment and authentic success in this enlightening special of self-discovery. QUEST FOR SUCCESS’s creator and host Lili Fournier maintains that everyone wants to be successful, but many seem to have forgotten how to go about it. Her aim is to jump start that process through the insights of her special guests: Sir Richard Branson, Russell Simmons, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Stephen Covey, Jack Canfield, John Assaraf, T. Harv Eker, Marci Shimoff, Byron Katie, and Wayne Muller.

Using striking graphics and images for emphasis and illustration, the speakers address such questions as: what does it take to change one’s life, to dare to dream the dream, to overcome challenges and achieve success? What do we value and how do we measure success in our culture today? All agree that being happy is the formula for success and that the people who are most successful are the people who have been most true to themselves.

Quest for Success BIOS:

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. He has traveled to more than 62 countries meeting with presidents, prime ministers and crowned rulers of major nations. Since 1959 His Holiness has received over 84 awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc., in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. He has also authored more than 72 books and describes himself as “a simple Buddhist monk”.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. Tutu was elected and ordained the first black South African Anglican Archbishop. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism, and the Magubela prize for liberty in 1986. In February 2007, he was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize. He was generally credited with coining the term “Rainbow Nation” as a metaphor for post-apartheid South Africa. The expression has since entered mainstream consciousness to describe South Africa’s ethnic diversity.

Sir Richard Branson is best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies. In 1972, he opened Virgin Records, a chain of record stores. With his flamboyant and competitive style, Branson’s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he created Virgin Atlantic Airways. An inveterate adventurer, his current passions include Virgin Mobile and the upcoming Virgin Galactic. Sir Richard is a noted philanthropist and member of the Clinton Global Initiative, who has donated billions of dollars to fund solutions to critical global issues.

Russell Simmons has been instrumental in bringing hip-hop to every facet of business and media since its inception in the late 1970s: in music, with the co-founding of the immensely successful original Def Jam Recordings; in the fashion industry, with the trail-blazing Phat Farm, Baby Phat, and Run Athletics clothing lines; in film, with Simmons Lathan Media Group; in television, with HBO’s “The Def Comedy Jam” and “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry”; and on Broadway, with the Tony Award winning stage production “Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway.” Russell Simmons spends considerable energy working for social, political, and philanthropic causes, pushing hip-hop on to new plateaus of power and relevance.

Stephen Covey is recognized as one of Time magazine’s 25 most influential Americans, who has dedicated his life to demonstrating how every person can truly control their destiny with profound, yet straightforward guidance. As an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author, his advice has given insight to millions. He has sold over 20 million books including his phenomenally popular 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which was named the #1 most influential business book of the last century.

Jack Canfield is the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre, rapidly growing to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success. Behind the empire Time magazine called the “publishing phenomenon of the decade” he is the leading expert in creating peak performance for entrepreneurs and leaders.

Marci Shimoff is the author behind the female perspective’s take on the biggest self-help book phenomenon in history, Chicken Soup for the Soul. Her six bestselling titles in the series, including Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul, have met with stunning success, selling more than 13 million copies worldwide. Marci is one of the bestselling female nonfiction authors of all time. Her breakthrough methods for personal fulfillment and professional success are summed up in her own bestseller Happy for No Reason.

Byron Katie is the creator of The Work, a system she invented to teach people how to end their own suffering. As she guides people through a unique process of inquiry, they find that their stressful beliefs—about life, other people, or themselves— radically shift their lives. Based on her own life experience of how suffering is created and ended, The Work is an astonishingly simple process, accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds, and requires nothing more than a pen and paper and an open mind. Through this process, anyone can learn to trace unhappiness to its source and eliminate it.

Wayne Muller is the founder of Bread for the Journey, is an ordained minister, therapist, and author. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, he has spent the last 25 years working closely with some of the most disadvantaged members of society. Wayne is the founder of the Institute for Engaged Spirituality, a senior scholar with the Fetzer Institute, and an extended faculty at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Wayne is the author of the national best seller Sabbath and How, Then, Shall We Live?

