The Business Insider 100: The Creators is a testament to businesses and leaders who have pushed the envelope and made customers, employees, and society a priority in addition to shareholders. 

Though success is often defined by wealth, the leaders on our Creators list have achieved great heights through innovative products, care for their customers and employees, and respect for the rest of the world. 

Read on to see how 40 of these visionaries approach success, business, and making an impact on society — in their own words.

SEE ALSO: BI 100: The Creators

DON'T MISS: 105 inspirational quotes from the most successful people in the world

"The antidote to inequality is equality. The question is how do you achieve equality? I believe that for business, which is where I can speak, we have to shift from shareholder maximization to stakeholder maximization. And when we only focus on our shareholders, that's when it becomes very limiting and that's when we can draw fire from other stakeholders." — Marc Benioff, Salesforce

Source.

"We can all be as groovy as we want to be, but the ultimate form of sustainability is being able to keep the doors open. ... Having that vision that has a deeply embedded purpose to it helps to ground you, and having that commitment to making sure that the literal sustainability of the company goes forward — you need that combination." — Kim Jordan, New Belgium Brewing Company

Source.

"Obviously everyone wants to be successful, but I want to be looked back on as being very innovative, very trusted and ethical and ultimately making a big difference in the world." — Sergey Brin, Google

Source.

Today is the 2016 summer solstice. It marks the official start of summer, even though temperatures have made it feel like summer for some time now.

The term solstice comes from the Latin words "sol," meaning sun, and "sistere," meaning to come to a stop or stand still. During the summer solstice, the sun reaches its highest position in the sky. Instead of continuing in a forward motion as it does every other day, the sun appears to stand still before reversing directions and moving to the south again. 

Because the solstice occurs at the moment the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, it happens at the same time for everyone in the world. However, since we have time zones, this could be today or tomorrow, depending on where you are located. Time and Date has a calculator for everyone to find out the exact moment of the summer solstice in their particular location. 

This day comes and goes each year, but before it goes away again, here are 5 cool summer solstice facts to consider on the longest day of the year.

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1) It's the first summer solstice full moon in 49 years

According to EarthSky, this is the first summer solstice full moon in the Northern Hemisphere since 1967. That summer was considered the "Summer of Love" in cities around the world. Vanity Fair dubbed that summer "a blast of glamour, ecstacy, and Utopianism that turned America on to a whole new age."

Maybe this solstice full moon will send new waves crashing through society again.

2) It's the fourth of four full moons since the March equinox

There is something else special about tonight's full moon. There are typically only 3 full moons between the equinox and the solstice, but this time there are four. The last full moon, or the famous blue moon, fell on May 21 this year. It has been 6 years since a full moon fell on a solstice (the December 2010 solstice). This phenomenon won't occur again until 2062.

3) There are huge celebrations and superstitions

Much of Europe celebrates the summer solstice between June 21 and 25. In Finland and Germany, people often burn giant bonfires by the water. Celebrators dance around the fire because traditionally, jumping over flames is said to purify the person and increase their chances of getting married that year. The summer solstice was once believed to be a time to do magic and perform future-changing rituals. 

The iconic Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. hosts a legendary past, becoming famous for its location within the complex that sparked the political scandal ending Richard Nixon's presidency. 

Closed since 2007, the hotel officially reopened to the public last week after a $125 million renovation. 

With swanky new touches like a luxe whiskey bar adorned with thousands of bottles and a stunning new ballroom, guests can expect an elevated experience with playful touches that pay homage to the hotel's historic past.

SEE ALSO: 16 incredible destinations in Asia that tourists don't know about yet

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The Watergate Hotel sits on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., and has stood as the hotel of choice for discerning and wealthy travelers since it opened in March of 1967. Originally designed by Italian architect, Luigi Moretti, the hotel was made to look like a sail on the Potomac River with its sprawling curves.

The new design features interiors selected by renowned designer Ron Arad and sculptural furnishings from Italian designer, Moroso. “Mad Men” costumer designer, Janie Bryant, has also created chic uniforms for the staff to reflect the hotel’s new modern edge, while fun touches like pens reading "Stolen from The Watergate Hotel" and key cards that say "no need to break in" nod to the hotel's past.

