About

Hi! I’m Celestine Chua, life coach and founder of Personal Excellence, one of the top personal development blogs in the world. (Call me Celes please!)

My biggest passion is to help you achieve your highest potential and live your best life.

Born and raised in Singapore, I was constantly told by teachers and society that the meaning of life was to get good grades, get a good job, and earn lots of money. So I did that.

As a student, I consistently achieved top results and academic awards in school. At university, I entered NUS Business School, one of the top business schools in Asia, where I was on the Dean’s List and was awarded as the most outstanding student. Two years before graduation, I secured a highly sought after job in a Fortune 50 company, against a thousand applicants in the region.

While I was essentially on the golden path to success (in conventional terms), I soon discovered that there is much more to life than just earning money and material wealth. Following a series of pursuits and deep introspection, I soon discovered my life purpose: to grow and help others grow and achieve their highest potential.

So in 2008, I quit my well-paying job and started Personal Excellence — writing articles on personal development, doing 1-1 coaching, and conducting courses and workshops. In less than three years, I grew PE into one of the top personal development sites in the world with over a million pageviews per month. If you’re new here, here’s what to expect! :)

Articles. Over 600 articles on personal growth, covering topics like career, productivity, relationships, family, happiness, purpose and meaning, emotional mastery, and conscious living.
Free Resources. Besides articles, I have created many free personal development resources such as podcasts, ebooks, manifestos, infographics, wallpapers, and quotes.
Media. My work has been featured over 80 times in the media, including CNN, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Lifehacker, CBS, Today, The Sunday Age, Channel News Asia, Sun-Herald, The Sunday Age, Asia One, Her World, 938 Live, Kiss92, and more. (See my full media coverage here.)
Being profiled in a documentary about inspiring women in Singapore
On Channel News Asia, a prominent news network in Asia
On Good Morning Singapore! on Channel 8
International Community. My readers come from all over the world, including the US, the UK, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, France, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Africa. Wherever you are from, welcome! :) (See my past reader meetups here!)
Speaking. I have conducted personal development talks and workshops with University of Pennsylvania, Kimberly Clark, Dove, The Asia Business Forum, de Baak, Ministry of Defence (Singapore), JobsCentral, NUS Global Alumni Network, People’s Association, National Library, Singapore Institute of Management, and more.
Courses. Since starting PE, I have worked with thousands of individuals from around the world on their careers, business, relationships, health, and personal goals. I have created many popular challenges and courses on personal growth, such as Live a Better Life in 30 Days, Be a Better Me in 30 Days, How To Stop Emotional Eating, and Anti-Procrastination Course, with tens of thousands of participants.

“Absolutely love your writing. Your articles resonate very powerfully with me and I look forward to reading and continuing my leadership and skill development using your advice and experiential wisdom. Thank you for helping this 35-year-old father of two become the best father, professional, leader, and all-round person he can be.” — Greg, USA
“Just wanted to say thank you for your words of wisdom on dealing with anger within families. You basically saved me from needing a lifetime of therapy and showed me a way to reflect and grow instead.” — A
“I just want to say that the simple methods you offer in 30BBM have been transformative for me, and I’m in my 50s. People are seeing more change faster than I can imagine.” — Carlene, USA
“Hi Celes, I submitted my PhD thesis about half an hour ago! I owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Your articles on efficiency and staying motivated, and your course on beating procrastination, were so helpful to me.” — Sarah, UK
“I just like to say thank you for such an uplifting article. My brother passed away last week and I have been doing much soul searching since. Your article has given me hope to find something more meaningful in my life and I plan to begin working on finding my real purpose this evening.” — Bob

The answers you seek in life lie in you. No matter what you’re going through right now, I want you to know that you’re not alone. No matter how difficult the challenge you’re facing, there is a way out. And my hope is to help you through my work at PE.

I know there’s a lot of content here, so it can be tricky to know where to start. Here are some reader favorites at PE:

Visit my articles section with over 600 articles on personal growth. Join my newsletter to get my latest updates and articles. As a thank you, you’ll get free ebooks that I’ve created of my most popular articles at PE.

If there’s anything you’d like to see, let me know. I look forward to talking to you soon! :)

– Celes

About Me

Background. Born and raised in Singapore (1984). Since my early 20s, I have traveled the world (Asia, Europe, the US, Asia Pacific, etc.) for work and personal travel. Lived in London in 2022-2025. I’m now back home in Singapore. ❤
Childhood. I was raised by traditional Chinese parents and grew up poor. I understand the value of money and what it means to work your way up from nothing. I share some parts of my childhood in my anger series, parent series, femininity series, and emotional eating series. This is random, but I share my childhood photos here.
World traveler. Since my 20s, I have traveled and lived in different parts of the world for work and personal travel. Places I’ve been to include Holland, Germany, France, East Europe, the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, India, South East Asia, Australia, and South Africa. I love traveling as
Purpose. My life purpose is “To achieve my highest potential and live my best life; To help others achieve their highest potential and live their best lives. To raise the world’s consciousness and unite the world as one.” (Read how I found my purpose.) I launched PE as a direct result of pursuing my purpose. While PE is my work, it’s more than that — it is my passion and my life.
Values. My values are Excellence, Love, Truth, Courage, and Authenticity. I believe in doing what’s right, being true to who you are, setting the highest standards for yourself, and treating others with love and respect.
Family. I got married in 2014 and gave birth to my baby girl in 2019. ❤︎‬ I took a multi-year career hiatus since she was born and looked after her full time as a stay-at-home mum, fully breastfeeding, taking on all childcare and household duties, and navigating the motherhood journey alone. I’m now transitioning back to work and hope to write about this in the future.
Vegan. Back in Jan 2008, I tried a vegetarian diet as a 30-day experiment, and continued afterward as I felt better and had increased mental clarity. In 2019, I became a vegan. My reasons are better health, to reduce cruelty, and the environment. While I’m a vegan, I don’t impose my diet on others — you’re free to eat whatever you choose.

More about me:

To connect with me, join my newsletter below. I’ll see you on the inside! :)