John Assaraf as a teenager risked the consequences of a turbulent lifestyle that could have easily led to jail or the morgue. In his quest to overcome his challenges and fulfill his desire to live a purposeful and meaningful life, he discovered a unique passion for brain research and quantum physics as they relate to achieving success in business and in life. Today, he shares that passion with audiences worldwide. John, one of the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management’s Distinguished Thought Leaders, has built four multi-million dollar companies in the last 20 years.

T. Harv Eker, using the principles he teaches, went from zero to millionaire in only two and a half years by combining a unique brand of “street-smarts” with heart. His high-energy, cut-to-the-chase style keeps his audiences spellbound. He is the author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind and SpeedWealth. During his years of struggle, Harv vowed that he would help others become rich as well. As the founder and president of Peak Potentials Training Inc., he has touched the lives of over 250,000 people, helping them move closer to their goal of true financial freedom.

Presented nationally by WLIW New York. Creator/Producer Lili Fournier. Executive Producer Gerard Fournier. Co-Executive Producer Marilyn Schwader.

America’s Master Gardener Jerry Baker wants to spread the word about the beneficial ways in which herbs can enrich our lives and our health in his how-to special JERRY BAKER’S GARDEN OF HERBAL DELIGHTS. “If plants are like people, then herbs are the physicians of the plant world,” says Jerry as he explains that herbs not only improve the taste of food, but can also make you feel better. Using tried and true methods from both his Grandma Putt and 50 years of gardening experience, Jerry demonstrates the secrets of growing healthy herbs. He covers how to prune, harvest and store herbs, and the variety of ways in which they can be used at home.

JERRY BAKER’S GARDEN OF HERBAL DELIGHTS offers tips on how to create a plan for an herb garden as well as identifying the best indoor and outdoor locations to grow herbs. Viewers learn how to buy different kinds of herbs – from seedlings to plants, what soil mixtures to purchase or make, how to prepare herb beds for planting, and tonic recipes for getting plants off to a growing start. Jerry also shares his “bug buster” recipe to deal with those pesky insects that can wreak havoc on a mint or basil plant.

The expert gardener also explains why herbal teas can often be used for medicinal purposes, i.e. fighting infections, headaches, easing indigestion. He shows the different methods of brewing teas depending on what types of herbs are used. While stressing their benefits, Jerry also advises moderation when consuming herbs and tells viewers to check with their doctor in case there’s a potential problem mixing them with other medications.

Presented nationally by WLIW New York. Produced by Detroit Public Television in association with RFG Productions, Inc. Executive Producers: Diane Bliss and Kim Adam Gasior. Producers: Bob Gothro and Josette Marano.

Mondays and Fridays at 9:30 am on WLIW Create

Renowned actor, writer and music specialist Simon Callow (“Rome,” Amadeus) leads a new experience in travel and storytelling: an exploration of the history and major attractions of some of Europe’s most beautiful destinations revealed through the lives and music of great classical composers who lived there. The armchair guide to classical music features violinist Niki Vasilakis performing the music for each destination onscreen against dazzling High Definition images of each location, as the narrative demonstrates the interplay of the composition and the place of its creation, illustrating how these masterpieces reflect the cities today. Author/roving historian Matt Wills also hosts.

CLASSICAL DESTINATIONS is for viewers with wanderlust for the most magnificent cities of the world; those who were spellbound by the film Amadeus, and its glimpses into the turbulent and uplifting world of a great musician; and that ever-increasing sector of the travel industry known as ‘cultural’ tourism.

The music in CLASSICAL DESTINATIONS is more than mere ’soundtrack’: it is both the subject and driving force of each episode’s narrative, demonstrating the fascinating interplay of music and the place of its creation. This unique combination of scenery and sound is revelatory; as Callow notes, “…it is inconceivable that the great composers would not have responded viscerally to their surroundings. For instance, once you see where Grieg lived in Norway, you can understand how intrinsic the feel of landscape is to his work. Hearing the famous Peer Gynt music, you imagine forests full of trolls and goblins, the fjords and lakes, cool misty dawns.”

