Daphne Oseña-Paez is a television producer, a blogger, an entrepreneur, a Unicef Special Advocate, a wife and a mother of three daughters. One look at her and one would see a woman with grace and class. It would seem that she has a perfect life—although perfect is subjective—but she reveals that some of the things that have happened to her are just “happy accidents.”
In her debut book, Chic: Tips on Life, Style and Work, Daphne opens her heart and shares stories of her life and of those who inspire her in a bid to encourage readers to pursue a well-lived life.
“As I was writing the book, I figured out that I had to start somewhere. I had to start with my life as a child: the kind of upbringing I had, why I moved back to the Philippines—my journey,” Daphne said in an interview with Manila Standard.
But, because the book is meant to be a lifestyle guide, (Daphne shares that the inspiration for it was her now defunct show F, hosted alongside Angel Aquino, Cher Calvin and Amanda Griffin) it is peppered with travel tips (“The key to light packing is to have a basic wardrobe”), easy-to-do recipes (Bloody Caesar cocktail), style guides (“Don’t be afraid to repeat clothes”) and work advice (“You can’t spin credibility”).
well-lived life
Chic is part life musings, part practical advice, so to speak.
“There’s a lot of stories [in the book], I really opened my heart and I was exhausted. Some of them I reread and reread and I cried,” shares Daphne. “It just reminded me of everything that I had accomplished and I had to accomplish in order to get to the next step.”
Aside from her stories and tips, Daphne also shares her conversations with some of her mentors and inspirations such as entrepreneur Ben Chan, designer Kenneth Cobonpue, chef Tonyboy Escalante, and actress and public servant Lucy Torres-Gomez among others.
Daphne says these people taught her to carve her own path. “Their successes are theirs and I can’t copy it in the same way that mine is mine.”
She adds, “We can learn from each other but you cannot step-by-step copy somebody… Each of them had their own difficulties and struggles but they persevered and achieved their goals.”
Daphne got this from her mentors. Inspirations are what she wants her readers to get from her book.
As she puts it, “Every life is a journey and you have to persevere and keep your eye on the ball. It’s okay to change your path, it’s okay to decide to do something else, but whatever it is you decide on, [you have] to put your heart into it.”
Daphne might not have planned to return to the Philippines after migrating to Canada or take a TV broadcasting job in the first place, but her life unfolded because she let those “happy accidents” happen and she was ready for them.
And this book aims to encourage and help readers do what she did and does. To live their life well and be brave to chase what they aspire.
Besides, according to her, “chic” means “to be your best self.”
Chic: Tips on Life, Style, and Work is available at National Book Store.