Several original structures were restored, including the indoor pool and staircase. The saltwater lap pool, which is surrounded by tiles flecked in real silver, features two lanes, an aerobic area, and a whirlpool to unwind in.

Jon Callahan of Freemans Sporting Club explains the essentials for purchasing a tailored suit.

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Miss Universe knows what you think of it. And it’s quietly making a number of changes that might make you rethink the pageant.

Many people criticize Miss Universe for being an antiquated celebration of superficial femininity. While the annual show remains popular with its core audience more than 50 years after it was founded, its image as a brand has seen better days.

That may be changing. Donald Trump unloaded the organization in 2015 after a falling out with its broadcaster, NBC, following his controversial statements about Mexican immigrants. He sold to WME/IMG, which is primarily known as a talent agency but is widely growing its business ventures, including original productions.

In Miss Universe, first of all, WME/IMG saw a chance to obtain a massive global audience that will take advantage of the company’s other relationships within entertainment. (Actress Julianne Hough cohosted this month’s Miss USA competition, and she also happens to be signed with WME.)

The new Miss Universe/Miss USA owners want to take full advantage of that audience in ways the old shows simply left behind. They launched the Miss U app, the first official app for the Miss Universe organization, which allows fans a say in the voting and gives them access to content before and after the shows.

“There’s a huge community around this that we can leverage 365 days a year,” Michael Antinoro, who oversees Miss Universe at IMG Original Content, told Business Insider. “Frankly, in the past, most people looked at the organization, whether it was Miss USA or Miss Universe, once a year when the three-hour special came on TV. It was the only time they thought about it.”

But perhaps more significantly, WME/IMG wants to rethink what it means to be Miss USA or Miss Universe, and how it portrays the women aiming for the prizes.

“Celebrating women 60 years ago was a very different idea of how to do that than now. What we saw in the opportunity here was, first of, to kind of join the conversation that’s happening in 2016. That’s men and women talking about celebrating women and women’s empowerment and getting women to work together to raise all levels and awareness on women’s issues and other issues around the world,” Antinoro said.

That shift in how Miss Universe treats female competitors, means, for example, that Miss USA went to the 51 competitors’ hometowns to spend a day with each of them and shoot footage of their daily lives: their jobs, their families, and everything else that goes beyond the skills of the show.

This year’s newly crowned Miss USA, Deshauna Barber, is an officer in the Army Reserve and impressed viewers by giving an answer in which she defended women being allowed in all combats roles of the military. It was a far cry from the type of blanket, abstract answers competitors have given in the past, and got to the core of Barber's service and ideas about the country.

"There are many ways to define beauty," Antinoro said, "and it’s about confidence and about taking yourself out of your comfort zone."

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The Galápagos Islands are not a destination for the novice traveler. It takes a long time to get there — no matter where you're coming from — and when done right, your trip will be jam-packed with incredible adventures.

Professional travel blogger Trevor Morrow, who runs the blog Trevor Morrow Travel: Dude-Approved Travel, Food, and Gear, was recently invited to stay at the luxury resort Pikaia Lodge on the island of Santa Cruz. He got the VIP treatment from the moment he disembarked from the plane.

Morrow's experience included spa treatments, a gorgeous private yacht, and snorkeling adventures conducted by a Galápagos native who has also led private tours for Google cofounder Sergey Brin.

"A trip to the Galápagos really falls into the 'trip of a lifetime' category," Morrow told Business Insider. Morrow would know — his travel writing has taken him across the world, including to Belize, Nepal, Iceland, and Amsterdam. "It's a legendary destination and one that takes a bit of planning and dedication to visit." 

SEE ALSO: 19 stunning photos that show how different weddings are around the world

Morrow left his home in Los Angeles at 11:30 p.m. on a Saturday night to catch a red-eye to Miami. From there, he flew into Quito, Ecuador, where he stayed one night before flying to the island of Baltra in the Galápagos on Monday. He got to the Pikaia Lodge at 5 p.m. on Monday, after clocking in well over 24 hours' worth of travel.

Morrow's luxurious experience with Pikaia Lodge began at the airport. "I saw a woman standing there with a sign with my name on it. While everyone else went right, she ushered me to the left and into the airport’s VIP entrance," Morrow said.

"All guests staying at Pikaia Lodge are treated to the same VIP welcome," he said.

