Two years before graduating from the National University of Singapore (one of the most prestigious business schools in Asia), Celestine Chua secured a position with P&G, a Fortune 100 company, surpassing about 1,000 other applicants.  Then, at the “ripe old age” of 24, she walked away from the prestige and financial security P&G to pursue her real purpose.

Chua realized early on that living your passion is, in her own words, “the ticket to living your best life.”  And her passion?

“[My] passion [is] in helping people grow and live their best lives,” says Chua.  Her life certainly reflects her purpose.  Since quitting her job at P&G in September of 2008, she has founded The School of Personal Excellence, which serves as a training ground for individuals who seek to live according to their passions, whether in their personal or professional lives.  She has also established a successful 1-1 Life Coaching program, and she maintains The Personal Excellence Blog, through which she inspires and motivates over 2,000 readers every day.

In The Personal Excellence Blog, Chua helps readers break goal achievement into two major parts:  WHAT (a person wants) and HOW (that person is going to get it.)  She found her own WHAT “through a personal introspection,” and she guides her clients to do the same, encouraging them to respect self-discovery as a process.

“I advocate on the importance of exploring and experimenting with different interests,” Chua says.  “Ultimately, knowing what you want is about knowing yourself.  So by continuously growing and learning, you gradually come to know what you want.”

Of course, as many of us know, discovering one’s own purpose is only half the battle.  Chua finds that, once many individuals identify their Real Purpose, they are still apprehensive about pursuing their dreams.

“ . . . the biggest thing is fear,” she says.  “Fear that they won’t succeed, fear people will laugh at them, fear things won’t go as planned.  However, trying to deny your passions will just hollow you out on the inside . . . Whatever your concerns may be, deal with them through a proper plan, rather than avoid them altogether. Avoidance doesn’t solve anything, but action does.  Ultimately, it is through pursuing our passions that we live our best life.”

And what about practicality?  What about financial stability?  Family responsibilities?  Can we afford to shirk these things in order to pursue our wildest dreams?  Chua argues that “it’s not an either/or situation—it’s possible to achieve your passion and meet all other needs as well.”  Keep an eye out for her upcoming book, tentatively titled Passion and Money—How to Pursue Your Passion and Earn Money Doing It, which is targeted for release in July of this year and will teach readers how to live their passions without compromising practical concerns.

In the meantime, Chua offers us these three tips toward personal excellence:

1. Be clear on what you want to achieve.
2. Learn from those who have succeeded and apply their strategies.
3. Constantly review and adapt your plan to achieve even greater results.

Sounds like solid advice, Celes.

And if you’re itching to hear more from Celestine Chua, or to learn more about The School of Personal Excellence or her 1-1 Life Coaching program, you can visit her at www.CelestineChua.com.   At the very least, she’ll inspire you to believe in the incomparable power of your passions.