My life story is mine ……
I am not afraid of my flaws, I allow myself to fail, to break, and put myself in vulnerable situations.
I don’t concern myself with trivia, but I like drawing what is uplifting.
Taking a path that follows peace requires sacrifices.
The world is rapidly changing, and we are facing constant challenges.
But I am certain that if I stand firm on truth, faith and love ……… I shall prevail.
Sonya McGuire
Why do I do so many different things?
I do so many different things to enjoy and bring a healthy lifestyle. It can be complicated but can be fun also.
I enjoy different adventures, people, going to places, designing and adding services that add value, improve quality of life and hopefully bring positive solutions to civilisation.
Doing different things allows me to meet different people, learn new ideas, and allow my mind to travel to so many places.
I want to make a difference not only for myself and my family but to humans. I prefer to do things that make people succeed like specialised education that creates immediate careers without costing an arm and a leg or designing some things that people can enjoy such as houses and high-rise design, which I have done quite a few or designing and creating a perfume. They are all different things that I do but equally enjoyable.
One habit I love…
I like to rise early, read or write and give myself time to think and plan for something positive for the day.
I think of my plans, something exciting, that will add value to life, write things down and act immediately.
To change one’s life:
- Start immediately.
- Do it passionately
- No exceptions
Dreaming big for life is a good thing. The benefits outweigh the costs.
Some valuable advice from my parents..
My parents have taught me to believe in myself, to have fun and be of courage.
My mother once said … “Sonya, you can dream for the stars, and you may end up on a treetop.” She was the kindest human and the most loving mother, she taught me to love, pray and be kind.
My father was a true entrepreneur, who taught me to develop a true sense of character and to have courage.
He said, “Show me your friends and I will tell you where you will be”.
What he meant was to surround oneself with people who can encourage, support and believe in your dreams but remove yourself from those who are discouraging”.
My mixed heritage is Asian, English and Portuguese which has made my life complicated as well as advantageous. In Asia, I am considered not quite Asian, and in the West, I am also different. However, I have a perfect advantage in business as I understand many cultures and the way they think. The world around us can be cruel if one is different. I learnt to read books and cook as my pastime. It has become my hobby.
Read more books. Ask more questions and listen to your inner voice. Send your dreams out to the universe, then follow your request with action.
I like to read and write many things including subjects of interest and inspiration. I am writing about different things that add value and hope you get to read a few of them.
It was life-changing and empowering to finish a post-graduate law degree in 2019. If you like to read and write this is one interesting area you can do. I was given first-in-class honours in international business and Finance Law degree.
Law is an area that I love ..
Without the foundations of a law degree, I will feel powerless in managing my enterprises that are going global. Law is a great educational background, more so in the area of international business, finance and corporate governance, a double degree I completed at Bond University in Gold Coast. Lawyers can only help so much. A business that is moving and trading in many countries requires legal governance constantly, managing daily decisions at the highest level and risk management is a very important part of my daily work. Lawyers also need to be managed so I have worked with many different specialist lawyers as I am not an expert in everything.
Why work in the technical and digital media industry
Having educated and worked as a computer systems programmer prepared me for the new information, communication and digital changes in our new world with the fourth industrial revolution 4IR, as declared by United Nations, regarding changes in technology, communications, and digital industries.
I feel it is challenging to work in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), my youngest son Christian is 14 and he is a competent programmer with Python programming, early start in school aiming to be A.I programmer. He gets A+ for the subject all the time. I cannot imagine what he will do in the next 10 years. I started doing programming when I was 17 at university but today, they are programming for A.I. At 14 years of age Christian is more intelligent, accessing better technology and opportunities. His future is limitless with a little support behind him. I sound like a mother in love!
I am rethinking the future of my businesses and discovering how I can improve my business in technical and digital education.
I do different things because it’s fun to meet different kinds of professionals and do life with them. They are simply not boring…
Finding life balances…
Too many different projects in many industries create challenges.
I was trained by one of the best lawyers and Barristers in Australia and in the UK, who are working in entertainment, real estate, contracts, trade and investment, copyright, risk management and corporate governance. Working with these lawyers over a period of 30 years has taught me many things but nothing like going to study law. It changes all your perspective about legal risk management factors and governance. Was it painful? Yes… it was like hell on earth! but it was one of the best decisions I have made as an investment in my life. I now have the best of both worlds; I get to collaborate with the best.
