About

Hi! I’m Celestine Chua (call me Celes please), life coach and founder of Personal Excellence. If you believe in making the best out of life and achieving your highest potential, you are at the right place!

Personal Excellence is the leading authority site for people passionate about achieving excellence in life. From articles, to podcasts, to videos, to courses, to inspirational quotes, to manifestos, PE has every resource you need to grow and achieve your highest potential!

Today, PE is one of the top personal development blogs in the world with over one million pageviews a month and international readers from over 200 countries/territories. We have been featured over 70 times in print, TV and online media, including CNN, Cosmopolitan, Business Insider, CBS Business Network, and Channel News Asia.

I was profiled in a TV documentary, Soul Sisters, about inspiring women in Singapore

On Channel News Asia AM Live!, a prominent and prestigious news network in Asia-Pacific

On Channel News Asia AM Live! again as a repeat guest

Some of the many media channels I’ve been featured on before

My mission at Personal Excellence is “To unite the world as one consciousness by helping others to achieve their highest potential and live their best lives.”

No matter who you are or what you do, you have unlimited potential to achieve everything you have ever wanted. I’m here to help you achieve your highest potential, to be the best version of yourself, and to live your best life. 🙂

About Me and How I Started PE

Born and raised in Singapore, I grew up pursuing staunch academic goals with the objective of landing a great job with a good pay. I became a Dean’s Lister in NUS Business School (one of the top business schools in Asia) every academic year, secured a highly-sought-after brand management career in P&G (a Fortune 100 company) before my graduation, and eventually graduated as the top student in Marketing.

If you had asked me before I was 20, becoming a life coach was never among my ambitions. In fact, it was the last thing I would have thought of doing — I would probably have told you that it was some cheesy work. I mean, helping others develop themselves — who cares, really?

However, in my last year in school, I seriously thought about my life and what I wanted to do. I realized that the highest, most meaningful thing I can ever do in life is to grow, i.e., to develop my consciousness, and to raise others’ consciousness — a story I’ve detailed in Two Important Things that Led Me to Discover My Real Purpose. The development of human consciousness is the best thing one can ever do IMO because consciousness is probably the one permanent thing in life — everything else like looks, material possessions, status, and wealth simply disappear over time, especially after death (physical death, that is). Not saying that these things aren’t important, but that they are of secondary importance and are merely means to realize our higher objective in life.

So in September 2008, I quit my well-paying job to start Personal Excellence — with zero capital and background in coaching and training. And I’ve never looked back. 🙂 Over the years, I have developed myself as a credible expert, having been featured in prominent international and local media outlets, trained with many institutions, and coached tens of thousands of people around the world.

While PE is my full-time career today, it is more than a job or business to me. It is my life, my blood, and my purpose. This is what I plan to do till the day I die.

Here are my professional snippets:

Blogging. Personal Excellence is the leading authority platform for people to achieve excellence in life. It has over one million pageviews a month, with international readers from over 200 countries/territories. I also host my video show Celes.TV with video content to live your best life.
Media. I have been featured over 70 times in print, TV and online media, including CNN, Cosmopolitan, Business Insider, CBS Business Network, Channel News Asia, Asia One, Her World, and Sun-Herald. I’ve also been profiled in a MediaCorp documentary Soul Sisters about inspiring women in Singapore.
Business. Personal Excellence is my full-time work and business. A good portion of my business income is passive by design, which means I get the flexibility to spend my time however I want and build my business authentically as opposed to being driven by money.
Speaking. I speak on personal development, blogging, and entrepreneurship. Organizations I’ve worked with include Wharton Business School, Dove, Kimberly Clark, Ministry of Defence (Singapore), JobsCentral, NUS Global Alumni Network, National Library, Great Eastern, People’s Association, and Singapore Institute of Management.
Panelist at the prestigious Wharton Marketing Conference to share my expertise on blogging and online marketing

Sharing my entrepreneurial story at National Library Board’s Entrepreneur Series

Leading a workshop with JobsCentral, one of the largest career portals in Singapore and Malaysia, on how to achieve career success

