Editor Umagazine.ru I asked Daria 24 questions about personal happiness and the secrets of running a thriving business
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Daria Pashkevich, the founder of the Island Soul jewelry brand, is an example of a modern girl who was not afraid to change her life 180 degrees and experiment in the past. Daria moved to live in Bali, made yoga and other spiritual practices an integral part of her lifestyle and created a successful jewelry business Island Soul, in the DNA of which freedom, openness and the desire for self-knowledge are embedded. Daria herself says that Island Soul is her way of expressing love for the world around her. Since after the coronavirus pandemic, people began to show more loyalty towards non-personalized brands, Daria’s project “shot”. We contacted her to find out about her past, the secrets of happiness and harmony with herself, as well as Island Soul’s plans for the future.
Daria Pashkevich in Island Soul jewelry photo No. 1
Daria Pashkevich in Island Soul jewelry
Daria Pashkevich in Island Soul jewelry photo # 2
Daria Pashkevich in Island Soul jewelry
What is primary in you: a woman or a businesswoman? Or are these concepts inseparable from each other?
Previously, I can say that these two facets of me constantly merged. When the Island Soul brand first appeared, it was my main “clothing” in society. It was practically the only topic of conversation when meeting new people. Now, after several years of work, hundreds of coaching sessions and dozens of trainings, I am primarily a woman. Only after that I try on other facets of myself.
What kind of person are you?
I can definitely say that I am a leader. And it’s always been that way. I have never been satisfied with minor roles, but I treat it with ease, playfully, look at my needs — how important it is for me to take the main role — and just satisfy my inner lioness. This is my role in this life. I consider flexibility of mind to be my great advantage, I am always ready to reconsider my beliefs easily and quickly and look at the world from a new angle.
Daria Pashkevich in Island Soul jewelry photo No. 3
Daria Pashkevich in Island Soul jewelry
You have a very powerful feminine energy. Is it innate or acquired? What do you do in order to be in the resource?
I would not focus on gender here, because depending on the situation, male or female energy prevails in us. In my work, I mainly use such qualities as confidence, the ability to make quick and strong decisions, and take responsibility. These are “Yang” qualities — that is, masculine. And in a relationship with a loved one, on the contrary, I am soft, I often need his advice to make any decisions, I can easily cry with happiness and get upset. And it’s beautiful to live both polarities of these energies. And in order to be in the resource, I devote more time to what I want, and not what I need. And even in my work I choose those directions that really bring pleasure. Also, frequent movements around the world fill me and give me a surge of new energy.
How did the brand name come about and what meanings did you put into it?
Once I even wrote a post on my personal Instagram account (@daria_soul) on this topic that my roles and main hobbies have changed a lot during my life. I was a master in the field of beauty, who dreamed of leaving Russia, then I became a yoga teacher, and yoga occupied the main place in my life, then I became a mother, and nothing but children’s topics worried me. When it came to creating a brand, I realized that all roles and hobbies are dynamics, but one thing is always the soul. And all that I live is a reflection of my soul. I like to say, “Not the body has a soul, but the soul has a body.” It was this philosophy that I wanted to convey through the then emerging brand Island Soul, which means “Soul of the island”.
Daria Pashkevich in Island Soul jewelry photo No. 4
Daria Pashkevich in Island Soul jewelry
What did you dream about as a child?
About a life like this. As a child, I always dreamed of traveling. I wanted to be a man of the world. To be able to wake up in one city and fall asleep in another. I dreamed of a beautiful house with panoramic windows. I dreamed of loving and being loved, having a big family and many children. I dreamed of being rich and successful. And I thought that when I became an adult, I would definitely be happy. And I will fly freely, like a bird. It’s always been important to me.
Your story confirms that thoughts are material, and it inspires. In one of the interviews, you said that Island Soul “happened” to you. Before the brand appeared, did you believe in signs from above and fate?
