“How do you do it all?� is by far the question that I am most frequently asked. It’s to be expected. Those who read about me in magazines such as this one or that watch my television show “Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste� on the Telemundo network know me intimately. Through the years they’ve seen me grow as a professional and as a woman. They’ve seen me overcome many challenges and succeed in spite of it all. So they wonder how I’ve been able to do it while juggling a demanding career and raising three small children alone. It’s difficult to answer such a broad and complex question in a sound bite, so I’ve always felt that my responses were shallow and cliché. That’s why I wrote Make Your Life Prime Time (Vive tu vida al rojo vivo), a guide to achieving fame, fortune, and emotional fulfillment, without losing your soul. In it I share the lessons I learned from my parents’ divorce, the life changing adoption of my son Adrian and the pain of discovering that my oldest son Julian was being abused by his nanny. I also talk about how I survived the betrayal of an unfaithful husband and made peace with the “other� woman, while dealing with a criminal case against my friend and personal assistant who stole my identity and thousands of dollars in the process.

This is a book that I wish I had when I was growing up and when I had to confront every personal crisis as an adult. Thankfully I was fortunate to grow up in a family with very strong principles and a great passion for excellence, and that has helped me in life tremendously. Both my mother and father believed that every time you reach a goal you have to raise the bar and rise to the next level, that you have to be your own cheerleader. One time I received a C in school and my father sat me down and said, “In this house, you come in with an A or an F. You have to be either the best of the best or the best of the worst. But never mediocre.� And that is one of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve ever heard. I also wanted to write this book for my children. I want them to know that it is possible to survive heartbreak and find true love, without sacrificing professional success and the dream of having a family. I know that one day they will face obstacles and will need my guidance. If I’m not here when that happens they can turn to it for support. This book is a compass meant to help them navigate the turbulent seas of life. I know that it will help them and others to find their way.