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Pants are one of the most difficult items for guys to buy. The reason for that is simple: Men don't actually know the terminology they need to get exactly what they're looking for.

Fortunately, that can be fixed with knowledge. From leg opening to fly style, we've covered everything you need to know to buy the perfect pair of pants.

SEE ALSO: 26 grooming and style hacks every guy should know

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The term "rise" refers to the distance between the top of the pants' waistband and the crotch.

The zip fly has largely overtaken the button fly in popularity, and it offers a quicker and easier way to close your pants. Here are the benefits of each:

For the pants' front, there are two options: pleats and flat front.

Growing up, I was pretty stubborn.

It might have had something to do with being the oldest, or with having a protective dad who sometimes set rules that the younger me found completely unreasonable.

I was so hardheaded that I remember debating more of his wisdom than I actually listened to.

But as an adult, I've come to appreciate many of his lessons.

In honor of Father's Day, here are five lessons that resonate with me to this day:

SEE ALSO: When I was 6, my dad taught me a critical money lesson that forever changed the way I spend

DON'T MISS: I found the perfect last-minute gift to give Dad this Father's Day

1. Avoid consumer debt as much as possible

My dad instilled in us early on the idea that you should always live within your means.

Today, I use my credit card sparingly, and I'll never purchase something when I don't have the money to pay it off right then and there, unless it's truly a necessity.

I've also never bought anything on an installment plan — dad taught me that many of them are designed in a way that makes it easy to fall behind and not meet your payment obligations.

2. You can never invest too much in education

While my dad discourages racking up debt through unnecessary purchases, as an entrepreneur he understands that there are certain times when debt is necessary.

Examples include mortgages, business debts, and education. While we were growing up, he never hesitated to spend money not only on our schooling, but also on language lessons, books, computer programs, tutors, or anything that promoted learning.

I was fortunate to grow up in New Zealand, a country where the cost of education is relatively low compared to the US. My undergraduate fees, for example, only amounted to about $4,300 a year.

Sometimes, the cost of higher education in the US makes me think twice about how much I'm willing to shell out for learning purposes. But the mindset that education is a continual journey has stayed with me, and I am always looking for opportunities to improve my knowledge and gain additional skills.

3. Hard work trumps talent and intelligence every time

My dad was not a great student in high school. He routinely got into trouble, and his teachers told him that he was stupid.

When he couldn't get into a good college in Indonesia, his father shipped him off to the US. He loved telling my brother and me the story of how he successfully begged the dean of a community college, in broken English, to let him in.

He says that before he went to college, he didn't understand the concept of hard work. So to catch up with his peers, he put his head down, studied, and didn't watch TV or socialize until he worked up a GPA high enough to transfer to Boston University.

After graduating from college, he moved back to Indonesia and worked in banking for several years. Since then, he’s built several businesses in Indonesia and New Zealand, mainly in commercial property development.

He always told me not to be intimidated by people with titles or talent and to never discount the possibility of achieving something big.

If you've been using your phone to check your Facebook feed, you may have stumbled across a photo that mysteriously started to move as you moved your hand around.

These are Facebook 360 Photos — photos that can be taken using your phone's panorama function. The new feature is way more immersive than simply uploading a regular photo. Creating and uploading a 360 photo is incredibly easy to do. We'll show you how it works. 

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Eat baby food. Go gluten-free. Reserve Mondays for yellow food and Thursdays for purple food.

These are just a few of the utterly insane eating plans that various celebrities have publicly admitted to trying.

Thankfully, there are better ways to change what you eat and feel healthier. (Spoiler alert: Many of them involve longterm lifestyle changes instead of jumping into a rigid eating plan for a few days).

Here's a list of some of the craziest and inadvisable things celebrities have done to look and feel better, along with a few suggestions that could be healthily incorporated into your life:

SEE ALSO: 17 'healthy habits' you're better off giving up

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Beyoncé reportedly used the "Master Cleanse" to lose weight before "Dreamgirls."

The scoop: Beyoncé reportedly did the Master Cleanse, which involves subsisting on nothing but lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper, before staring in the movie "Dreamgirls" — the idea being that it detoxes your system and accelerates weight loss.

