Podcast Summary: The Jamie Kern Lima Show

Episode: How to Turn Dreams Into Destiny! The Incredible Underdog Story of Anastasia Beverly Hills Founder & Her Billion Dollar Beauty Empire

Date: October 22, 2025
Host: Jamie Kern Lima
Guest: Anastasia Soare, Founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills

Overview

This episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show features a powerful, in-depth conversation with Anastasia Soare, the founder and CEO of Anastasia Beverly Hills, often dubbed the "Queen of Eyebrows." The episode centers on the journey from underdog to mogul, exploring how to transform dreams into destiny, overcome self-doubt, and rewrite the story of what's possible—regardless of your starting point.

Anastasia recounts her journey from escaping communist Romania, arriving in the U.S. with nothing, and building a billion-dollar beauty empire. The conversation is packed with actionable advice, candid stories of rejection and resilience, the importance of self-belief, and memorable moments that reveal the heart and grit behind Anastasia’s global brand.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Early Dreams and the Power of Belief

• Destined for Greatness:

  • Anastasia opens up about always feeling destined for great things, inspired by her grandfather who emphasized the importance of freedom and the American dream.

    “I am the perfect poster child of the American Dream. I came here with nothing. I didn’t speak the language, but I saw the opportunities...and I achieve my wildest dream.”
    — Anastasia Soare [00:06]

• Planting the Seeds:

  • Watching her mother delight clients in her Romanian dress atelier inspired her mission of making women feel beautiful and important.

    “The seed was planted because I could witness my mother showing and giving her clients so much love and making them feel so important and so beautiful.”
    — Anastasia [09:35]

2. Turning Rejection Into Motivation

• Facing and Embracing "No":

  • Anastasia shares pivotal moments of rejection from salon owners, landlords, and banks, noting how each "no" became fuel to push harder.

    “In all the no’s that I always got, was a reason for me to push even harder. I’m going to work twice as much. I’m going to make it because I know I’m going to succeed. I’m not going to give up.”
    — Anastasia [16:08]

• The Biggest Cancel Culture:

  • Jamie highlights self-cancellation as the real "cancel culture"—when people stop themselves before even trying. Anastasia’s reaction to rejection is to refocus and try another avenue.

    “Every time I get a no, I wanted to know why I got rejected...maybe it’s not the right time or they are not the right people.”
    — Anastasia [21:39]

3. Purpose, Passion, and Persistence

• It’s Never Too Late:

  • Anastasia started working in a salon around age 30 and opened her first salon at around 40, bulldozing the myth that success has an age limit.

    “It’s never too late. But you need to know what you want and what you are passionate about. If you don’t love what you do, you will give up sooner or later.”
    — Anastasia [05:17]

• Aha Moment & Loving the Craft:

  • A love for making women feel beautiful turned to passion when she discovered how transformative eyebrows could be for confidence and emotion.

    “I thought, oh my God, I could transform somebody’s face. That was such an aha moment. I felt so good I could do that for somebody.”
    — Anastasia [06:06]

4. Innovating in Beauty: The Golden Ratio

• Creating a New Category:

  • Shaping eyebrows was not a salon service in the U.S. in the early ’90s. Anastasia introduced scientific principles of art (the Golden Ratio) to create unique, individualized brows, laying the groundwork for brow artistry as an industry.

    “I studied the golden ratio technique. Leonardo Da Vinci used it in all his art... I wanted to create a technique that will shape the perfect eyebrow according to my bone structure and my natural shape.”
    — Anastasia [44:48]

• Solving Real Problems:

  • She mixed eye shadow with aloe vera and vaseline to invent the first brow product when none existed, and developed stencils for different face shapes.

5. Authenticity and the Power of Not Caring What Others Think

• Red Boots Story:

  • As a child under communism, Anastasia broke conformity by wearing red boots to school, standing out despite potential judgment.

    “I never really cared if people would judge me...I wanted to go somewhere nobody is going to judge me for who I want to be.”
    — Anastasia [27:48, 29:08]

• Remaining Unmoved:

  • Throughout her journey, even into global stardom, Anastasia maintains that focusing on others’ opinions wastes precious time and energy.

