Sarah Diouf, Editor-in-Chief of Paris-based GHUBAR Magazine,
is a woman I have looked up to for many years. Her passion for her brand, her work ethic, and her exquisite taste are endless sources of inspiration, and continue to lend to her success. Finding one's balance in life is a daunting and tiresome task for many. Sarah, however, realized that finding your balance is a process - one that she completely surrendered herself to, and allowed to manifest in her work. She is the
personification of the attitude that anyone, at any stage of life, should possess.
What is your definition of a “good
life”? Do you feel as if that is what you are living?
I think the definition depends on your drive and expectations.
But I believe as long as I have the people that I love and the realest
people around me, a roof above my head, some food, a work that I enjoy, and a
little money to enjoy some extras - life is good, no? I mean, what else do you
need?
How important do you feel it is for people to
follow their passions, even if doing so doesn't seem like a “secure” life
choice?
If you wake up every morning not loving your work or your life, find a
way to change your situation, because it's like committing suicide. It will
make you bitter. And this is how some end up hating on their friend's success
and happiness, because they don't have the guts to go fight for their own.
Nothing comes easily. Security is a choice. True happiness is another.
Before I started finding my balance (because it's a long process), there were times where I didn't have a single euro for days at the end of the month. I
put all I had into renting a studio to shoot. But hey, I wasn't even thinking
about that, I just couldn't imagine not being able to do what I want. But thank God I managed to find a way to make a little money and afford
doing what I like, when I want, with no pressure, because I think my parents
were very scared (laughs). I always had a hard time working for other people
if there was no purpose in the end. I would go work for a big company if I
knew that after a certain time I will have that amount of money to launch this
project, not just to be sure to have a check at the end of the month.
But I would never despise people who make this choice because we need
them. The world can't only be filled with outcasts otherwise it wouldn't work.
Which aspect of your work makes you the happiest? Which aspect do you
enjoy the least?
The happiest - I'd say the creative aspect. The whole process of researching,
which happens mostly naturally; I visit a place, it touches me, or I meet
someone and I am inspired and then BOOM : let's make an issue around that.
What I hate the most, is the whole legal paperwork side - you have to
contract every-single-thing to protect yourself. Crazy. But that's the game.
What would you say has been the most important
lesson that you have learned as a magazine Editor-in-Chief?
To read EVERYTHING, because culture isn't an option. And to make
the effort to represent my publication. People will forget about a "not
so great issue" but they will remember how you express yourself, how you
carry your project, and how you present.
Where do you see yourself and your magazine in the
next 5-10 years?
Enjoying life somewhere In Africa - I would maybe have more than one by
then, who knows?
Is there anything you know now that you wish you knew
a few years ago that could have helped you along your life path?
Sh*t happens. (laughs)
If you could give someone a quote to live by, what
would it be?
We will always be more than yesterday, and less than tomorrow (tattooed
in Hindi on my shoulder).
