About luck

"You’re so lucky, you’re living a dream life and you get to travel all the time !" I get that really often. So let’s get clear here. Being a wedding and destination photographer has nothing to do with luck. I’m not lucky, I show up, I hussle and I make things happen. However, some part of my life can be called “lucky”. I am lucky to be born in such a beautiful country as France and a pretty city like Paris. I am lucky to have the freedom to be who I want to be, to say what I want to say, to make choices...when in a lot of countries, it’s not the case for most women. So I get slightly puzzled when people are telling me how lucky I am to be where I am at now, as if it was a magical thing, as if it didn’t require any efforts from me. Because just as a reminded dear friend, this is what Luck is :

LUCK : (noun) : “the force that causes things, especially good things, to happen to you by chance and not as a result of your own efforts or abilities”.

So for instance : seeing wild dolphins while cruising Milford Sound, THAT was lucky.

Anyways, what I wanted to share here is that YOU can live the life that you dream of, EVERYONE can. Sounds stupidly easy? Well, believe me it’s not. Living the life you dream of requires actions, it requires commitment, it requires becoming comfortable with uncertainty, it requires fighting against yourself sometimes, because you have fears, because you procrastinate. Basically, it requires personal growth, and growth is painful. BUT the pure joy of being able to decide how you want your life to be, the freedom that comes with it, and feeling that you serve your life purpose,  is totally worth every single painful steps. It’s like losing weight, you can’t expect to be fit and healthy without taking actions, and sit on your couch, complaining how fat you are and binging on Häagen-Dazs (me, last Saturday night. PS: my favorite flavor is Pralines&Cream, what’s yours??).

Ever since I quit my day job which I’ve been working at for 8 years, I made a commitment to myself that I wanted to work on myself everyday to become the person I need to be to create and live the life I dream of and to be of service and selflessly add value to the life of people who will cross my path, be it through my Faith activities or through my work as a photographer. People think that success - whether we talk about business, money, love or health- comes to those who were born in the right network, whose parents had the useful connections, to those who are more beautiful, have the right genes, etc. Sorry to say, but these are just excuses we use to avoid taking actions to build our own success. It’s all about the MINDSET : “ You are just as worthy, deserving, and capable of creating and sustaining extraordinary health, wealth, happiness, love, and success in your life, as any other person on earth. It is absolutely crucial - not only for the quality of your life, but for the impact you make on your family, friends, clients, co-workers, children, community, and anyone whose life you touch - that you start living in alignment with that truth” (Hal Elrod - The Miracle Morning )- PS : READ THAT BOOK, it’s life changing.

From a young age, I refused to believe that because I was a daughter of immigrants who don’t have much education, I was not entitled to have a higher education, that because I lived in a neighborhood where drug dealer was a dream career for some, I was doomed to a not so bright future, that because I was a girl, I was worth a lesser pay than my male peers… Of course, oftentimes I have doubts, I have fears, I compare myself to others, but I am aware that this is not the right path that will lead me where I want to be. So I fight, I fight against myself, against my ego, I stop asking the wrong questions like : “why am I not as successful as X” ? but instead : “What can I learn from X’s success and how do I become better to achieve it?”. The only person we should compare ourselves to, is the person we were yesterday, and the day before, and one month ago, a year ago, five years ago. And surely, if you take actions and commit, you will see how a better person you’ve become. “Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become” (Jim Rohn). So it starts with YOU and it starts NOW.

Keep me posted on how you are taking actions, I’d love to hear and be inspired ! (remember, it always starts somewhere, even with baby steps ;) you GOT THIS !

And sign up here below to keep in touch and keep inspire each other and make this world a lovely place !

Keep on inspiring me

The inspiring newsletter

With love and gratitude,
Celine xx

On life and passing

I came back from a photoshoot with a gorgeous bouquet - one of my favorite perks of being a wedding photographer ! -  there were these gorgeous tulips that I couldn't stop staring at for the next few days. I kinda felt upset when they started to fade and lose their petals but I then noticed how beautiful the process actually was. That kind of mystical beauty about breathing their last breath after having fulfilled their purpose of bringing beauty in this world and given the best version of themselves. As I looked at the petals slowly falling one after another, it was like seeing someone saying : I've given everything I could, I've fulfilled my life purpose, now I can leave.

And it kinda pushed me to reflect back on our lives: are we aware of our life purpose? If so, are we developing ourselves to our full potential to serve this purpose, like a bud blooms into a full flower? Being alive is already a miracle (read more HERE), so are we living a life that celebrate this miracle? I believe my life purpose is to be of service, to contribute to make other people's life a happy(ier) one, at my own scale. I really love this quote : "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me" - Erma Bombeck

I've recently read the book "The Miracle Morning" and I have to admit that it kinda changed my lifestyle ever since. And combined with the recent horrible events that happened in Paris, Brussels and around the world, I now wake up every day knowing that my life can stop anytime therefore I can't settle for less than the best version of myself, starting from the very moment I wake up. I mean, don't you want to leave this world feeling you've achieved the best that you could, that you've given everything you've been created for - just like the tulips ?  (more about why I'm a photographer, HERE) “Those who overcome the temptations of mediocrity and achieve everything they want in life have an extraordinarily compelling why that drives them. They have defined a clear life purpose that is more powerful than the collective sum of their petty problems and the countless obstacles they will inevitably face, and they wake up each day and work towards their purpose.” 
― Hal Elrod

I'd love for each one of us to wake up everyday with this thought in mind:

"Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday." - Bahá’u’lláh

Welcome Maxence

Il y a quelques semaines, Pauline me contactait pour savoir si j'étais dispo pour shooter son neveu dont elle est éperdument amoureuse (et je la comprend!) car elle souhaitait offrir cette séance photo à sa soeur Elise qui venait d'accoucher du beau Maxence. J'ai donc eu l'honneur de rencontrer ce ptit bout de 3 semaines, trop chouuuuu. C'est toujours pleine d'émotions que je vis ces séances; être le témoin photographique des premiers jours de la vie d'un nouveaux-né, c'est hyper touchant. Merci aux parents de m'avoir fait confiance. Merci à Pauline.

A few weeks ago, Pauline contacted me to know if I was available to shoot her new love : Maxence, her nephew. She wanted to offer this photo session to her sister Elise as well. So I had the honnor to meet the oh-so cute 3 week-old little boy. It's always very moving to be a witness of the very early days of a newborn's life, and it always feels me with gratitutde and joy. Thanks to the parents for their kindness and patient during this beautiful afternoon. Thank you Pauline for offering  this shoot to your sister Elise.