    “My time is so precious. I want to use my time to grow, to learn, to do amazing things. If I focus on the negative, it pushes me back. I can’t do that.”
    — Anastasia [30:24]

• Material Sacrifice for the Long Game:

  • Early in her business, she drove an old station wagon instead of a luxury car, saving money to invest in her dream—the valet in Beverly Hills even refused to park it.

    “It wasn’t important what the valet thought of my car. I didn’t need to get in debt and drive a Mercedes. I want to save the money and build something.”
    — Anastasia [32:53]

6. Anchoring to Service and Purpose

• Clients as Motivation:

  • The joy and transformation she saw in clients kept her going through tough times.

    “Many times...my clients were the one that keep me going. There were days and nights I would go home and think like I can’t do this anymore. But they kept that fire in me.”
    — Anastasia [51:11]

• Lean on a Purpose Bigger Than Yourself:

  • Both Jamie and Anastasia emphasize finding an anchor—be it customer feedback, your “why,” or passion—which sustains consistent effort during hard seasons.

    “You have to find an anchor that will keep you going.”
    — Anastasia [52:39]

7. The American Dream—Still Alive

• On Creating the American Dream:

  • Anastasia believes she is “the perfect poster child of the American Dream,” affirming that while opportunities evolve, the dream is alive for those who see and seize it.

    “Opportunities are everywhere—it will be different now with AI and social media, but I still believe this country offers so many opportunities.”
    — Anastasia [56:54]

• Working Because You Love It:

  • Despite her wealth, she continues to work because of passion, competitiveness, and love for her craft.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Rejection and Tenacity:

  "The broker was like, 'Let’s leave, he’s not going to give you the space.' I’m not leaving. We don’t leave this place until I get a yes. And I did."
  — Anastasia [43:42]

• On Authenticity Being Your Superpower:

  “You have to be authentically who you are. Don’t try to be like somebody else. You are perfect the way you are. Just show us who you are.”
  — Anastasia [54:27]

• On Overnight Success:

  “Every overnight success takes at least 10 years.”
  — Anastasia [56:06]

• On Courage and Betting on Yourself:

  “Nobody believed including my husband in my dream. But I thought, what do I have to lose? If I don’t make it in six months, I’ll go back to working as an esthetician elsewhere.”
  — Anastasia [13:11]

• On Time and Focus:

  “Anything we do comes at the price of what we could be doing. Any time spent worrying what people think, comes at the cost of your time, your energy.”
  — Jamie Kern Lima [34:50]

Important Segment Timestamps

• Early Dreams & American Dream: [00:06], [56:54]
• Seed Planted in Mother’s Atelier: [09:35]
• First Salon and Rejection Stories: [11:33], [41:20]
• Red Boots & Authenticity: [26:02], [29:08]
• Eyebrow Innovation & Golden Ratio: [44:48]
• Coping with Criticism & Not Caring: [29:33], [30:24], [32:53]
• Handling Hard Days—Purpose and Clients as Anchor: [51:11], [52:39]
• Keys to Building a Business: [54:27], [56:06]
• American Dream and Why She Still Works: [56:54], [58:17]

Episode Flow & Tone

The episode radiates optimism, encouragement, and practical wisdom through storytelling rich with humor, honesty, and heart. Both Jamie and Anastasia share openly about struggle, self-doubt, and the surprising seeds of success.

The conversation unfolds as a motivational, actionable roadmap for anyone dreaming bigger—reminding listeners that no dream is too big, no start is too small, and no journey is too late to begin.

Takeaways & Actionable Insights

• Start where you are. It’s never too late.
• Your unique path and authenticity are your greatest assets.
• Rejection is not the end—often, it's a redirection to something greater.
• Stay focused on your passion, be resilient, and cultivate a reason to persist bigger than yourself.
• Define success on your own terms, and ignore the noise and judgment of others.
• Every ‘overnight success’ is years in the making, so play the long game.
• Embrace the American Dream—opportunity still abounds for those who seek and seize it.

For more:

• Anastasia’s new book Raising Brows is out now—packed with her personal story, industry-changing insights, and the celebrated golden ratio chart for brows.
• Jamie’s book Worthy and her free newsletter offer continued inspiration and tactical self-belief tools jamiekernlima.com.

End of Part 1 — Part 2 coming next episode!