CLASSICAL DESTINATIONS captures the primeval forests of Finland and the music of Sibelius; the Rococo splendor of Salzburg and the world of the child Mozart; the brilliant light of Venice and the corresponding clarity and vivacity of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons; the grandeur of the German cathedrals and their counterpart in the architectural majesty of Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterpieces.

Over one hundred hours of High Definition was edited to create the series 13, half-hour episodes. Producer/director Peter Beveridge and his crew filmed on location in St. Petersburg, Salzburg, Linz, Esterhazy, Vienna, Helsinki, Prague, Venice, Berlin, Leipzig, Eisenach, the countryside of Tuscany, and the coastlines of Norway and Denmark. Callow joined the crew on location to film his musical reflections before returning to London to record the narration.

Beveridge shares some of the series highlights: “Much of the performance footage with Niki is breathtaking,” he says. “Playing Mozart’s music in the Hall of Mirrors in the Schönbrunn Palace, where the six year-old Wolfgang performed for Marie Antoinette; or Bach’s music for solo violin filmed next to his grave in St. Thomas’ Church in Leipzig, where he worked for 30 years – these were standouts.”

Viewers will see the handwritten original manuscript of Beethoven’s great Ninth Symphony, plus a performance by the angelic Vienna Boys’ Choir. “We had a beautiful surprise when we visited the grand-daughter of Sibelius,” continues Beveridge. “She played a work written by her grandfather on his original violin, which he gave to her when she was 14 and he was 90.”

Landscape, music and history on television have never felt so vividly alive.

Producer/Director: Peter Beveridge. Presented nationally by WLIW New York. ST and CC.

Dvds/cds of this program available when you support WLIW21.

Watch a preview of “Brava Italia: The Proud Tradition”

WLIW New York’s new, three-part series, BRAVA ITALIA, salutes the Italian zest for life. Revealing how Italians make an art out of everyday living, “The Proud Tradition,” the first program in the series, paints a portrait of a country that honors pride of place, family history and celebrations, ritual, local crafts, foods and wine.

The Italian people possess a rare sense of style and passion that spring from the unusual diversity of cultures — Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Phoenician, Moorish and early Christian — that have taken root in their homeland over time. What they have seen and experienced over millennia has made them deeply confident about their history, their cultural values and their own identities. Italians have learned, from generation to generation, how to make ordinary life quite extraordinary.

BRAVA ITALIA “The Proud Tradition” takes a lingering look at how Italians connect with the world around them, in the present and in the past. Director/producer/screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola reminisces about family members several generations back who once roamed Basilicata, and discusses the importance of preserving the region and its old traditions. Italy’s natural landscape is renowned sculptor Luciano Zanoni’s muse. “I leave the house and go up into the mountains,” he reveals, “I find a plant that I like and fix it in my head.” A blacksmith’s son, Zanoni shapes wrought iron into exquisite metal trees—one of an olive tree was even purchased by computer tycoon Bill Gates. Meet fisherman Francesco Adragna, who remembers the day he pulled an ancient statue up out of his nets: “It came out face upwards…the first thing we saw was the expression. We all felt an indescribable emotion.” Clearly conveying the pride the locals possess, these stories offer a slice of Italian life.

From the mountains of Trentino, down along the Mediterranean coast, take in the cosmopolitan dynamism and international flair of Naples and Rome. Visit the small towns of Gubbio and Grado where centuries’ old street festivals and religious processions are still re–enacted with tradition and flourish. Capturing the rhythms of daily Italian life on the ground and from the skies, BRAVA ITALIA features narration by actor Paul Sorvino and a rich regional soundtrack. “The Proud Tradition” premieres nationwide December 2008 on public television (check local listings). Look out for part two, “The Beautiful Life,” and part three, “The Eternal Country,” in 2009.

A WLIW New York Production. Executive Producer: Roy A Hammond. Producer/Writer/Editor: Sam Toperoff. Presented nationally by WLIW New York. ST and CC.