Does anyone else really need confirmation of this simple truth? It seems to me that this has been obvious for a long time. I’m talking about the materiality of thought. The brand has really changed a lot in my life, but not the very essence. I have been interested in spiritual search since I was 20 years old. Buddhism, neurophysiology, bodily and spiritual practices. This is all a huge part of my life for 12 years. Therefore, when you ask the question whether I believe in signs from above, I find it difficult to simply answer yes or no. I believe in a lot of things that cannot be touched or seen. At the same time, I do not shift all responsibility to fate, I live with a clear feeling that every day of my life is in my hands
What is beingness for you? In your interviews, you often talk about her.
For me, being is a variety of social games. Personalities, archetypes that change in the course of external events. The existence of a wife, a muse, a leader, a mother are roles that change in the course of life.
You’re doing personal growth all the time. Tell me about it.
Three years ago I started working with a psychotherapist, I saw what a positive impact this has on the quality of the decisions I make, subsequently on the character and, accordingly, on my fate. After that, I eagerly began to undergo a large number of trainings, trainings, and work-throughs. I used to think that in order to change my life, you just need to take a course, temporarily devote yourself to learning and achieve a one-time result. Now I understand that the development of the soul and personality is an endless evolution and there is always a new level of awareness, visions and new facets of you. That’s why I chose a lifetime of personal growth for myself and now I enjoy the process, rather than living in anticipation of a certain result.
What are the main values of the brand?
Return to your feminine nature, courage and sexuality. Allow yourself to be different, to be a woman, to be bold, if you want, or gentle in mood, to live the beauty of motherhood, to believe in your work and realize the mission of your life as an Amazon, to be a mystical priestess and study mysterious knowledge, to know compassion and mercy, to be both a creator and a destroyer, to live yourself one hundred percent percentages in all their manifestations. This is, perhaps, the main value of our brand.
How did you manage to stop being a victim and become the creator of your life? Give me some practical advice.
Every person throughout his life periodically finds himself in the position of a victim. But if there is an intention to become an author, this is already eighty percent success. Here I have a practical advice — to keep a diary of observations in order to train your inner supervisor to keep track of old habits, when and where we see the situation from the position of the victim, to write out these moments and create an alternative vision from the position of the author. The victim sees the problems and lives in them, the author sees the tasks and solves them
Many girls choose cities such as Paris, Milan for self-realization, and you chose Bali. Why?
It seems to me that as many girls as there are preferences. Paris, Milan — it’s about fashion. Those who dream of becoming a model, designer, buyer go there. It all depends on the requests. I have always been attracted to Southeast Asia, I wanted to walk barefoot, ride a bike, swim in the ocean, teach yoga and feel the lightness of life, so I didn’t even look towards Europe.
What role do spiritual practices play in your life?
The main one. If you do not put standard labels on the phrase “spiritual practices”, then you can see that this is not a specially designated time, place and action, and that the whole of life is one big spiritual practice. Not only I live with this feeling, but also a huge number of people. There are a lot of like-minded people in my environment, and there are more and more of them every day, this cannot but please.
You had an accident in Bali. What sign was that for you?
That situation brought the first and very deep realization that everything in life happens for something. For the first few days, I tried for a long time to answer the question why this happened, and then Eckhart Tolle’s book “The Power of the Moment Now” came into my hands, thanks to which for the first time I saw the situation not as a punishment, but as a blessing. I asked myself: “And why did this happen to me?”. Then qualitatively different answers began to come, and this was the beginning of my path to yoga.
Since we’re talking about signs, how do you learn to read them?
The signs do not need to be read, they are enough to observe. Be sensitive and be able to slow down. The movie “Avatar” shows very well how nature interacts with creatures. To see signs is to interact with the world.
What is more in your character: gentleness, the ability to forgive or bitchiness?
I can’t call myself a bitch. I will say about myself that I am demanding, strict, but kind. I require employees to perform their work accurately, in case of force majeure I can be tough, but at the soul level I forgive and understand everything.
What qualities should a man have, in your opinion?