Arianna Huffington makes waves on the Web

“I could not do anything without that inner voice stepping in and telling me how wrong I had done it — it was endless self-criticism,” she said.

Gradually, over the years, she says she's learned to tone down that voice, even poke fun at it. She has also, she insists, learned that success — and all the trappings — are not enough.

“I don't think you can have a fulfilled life without the instinct to find meaning in life; each person will discover what that is for themselves,” she said. “To find it in every day, to find it in every contact.”

That supercharged, whirlwind lifestyle will continue, but nowadays, she insists, there is a new sense of balance.

“As I've grown older, I've been able to put things in perspective,” she said. “If we worry about all the little things people say about us — are they approving of us? — then we're really wasting our lives. And we're missing the point of life.”

All this helps explain why she can, with such relish; eviscerate the candidate she once championed: Sen. John McCain.

"I think John McCain should not be allowed to hold sharp scissors, let alone be president," she said.

That new perspective also helps explain why she can so heartily chuckle at the philosophical distance she's traveled.

“You are wrong, you change your mind, you move on, you change sides,” she recently told a lecture audience in Los Angeles — to laughter and applause. “No problem: I completely believe in redemption."

Whatever the approach, it's turned her into a celebrity and, for many, an icon.

While the Huffington Post has traction with a growing audience, it's probably too early to say if it represents a fad — or the future. One thing, though, is certain.

“I'm doing what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said. “And the fact that I don't exactly know what shape it's going to be, you know a year or two years from now, is part of the creative pleasure.”

How far can she take the Huffington Post?

“How many people are there in the world?” she asked.

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