Should you do it? You never need to do a detox. Our bodies do it for us. While our kidneys filter our blood and remove waste from our diet, our liver processes medications and detoxifies any chemicals we ingest. Paired together, these organs make our bodies natural cleansing powerhouses. So stop eyeing that lemon squeezer. It's not worth it.

Reese Witherspoon did the "Baby Food Diet."

The scoop: The Baby Food Diet has been traced to celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson, who's since denied supporting it. It involves eating 14 jars of baby food, with the option of adding in one actual low-calorie meal, each day.

Should you do it? Nope. The jars of baby food are 80 calories. Eat 14 and you end up with roughly 1,000 calories each day plus one real meal. So long as the meal you allow yourself is about 400 calories — think a small piece of grilled fish or lean meat and some sautéed veggies — you'll definitely lose weight. But it'll be because you're not eating food, not because mushed-up fruit is a miracle diet product.

Snooki went on the "Cookie Diet."

The scoop: Snooki reportedly lost weight in 2010 with a diet of cookies. For three weeks, she ate six of the 90-calorie treats a day and one small meal. Alarmingly, the Cookie Diet is not Snooki's creation: Now-retired Dr. Sanford "The Cookie Doctor" Siegal trademarked the plan.

Should you do it? Probably not. Cookie Diet cookies are no Girl Scout Samoas. The recipe's first three ingredients are glycerin (used to add sweetness and moisture), whole-wheat powder (for fiber), and beef protein. They've also got rice crisps (ostensibly for crunch), egg whites (for more protein), wheat bran (for fiber), and a smattering of B vitamins.

After nearly three years on and off the market and multiple price chops, the Miami penthouse belonging to singer Pharrell Williams has finally sold.

First put on the market for $16.8 million in 2012, the price was dropped to $14 million in 2013 and again to $10.8 million five months later, property records on Zillow show. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, the enormous penthouse has sold for $9.25 million. Williams bought it for $12.525 million in 2007.

The 9,000-square-foot penthouse sits at the top of the high-rise Bristol Tower in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami. Much of that space is full of his pop art collection.

Dora Puig Real Estate had the listing.

SEE ALSO: This $28.5 million mansion is now the most expensive home for sale in San Francisco

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Pharrell Williams' penthouse definitely looks like his. The first thing you notice when you walk into the grand cathedral-like living room is the art on the walls by his favorite artists.

Throughout the apartment, you'll find art from KAWS, Takashi Murakami, Kidrobot, Keith Haring, and Andy Warhol.

Pop art lines the hallways.

Didn't make it through all of your fitness and diet goals in time for summer? Don't fret.

There are still plenty of things you can start doing now to start looking and feeling healthier.

Sure, you're probably not going to wake up looking like an underwear model tomorrow — but you can certainly start feeling better and improving your digestion in a week, according to registered dietitian and nutritionist Andy Bellatti.

Here are a few things Bellatti and other nutritionists recommend.

SEE ALSO: What the author of 'Eat Fat, Get Thin' eats — and avoids — every day

DON'T MISS: 13 totally absurd celebrity diets, and 3 you might actually consider

DO: Drink lots of water.

Water is essential — it regulates the shape of every cell inside our bodies. If we don't get enough, in fact, these cells begin to shrivel up.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends choosing water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages to "help with weight management." Swapping a cold glass of H2O for a single 20-ounce soda will save you about 240 calories.

So hydrate, Bellatti told Business Insider. "Ideally with water." Not a fan of the absence of flavor? He suggests spicing it up with a few slices of lemon, lime, or cucumber.

DON'T: Drink only water — or any other beverage.

If you're considering a "detox" or "juice cleanse," you might want to reconsider. Drinking just water, juice, or any other liquefied concoction for more than a few days can set you up for unhealthy eating behaviors, and can often lead to unhealthy spikes and drops in blood sugar levels, which can spawn cravings and mood swings.

"This is a recipe for 'hangriness,'" says Bellatti, "that also inaccurately paints all solid food as problematic."

DO: Cut back on sodium.

Most of us — 89% of adults, according to the CDC— eat too much sodium, band that's not including any salt added at the table.

While salt intake remains a hotly debated health topic, eating too much of it is linked with puffiness and bloating, according to Harvard Health. Depending on your diet, cutting back on sodium can be an easy ways to start feeling better.