…. You need a life partner that supports you and helps
While you are going through life challenges you need someone to lift you up. My family stuck with me. long hours and weekends with assignments were painful.
I believe every 30 years one needs to update skills and study something that interests you and challenges you. That was my idea to reinvent myself doing law.
Starting life as a model was fun….
When you are 19, nothing else matters. I was already enjoying two careers while working and studying computer programming, working as a model and extra in films. I did enjoy two completely different things I get to do. Gold Coast provided a great place to live and enjoy life while perusing business, life as a model and extras in films. Not without challenges as I suffered an illness that will force me to change my actions.
Life changes as an adventure.
I was 21 and ready to start my first enterprise!
I figured I would get better opportunities in owning my own business. I started my first business, I.T Education. This is happening while working as a model and as an extra in the films. It was very complicated.
Business is about tough challenges. The combination of working in many industries such as Fashion modelling, and extras in the film has taught me about dress, styling and confidence. This is a great asset for presenting in business.
Returned to acting & writing
Light | Camera | Action
I also have a love for the arts industry and returning to this industry has given me incredible joy. I get to meet very interesting people, make more friends, stay in the most incredible locations. I loved my job.
There is nothing more confronting than working as an actor. It takes you out of your normal office and puts you in a place of vulnerable places.
I am an entrepreneur but also a writer of screenplays. In 2019 I completed writing a short film script and was able to commence production in France with help from TV industry and businesses. The film Empowering Women- Essence of France was produced in France together with French TV industry.
Empowering women –Essence of France
For love…
Becoming a mother will end some of my careers and bring shockwaves to my life but the greatest life begins as a mother. I was excited and prepared for the next chapter of my life. I saw my son for the first time, and I was immediately in love, nothing quite like it.
Today I enjoy life as a mother to my three sons, a wife to Danny and working as an entrepreneur, creative director, writer, producer, model, a charity for women’s issues and presenter. I enjoy all of them.
I felt like a girl version of Tarzan growing up in the Northern Territory of Australia. I was 17. It was a frontier town, desolate and far away from everything and anything I know. Australian outback has beauty as well as many dangers. In the middle of nowhere, I found love, friendships and many other things. I loved the sense of adventure and freedom that the Northern Territory of Australia provided me. People are also very warm and friendly. I made friends with Greeks, Indigenous, Asians and Australians, I was part of a society where they all get along.
The loss of my parents was tough. My mother in her struggles with marriage, and battle with illness has put me on a path of thinking more about women generally and their suffering.
I would later start my own personal charity Empowering women scholarships through my own college in education. This is a charity that has helped many people without making a loud noise. It continues to support women empowering innovative solutions and full scholarships in 2023 and beyond.
I seek a new change that will lift me up for the next chapter of my life. I thought I want to remind myself of her beauty, kindness and love. I was lucky to have her in my life. So I decided to create a new perfume label in memory of her.
Tr`es Jolie … ‘meaning very beautiful for women
So I set out on a new journey to France to commence a new venture of perfumery
In 2020, Sonya McGuire Fragrance started with a new mission, to empower women everywhere.
There is love, passion and spontaneity in my work
You can accomplish almost anything with all the love surrounding you.
I surround myself with like-minded, who have similar faith and ideals, sincerity and values. Life is not worth wasting with ungenerous persons no matter who they are. One ungenerous person around is too many and too much.
I find myself thriving where I can love, laugh and build my projects with great mindsets.
My family is my life.
I enjoy seeing my children thrive. So, I look to find ways to support them and their dreams. Family is everything.
I am truly blessed to experience all these different aspects of life. I only have one true love. To be fair I am blessed to be in love also and may have wonderful friendships all over the world.
All we need is love.
To my husband Danny, I am eternally grateful for your love, and patience and for allowing me to be me and explore life together. It has been one adventurous life. To my sons Jonathan, Will and Christian, they are like a million stars that are shining in my life, they are my truest form of love and accomplishment, no other on earth is greater. To my puppies Teddy and Bear, they give me constant laughter and joy.
My advice to all my fans ….
Dream big, work hard and don’t be afraid to start something new. You can do anything your heart is set out to do!
Thank you for your love and continued support.
The End.