Q + A
Dream Sprint Founder Daria Tsvenger
By Julia Kramer
In a culture that quantifies success it’s not easy to design an authentic course of action toward sustainable happiness. It involves a better understanding of ourselves, thoughts, and actions.
I sat down with brain power advocate, public speaker, and community builder, Daria Tsvenger to discuss the importance of being curious, the intersection of spirituality and science, and how to manifest our dreams.
Julia Kramer: What brought you to the US and what challenges did you face?
Daria Tsvenger: I moved here to start a new life with my husband. When I arrived from Russia, I wasn’t expecting the transition to be so difficult. Walking the hills of San Francisco, I would stop in my tracks, struck with homesickness and loneliness. I missed my cultural identity and realized I needed to build something new. So, I started with community.
JK: How did you build community?
DT: I realized there was no women’s wellness group, so I created one. What started as an online Facebook group grew into 2,000 members and over 50 annual events.
Supergirls Club is a group of entrepreneurs, creatives, bloggers, coaches, yoga teachers, inspirational leaders and professionals who want to live a balanced and healthy life.
It was an amazing journey that helped me integrate into the culture and meet incredible people.
JK: What sparked your passion to study the brain?
DT: Building a community was the first step, but I wanted to dive deeper. To better understand my own emotions and patterns of thinking, I enrolled in Stanford Continuing Education Cognitive Neuroscience program. As a psychology minor, I was always curious about the brain and its relationship with emotions.
JK: What did you discover?
DT: Humans are similar in terms of “hardware” (body functionality), but the kind of information we receive and situations we attract is really defined by the brain’s “software.”
I was interested in how this software was built. The brain develops so slowly, its fundamental need to survive no longer matches modern times, and emotions play a much bigger role.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has turned on its head. Now, humans want power and success, and the brain doesn’t always know how to register this. Something small – like a disagreement with a sibling over breakfast tells the brain that something is wrong, and we experience a physical response.
Nowadays, our brain and ourselves have different objectives. This is where it gets really exciting.
JK: How does spirituality factor into the science of our brain?
DT: Spirituality means different things for many people. If we talk about religion or any other established belief system, they create the background of life for every person. Our belief system is who we are. It’s our software.
JK: So, our “software” can control our outlook?
DT: Yes. That’s why it’s super powerful what we believe in and what we think is right. There is no right or wrong. We can believe in everything, and only the belief makes it real.
JK: How do we determine where our thoughts come from?
DT: It’s so hard for us to question the origin of our thoughts that stem from our belief system, because the brain is capable of believing in most everything.
According to some studies and neuroscience researcher and lecturer Dr. Joe Dispenza we produce 70,000-90,000 thoughts per day. 90% of those thoughts are repetitive. Every day, we are thinking the same thought. We don’t have space to invite in new ideas.
JK: How do we make space in our brain for new thoughts?
DT: To be exposed to new information we must consciously step into the unknown. Moving to new countries or new cities, reading new books, interacting with people outside of our social circle – these are all ways to encourage change.
Every single new experience creates a chance for us to expand our repetitive capacity.
JK: How does consciousness play into decision making?
DT: Dr. Dispenza explains our brain makes 30,000 decisions per day, and only 10% of the decisions are made consciously. We have our aspirations but we are not always consciously making decisions. Our conscious minds are always optimizing for some kind of goal.
JK: How can we know what this 90% of decisions made are optimized for?
DT: Our brain optimizes for what we believe in – that’s what makes our unconscious decisions. When we believe in something we can find truth easily. We are blind when we find some contradicting fact because our brain has another goal. Otherwise, we would be instantly manifesting all the time.
JK: Where did these findings lead you?
DT: This concept of manifesting our goals was my inspiration for Dream Sprint. I designed a 30-day program that integrates the power of neuroscience and accountability in the brain.
JK: How does it work?
DT: The first ten days are free for everyone. On the first day, you receive an audio lesson and specific tasks via WhatsApp. You have three to four days to complete each challenge. I review and provide specific feedback and send you the next challenge – there are 11 in total. Each person is required to actively participate in order to move on to the next challenge – this is where the “sprint” comes in.
JK: Can anyone benefit from Dream Sprint or do you have to believe in manifestation and spirituality?
DT: I designed the program for logical people that may have an interest in spirituality that is based on science. Dream Sprint is for people who are curious but may be skeptical of concepts like manifestation. I integrate science research and real-life scenarios and prompts with a focus on how to create our dreams.
JK: What can participants expect?
DT: Participants will receive inspirational science-backed stories to scale their personal development. When we focus on clearing mental blocks, being deliberate, and witnessing how actionable our thoughts and feelings are, anything is possible.
JK: What are Dream Sprint participants saying?
A few recent testimonials include: “I was so nervous about an upcoming first interview but then remembered what I learned and listened to the Dream Sprint segments about fears and beliefs to empower myself. I just finished my second interview and can say with confidence they went well!”
“Before Dream Sprint, I realized even as a goal setter, I was just going through the motions and lost perspective on my own personal growth. I can now articulate my intentions through the challenges and tools Daria provided.”
The mind is a powerful and versatile tool that, overtime, you can train for happiness and a new definition of success according to Daria.
Learn more about Dream Sprint and future events here.
Header Image by Lacie Slezak