We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marine Selenee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marine below.
Marine , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I was born and raised in France, but I always wanted to live abroad.
At 22, I left France, with my first husband, to the US. I didn’t think I could do it on my own. A month later, in Miami, we broke up. I decided to go to Los Angeles and spend a few months there to feel if I really wanted to live my life in the US. The answer was yes! I then moved back to Miami and discovered the Family Constellations method.
After Miami, I moved to NYC because I felt I had to go to the Big Apple to give birth to my career. I went back to school to study Family Constellations and then I launched my practice. I had no idea how it was going to happen but I knew I had to make money (and a lot of it, because I was living in NYC!) This passion that I have for Family Constellations gave me the strength, passion, courage and a bit of a rage, but a healthy amount, to go after my dreams. Which also included becoming a published author with Hay House. And in 2020, I signed my first contract with them for my first book Connected Fates, Separate Destinies.
Of course my practice goes through ups and downs, but I never quit on my dream. When I left my country, I risked everything. I became an immigrant who had to learn a new culture. My English was very basic. I remember looking for a flat and Americans were like “Ohhhh an apartment!” I was a kind of shy woman trying to create the life of my dreams and it’s hard when you don’t have your roots, your cocoon, and comfort zone. But I also think that when you get ‘forced’ to take that leap of faith and just do it, you actually start realizing that whatever you put your mind into, you can definitely do. I’m my own limit. When I began to understand that, I became the woman that I was dreaming of becoming. I’m still polishing her, it’s a journey, but I’m proud of who I am.
I’m an American citizen now. I mean at 22, I was scared, lost, and I did not know how my life was going to unfold. Here I am, now 38 years old, still in America, running my own business, being fierce, working on my second book, soon working with clients in Spanish, and a few more dream projects on my mind.
I will finish with a passage of my book:
“Finally, to you, my readers. This is a story of a little girl who was highly sensitive. It’s a story of a teenager who lost her naivete at the age of 13. It’s a story of a young woman who lost her primary foundation at the age of 22 because of her parents’ divorce. It’s a story of a young woman who felt abandoned and rejected by her father because he could not cope with the divorce. It’s a story of a young woman who thought she found love in the arms of her first husband but was eaten up by jealousy and violence. It’s a story of a woman who always felt that she was going to live abroad and have an extraordinary and unpredictable destiny. It’s a story of a woman who does not play by the rules but creates her own rules.
It’s me. It’s you. It’s us.
I wrote this book for all those little girls and boys who always had a bigger vision, a bigger dream, that, as crazy as it may have sounded to everyone else, they always believed in. I’m begging you to never apologize for being “too much,” I’m begging you to never settle for less than you want, I’m begging you to always prioritize your own happiness before someone else’s, and I urge you to fall madly in love with your story. You have the power to create your destiny; do not be afraid of following and trusting your inner voice.
May this book be a lighthouse, a hopeful message that you are not broken and you just need to surrender to what is; this is only where True Love exists.”
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Marine Selenee and I was born and raised in France. I moved to the United States at the age of 22 years old. In France I had studied communication and psychology and when I arrived in the US, I was not really sure what direction I wanted to take my career. But destiny played a role (as always) and I got introduced to Family Constellations. It was love at first sight. It’s a modality to heal from inherited patterns and trauma, breaking free from your family story, and ultimately writing your own story. The process is so beautiful. Bringing back together what was once separated. A method to finally understand that whatever you’ve been going through is actually part of a bigger picture, which is your family story. It was an awakening for my personal and professional life. I decided to go back to school and study this approach and then I launched my private practice. I’ve never liked working for others. But, I’m from an entrepreneur family, so I guess it’s in my blood too!
With my clients, we have been growing together, but my main purpose is to help them heal from their past, their story, and create a new foundation that will give them wings to finally spread. Without a strong foundation you cannot feel safe to fly on your own. It’s always an amazing honor to see the faces of my clients becoming lighter, more at peace, and more at ease. After working together with this powerful modality, my clients are finally able to connect the dots by understanding their stories through a different lens, it’s truly magical.
I’ve also written a book, Connected Fates and Separate Destinies (Hay House publisher). It’s an introduction to the principles of Family Constellations and I offer exercises and affirmations to go deeper within yourself.
I also have an online, self-paced, training course where I teach my passion about Family Constellations. You can take the course for personal knowledge or you can also add this practice to your current practice.
Basically, my mission is to tell you that healing is not complicated, it actually happens through simplicity, understanding, and ultimately by living your own life. I want my clients to feel responsible and in charge of their lives through an empowering way – giving them back their power that they lost along the way.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My reputation was built on my commitment and consistency with my clients, for the past 10 years. When I first opened my practice, I only had a few clients but I made the commitment to myself, to do and give my best every time, with every client. Slowly but surely, they started recommending me to their friends, family and/or colleagues. That’s the primary way I’ve built my clientele, by word of mouth. I’ve never had a budget for marketing and promotion, so I had no choice but to invest in myself and the quality of my work. Are all my clients happy with me and my work? I would say 90% of them are, and for me, that means something. I always try to be fair with all my clients, but they also understand I have to keep a clear boundary between my friendly nature and the business woman that I am.
I also think the belief of, “I have nothing to lose” got me great opportunities. I’m the kind of woman who just sends emails to whoever I think would be a good fit to work with. That’s how I can happily say that I’m surrounded by some of the best, such as Sah D’Simone, Ruby Warrington, Bee Bosnak, Sahara Rose, Rosie Da Costa, Alexandra Roxo, Neeta Bhushan and so many more. Of course we don’t talk to each other every day, but we are definitely here to support and help each other, if we can.
To sum up, my secret ingredients for my business have been boldness, audacity, tribe, commitment, consistency and a lot of love for what I do. Clients can feel that.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The first lesson was that I don’t need to become or behave like a man in my business, in order to be abundant and respected. When I arrived in New York, I thought I had to be tougher and tougher. I was already very much in my masculine, surviving in the concrete jungle. Being that way helped me for a time, that’s when my career took off, but it was always through struggle and hustle.
It wasn’t until I moved back to Miami that I slowly but surely started changing my way of working. I started giving myself more days off, prioritizing enjoying life more, and I leaned back into my more feminine energy. I have to say I started making more money while doing less! Which was insane for me! I used to work 10 hours per day, sometimes. At some point, my energy, body and brain could not take it anymore. That’s when I reduced my hours and it changed everything. It feels wonderful being more aligned with my feminine side, being more at peace with myself and my work, while receiving and trusting.
New York made me, and it gave me the strength to just do it because you have no other choice. But after a while I wanted something different and Miami was just the right place to help me with that transition. Now Los Angeles is on the horizon and for me it’s the perfect combination between work and a lovely and simple life. To be continued…
The second lesson I had to unlearn was to not undervalue my services with low rates. It’s advice that I got from my mother who is a very successful business woman. At first, I had the tendency to not align my talent with my prices. Almost apologizing for who I was and my intelligence in this field. A lot of women apologize, minimize themselves, to make everyone feel comfortable. I was one of them until finally I got tired of not making enough money and needing to juggle a few side jobs to make ends meet. It takes confidence and courage to finally ask for your worth, but when you start doing it, it’s unbelievable how it changes you, deeply in your core. So my ladies, chin up, you are amazing, and you rock this world! Value yourself. Always and forever.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marineselenee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marineselenee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyconstellationsnewyork?locale=fr_FR
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marine-s-88783b53/
- Other: Training: https://marine-selenee-s-school.teachable.com/p/familyconstellationstraining
Image Credits
B&W: Camila Gutierrez B&W Hands: Liv Bruce