"Sodium retains water," says Bellatti, "so lowering sodium intake also reduces puffiness."

A Dubai-based developer has launched the world's first floating homes project. Each home comes with three levels, all of which offer some breathtaking views, especially the master bedroom. 

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There are a lot of ways to go wrong with pants. It's common to buy the wrong size, fit, rise, or leg opening.

But one thing no man should do under any circumstance is buy pants with pleats in them.

Let's back up: what is a pleat anyway?

Pleats are sewn-in folds of fabric on the front of pants, along the seam where the belt line and the leg meet, that cause it to drape differently down the pants. This allows more room in the top block of the garment while causing it to flair out down the leg. 

This is beneficial to a larger man who needs more room in the top block, but it can cause a skinnier man to look overwhelmed and bulky. Even if you are larger, pleats have a tendency to exaggerate that with large folds of fabric.

There is an incredible amount of evidence that pleats are terrible. It was even named the worst kind of pants a man can wear in an r/AskWomen subreddit thread, where Redditors can use gender symbols to signify that they are either a man or woman. Pleats earned 318 votes to come out as the worst. 

Pleats can be done well, however. The Wall Street Journal ran a report in October 2015 that claimed pleats are "back," citing it as a pushback to the extremely slim flat-front styles that are more common today. And we'll admit that, when styled well, single-pleated pants can add interest to an outfit and give it a vintage, early 20th-century vibe.

But while the ultra-slim look is becoming less and less common today, I doubt we'll see pleating come back in a meaningful way. Sure, some of the more "daring" fashion-forward men may play around with the look, but pleats are just way too frumpy to ever be in the spotlight again.

We say it's safer to just stay far, far away from pleats. It's for your own good.

For more on how to buy the perfect pair of pants, check out our slideshow of graphics on the subject.

SEE ALSO: Here's everything the modern gentleman needs to know about buying a flattering pair of pants

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Staying at a hotel can be the most expensive part of a trip, but it doesn't need to be.

From traveling off-season to booking a stay on certain days of the week, there are a number of ways to save money on accommodation.

Business Insider spoke to Cheryl Rosner, co-founder and CEO of the hotel booking website Stayful and former president of Hotels.com and Expedia Corporate Travel, for her advice on getting a cheap hotel room.

Here are her 11 top money-saving tips:

Don’t ask for an upgrade.

Many guests think asking for a larger room will help them get one, but Rosner advises against this. Instead, she recommends that guests staying at a hotel during a quiet time — midweek at a resort hotel, or at the weekend in a popular business hotel — ask to "experience" another type of room.

"I will ask, 'If you happen to have a suite available I would love to experience it.’ As a result I get upgraded a lot," Rosner said. "The hotel knows because I’ve asked if I can experience it that I intend to share my experience."

Book another guest’s canceled room.

This works especially well if you’re looking to get a low-priced room at the last minute — even at a sold-out hotel, according to Rosner.

Contact the hotel where you’d like to stay a day or two before you plan to arrive to see if there are any cheap rooms available. "Cancellation policies are typically 24-48 hours in advance of the arrival date," Rosner said. "One person’s canceled room is another’s reservation!"

Or book a month in advance.

If you would rather plan your trip in advance, the best time to book a hotel is around 30 days prior to your stay, Rosner says, referring to findings from Stayful.  

Though if you're planning on a somewhat last-minute trip, booking 7-10 days before you plan to arrive should turn up more affordable results as well.

Retailers are making bank on the wedding industrial complex.

Research company Edited recently released a report that pointed out that retailers will charge about 3.9 times more for a white bridal dress than a white dress that's similar (just not a "wedding" dress, per se).

But is it just a white dress? Or is it something else?

"It's not just a white dress," wedding dress designer Anne Barge said to NPR. "It's the fabric, and it's the workmanship, and it's the lining, and it's the fit." (Arguably, a higher price tag may or may not indicate a better quality dress, and there's also the argument that if you wear it on your wedding day...it's a wedding dress.)

"It's the dress of your life, and if there is ever one picture your [descendants] have of you it's the one in your wedding dress," Barge explained.

But what if it's a bridesmaid dress, and the construction is flimsier than a bridal gown?

