I was born and raised in The Azores (São Miguel), but my story is made of many places: my father's side of the family is from Lisbon, but my mother's side is from France. The sea that surrounded the Island in which I grew up was the space I needed to start my journey.
At 17 years old, I went to Lisbon to study Economy and ended up staying in this Bright city.
My professional career started at the Bank and lasted for 17 years. I started as a Marketing Technician but then worked at the Strategic Planning Division, where I founded the Digital Channels Division (home banking and call center) and finished as the Director of a Real Estate Funding Society.
Today it feels like a lifetime ago!
I even say that this was my first professional life because there was a point where my soul told me that this would no longer be my path.
I enjoyed the projects I was on, and the people I worked with, but I didn’t identify with the business.
I was 38 years old at the time…
I BELIEVE
in life's wisdom and the healing power of love, everyone is unique and has a beautiful inner light to share with the world.
DON'T COUNT ON ME TO...
talk about other people's lives, radical sports, long emails (I like to go straight the point)
FOR ME IT IS VITAL TO...
be with my children, talk to my friends, do yoga, meditate, go on walks, dive in "my" Azorean sea
We all have a story.
This one is mine...
It was then that I make one of the most rewarding but difficult journeys of all…
The journey to the center of my Being…
I wanted to work merely for pleasure, but what did that mean? I realized that I have various areas of interest, but I could not see myself doing any of them for the rest of my life.
Until one day, I was sitting down on my couch editing a vídeo on my computer (something that I had done all my life just for personal pleasure, to keep memories and moments spent with family and friends) when I stopped and thought: Now this is something that I see myself happily doing for the rest of my life.
So I went on the internet and searched for schools that had vídeo courses and I discovered ETIC (School of Innovation and Creation Technologies). I enrolled in the vídeo course they had and I started night studying (at this point I was still working full-time).
From the start, I felt that that was my soul’s purpose: my whole body vibrated and felt energized at the end of each class, even when they would be at the end of a very long day at work.
My enthusiasm for vídeo content grew bigger with each class. But then I had to face the biggest challenge…
… Fear
How will I live without a set income at the end of each month? What if it doesn’t work? How will I provide for my kids? Many were the fears that would pop into my brain, like popcorn, and make my chest heavy.
After all, all my life I had been financially stable, and living with uncertainty was something that took me a long time to overcome.
That was a learning experience!
I realized that whenever I would think about the future, all my fears would stop me from seeing anything beyond. It was useless, since, at the time, these were just thoughts.
So, I consciously started talking about my fear and I told him that I didn’t need him. I was just imagining my future and he was just blocking me from doing it, so I invited him to leave. I would make this request daily. gradually, I stopped feeling them lingering and, one day, I could see my future without feeling scared.
It was then that…
I changed my life…
I quit my job in 2015 and founded Smile Stories to follow my dream: to work for pleasure.
Since, at the time, I felt I needed to gain some experience, outside of school life, I offered my services to three associations that I admire and that was how I, slowly, releases my first vídeos from a feminine and intuitive space.
From there, having my first clients was a blink. In such a short time I was telling the smile stories of beautiful people that, like we, were entrepreneurs.
Sometime after, I realized that people had with themselves cellphones with amazing features that weren’t being used properly to make vídeo content. So I started giving workshops and I found another passion: to teach and to share my knowledge with others.
Discovering this passion for teaching lead me to a place that I never could have imagined…
A dream that wasn’t dreamt came true…
I was invited to write a book…
I was contacted by a publisher with a request that completely took me out of my Comfort zone: to write a book. But it wasn’t just any book: I would be the first practical manual in Portugal on how to film video content with your phone.
I needed 24 hours to fully integrate that request and to accept the challenge: after all, even though I was scared, it was an amazing opportunity to help others to make their vídeos. This was the reason why I decided to go ahead and write the book with all my energy, dedication, and love.
What was the result? A practical manual with all the necessary steps for you to make your vídeos with audiovisual support so that your message is accessible, and organized but also dynamic and appealing. But, more than the techniques, there is magic in video content and I speak from the heart.
On the launch date, a friend told me “Congratulations on making this dream come true!”.
To which I answered: “Accomplishing a dream that wasn't dreamt.”… Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that one day I would write…
The first book in Portugal about video making.
Until, one day, I received this gift…
After telling the #smilestories of so many people, Mercedez Benz invited me to be the face of Portugal in an international campaign called “Dê um passo em frente” ("Take a leap of faith"). The day that I received this video I realized the beautiful gift that Life had offered me: my very own #smilestories.
this #smilestories was a quantic jump in my life…
… and today I am here to support you.
If my story vibrates in your heart, it is because something is connecting us: we know that our mission must be put in service to others.
Therefore, I put my experience and energy at your service, to support you during your transformation and created the most magical Community of Women that want to be in a Tribe where they can feel like they are not alone and where they can be authentic.CP
I have been interviewed by a lot of people that I admire from television to radio, to the press, and have participated in many national and international events.
But what makes me vibrate the most is always the same: each person’s inner light!
That is the Light that I feel, capture, teach, and support
always with my heart!
NOW
morning routine
Lemon Water
currently reading
The Women Code, by Sophia A. Nelson
i can't resist
Chocolat
currently listening
Podcast "On Purpose", by Jay Shetty