Led the Dove Camera Confidence Workshop in their Camera Confidence campaign

Conducting a live training
Coaching. I have worked with tens of thousands of individuals worldwide to achieve excellence in their life, business, relationships, and personal goals. I run regular group coaching programs and do 1-1 coaching. I’ve been named one of the Top 30 Coaches in the World by Coaching Gurus International in 2010, alongside renowned coaches like Anthony Robbins. Visit my Courses section for my premium courses.
Podcast. I host the Personal Excellence Podcast, a personal development podcast where I get up close and personal with you and share even more tips on personal growth. The show was just launched in February 2016 and receives over 5,000 downloads per episode. Listen via my Podcast section.
Traveling. I’m a regular traveler and have traveled across Asia, Europe, the United States, and South Africa. Between 2011 and 2013, I spent almost 50% of my time abroad, visiting 4 continents and 18 territories, learning about different cultures and meeting new people. See past PE meetups here.
Corporate/Academic history. Prior to PE, I managed billion-dollar brands in a Fortune 100 company (P&G) for 2 years, before quitting in 2008 to pursue my real passion to help others grow. Before that, I studied Business Administration in National University of Singapore from 2003–2006 and was a Dean’s Lister. I graduated as the top student in my cohort in Marketing and was awarded as the Most Outstanding Student in Year 3 Modules. During graduation, I was honored with the Daimler Chrysler Prize, Chettiar’s Temple Medal, and Ban Hin Leong Gold Medal by the school board.

And some personal snippets…

My life purpose is “To raise the world’s consciousness and unite the world as one” and “To achieve my highest potential, live my best life, and reach my highest consciousness.”
My values are Excellence, Passion, Truth, and Love. Besides being fiercely passionate about growth, I believe in doing what’s right, being true to who you are, setting the highest standards for yourself and achieving them, and treating people with kindness and respect.
Birth. My birthday is June 25, 1984.
Married. I got married to my soulmate on May 25, 2014. 🙂 On how we met: How to Find Your Soulmate (series)
Vegetarian. I’m a vegetarian and have been since Jan 2008 for non-cruelty reasons. Being a vegetarian also gives me higher mental clarity which a meat-based diet doesn’t. For the record, my diet is my choice that I don’t impose on others; I believe everyone is free to eat what they want. My next step is to transition to a vegan (not just in food but also in terms of lifestyle), minimalistic, and waste-free lifestyle.
Locality. I was born and raised in Singapore. I’m based in Singapore but I’m currently traveling around the world.

Articles About Me

To know more about me, read

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Through the material at PE, many readers’ lives have been changed for the better. Do not take my word — here is just some feedback I’ve received from readers:

“Hi Celes, during 2012, I was going through hard times. During that time, I found your site. I went through almost all of your articles every day and it motivated me greatly. Today I have accomplished so much and I can’t believe myself. Even my critics are motivated by me! Very few people are reasons behind my success and you are one of them. Thank you. ” ~ Praveen

“Every day I can’t believe how far I have come, and it’s all thanks to you. I’ve landed an amazing career, doubled my income, and I get to spend all my time doing what I love. You’ve helped me become someone with purpose, and I am truly enjoying my journey of ‘personal excellence’!” ~ Kimberly

“I usually have a lot of contempt for self-help sites because they tend to have only a single good message that they keep repeating in different forms. But [PE] is different. Every single concept that you covered has been covered so thoroughly that it gives complete satisfaction. Different readers can take away different messages, and you cater to them all! You seem to have the inhuman, almost computer-like ability of looking for a better solution to a problem even if you already have a good, working solution.“ ~ Adwaith

“I seriously can’t believe how much your post has impacted my life. I finally got married with the love of my life and it’s great to [finally] be in a relationship where I can be myself. Would never have been possible without your help Celes! Thanks so much!” ~ Sharon

“Celes, I’ve come to know of your site when I accidentally stumbled on your esteemed site ‘Personal Excellence’ on Google. I felt as if I’ve dug out a diamond in a jungle.” ~ Kevin S.

“Just wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve done so far with Personal Excellence. It has been a great inspiration and resource for me in my journey from (miserable) corporate employee to (blissfully happy) entrepreneur. Please keep up the good work!” ~ Rob

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