The industrial complex extends to there, too. Edited found that the word 'bridesmaid' had a similar effect; bridesmaids dresses cost 1.8 times more than dresses that were the same.

Is social media to blame? After all, the Pinterest-perfect and Instagram-worthy weddings aren't just myths; women are trying to attain that.

"More and more, today’s couples are influenced by what they see passing for the norm on social media. They see Solange Knowles at a wedding in a white jumpsuit and realize, ‘hold on, I can bring the trends and culture I like to the altar too’. And the mass market is perfectly positioned to cater to this new customer,'" Katie Smith, Senior Retail Analyst at Edited said in an emailed press release.

However, Edited points out that just like how twenty-somethings prepping for a wedding can be influenced by what they see online, they also can look online to help skimp on costs. Edited pointed out that currently 7% of bridal wear is e-commerce, making online wedding dress shopping a $574-a-million-a-year business.

But even though the wedding market as a whole can burden consumers' wallets, this wedding obsession can also be a boon to retailers. Edited points out that J. Crew's wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses sell out 1.4 times faster than its regular dresses (though to be fair, that's not probably particularly fast for most of its apparel — the company has been struggling for several quarters).

It raises a point though: could wedding dresses — especially heavily marked-up white dresses with the word "wedding" next to it — be a way to salvage some ailing traditional retailers? After all, even though consumers have been largely conditioned to shop on sale and even though yes, J. Crew does discount some of its wedding dresses, there's arguably one item women will be pay a premium for...or at least, one they might not have a choice but to pay a premium for.

SEE ALSO: Macy's is officially becoming the new Sears

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A 20-year-old photographer from Sydney, Australia, is making his mark on a relatively nascent art form: aerial drone photography. 

Gabriel Scanu learned how to use a DSLR camera when he was 12, but picked up drone photography after his father, a cinematographer himself, purchased a drone for work and the two experimented with it together, he said in an interview. 

To capture an interesting shot, Scanu said that he likes to look for a "busy scene," someplace with diversity in the landscape, like crowds of people or other natural moving elements. 

To keep up with Scanu's work, you can follow his mesmerizing feed on Instagram: @gabscanu, check out his website at gabrielscanu.com or follow his adventures on Snapchat: gabscan.

As for what's next, Scanu told Business Insider in an email that he is looking to launch a limited collection of prints, starting with an exhibition in Sydney and potentially one in Los Angeles to follow.

For a taste of some of his work, scroll on: 

SEE ALSO: How drones are turning everyday citizens into superheroes

Durdle Door, Dorset, England

Arundel, West Sussex, England

Caves Beach, New South Wales, Australia

Housing can be a major money suck. Take San Francisco, where the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is about $3,500 a month. Prices in my home base, New York City, are just as egregious: $3,300 for a one-bed.

A handful of professionals seem to have figured out a creative solution to this real-estate conundrum: Rather than settling into overpriced apartments, they're moving into trucks, sailboats, and tiny homes. They seem to be onto something brilliant — besides saving up to 90% of their income, living tiny means a less cluttered (and more minimalist) lifestyle, an alluring prospect in today's fast-paced world.

It looks brilliant on paper — from a safe distance — but I wanted to know what it's really like to make a lifestyle change of this magnitude. So I moved into a van. Specifically, a taxicab converted into a "rolling room," which I found on Airbnb for $50 a night ($39 plus the cleaning and service fees).

I only spent two nights "living tiny" before I happily moved back into my overpriced Manhattan apartment — but two nights was more than enough time to answer all of my questions.

Here's how it went and what I learned:

SEE ALSO: From living in a van to commuting 700 miles: 12 people who go to extreme measures to save money on housing

I knew that my level of preparation could make or break the experience, so I packed diligently — yet lightly. I made sure that each item I brought would serve a specific purpose. Among the things that made the cut were: work clothes, a few toiletries, two washcloths, an extra blanket, portable speakers, a laptop, a book, and melatonin to help me sleep.

Two last-minute additions — toilet paper and hand sanitizer — were game-changers. We (I brought my roommate along) also bought two bottles of water on the way, which we figured we would use to brush our teeth and wash our faces.

We made the easy commute from Manhattan to Long Island City, Queens, where we found our home for the next two nights parked on this dead-end street.