My Purpose is to Accelerate
The Evolution of Love Through
Inspiring and Empowering
Influencers.
It’s at the center of all that I do and all that I am.
Today, my life is a dream – in that I live a life beyond my wildest dreams. I have multiple successful companies deeply aligned with my purpose and working on launching new ventures. I am expressing myself as an artist and evolving my expression. I live in my dream home in the heart of what I believe to be the most loving evolutionary community on earth.
If you want to know my “coming of age” story from birth to age 13, watch my poetic performance of it here.
Born Into Collapse
“Welcome to mother Russia”
January 8th, 1989 – I was born in Soviet Russia shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union and grew up there for the first 7 years of my life, mostly with my single mom, older brother and grandparents.
8th
“Welfare felt like wealth.”
I moved to the states to Framingham, MA. Life here started with food stamps, welfare, yardsales and the salvation army – but in comparison to Russia, this felt like wealth. As a single mother, my mom worked full time and went to night school to learn computer programming, and we eventually climbed the economic ranks to middle class. I had a tough time in school with a lot of bullying and depression.
In 8th grade, I started rapping. By 2004, I produced and released my first demo album at age 14. I also got my first job at age 13, and very briefly sold pot on the side. Depression, attempted suicide and gang involvement color this age. One time I got jumped and almost killed. Another time I almost killed myself and spent a week of attending a daytime psychiatric facility instead of school.
“The more ya’ll try to break me, the stronger I get.”
(High school) – I shifted my attitude about life to succeed. I had something to prove. From straight A’s, to extracurriculars and sports, to jobs, to entrepreneurial projects, to rap music, an active social life, editing the school paper, and more, I started fully exploring my potential in high school. I stopped rapping early on to disassociate from gang life.
After a couple of long term relationships, I met Ally and fell in love, and we would spend the next 8 years together as partners in love and life.
Celebration and Death
I graduated from high school, closing a chapter and starting a new phase of my life. Days before graduation, Ally’s ex-boyfriend Brian passed away at age 16… and days after graduation my grandmother lost her life to thyroid cancer.
I joined a network marketing company and got hooked on personal growth material, and spent the rest of college enveloped in personal development including hundreds of audiobooks, books and programs studying business, spirituality, investing, real estate, psychology, economics, biographies, public speaking, and so much more. This became my primary education.
I switched majors several times from Biochemistry to Economics to Sociology and finally graduated with a double major in Business and Sociology.
I left my last “real job” and committed to my entrepreneurial journey (followed by credit card debt, side gigs to pay the bills, and a ton of self-doubt) while balancing college.
I started my personal blog and started studying online marketing, and eventually started to make money by building blogs and websites for others. Towards the end of the year, I came up with “Purpose Inspired Marketing” and wrote a business plan at 5:30am.
I quit my part-time gig doing sales for a small design agency (it really wasn’t working out) and officially started my first agency, Purpose Inspired Marketing, in my last semester of college. I was determined not to have to get a job when I graduated.
I graduated Brandeis University and started building Purpose Inspired Marketing full-time, hired my first employee and started traveling at least once a month.
I won the young entrepreneur scholarship to attend Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar 8, where I met Yanik and we shared our mutual passions for young entrepreneurs and he doodled his EcoVerse vision on a napkin for me. We later developed a mentorship relationship, I started attending Maverick events, and I started my greatest journey of personal and entrepreneurial growth to date.
After a magical week in Maui celebrating my friend’s wedding, I landed in Mexico for the Maverick M3 Summit, where we slept in a Mayan Village and engaged in shamanic rituals for the turning of the calendar into a new era. This marked a whole new era of evolution and possibility for me, awakening greatness.
21st
Ally and I left Massachusetts and started our new life together in Austin, where we had 9 amazing months in a beautiful apartment by the green belt.
This same month, I also launched Maverick NEXT, my greatest entrepreneurial expression of love to date, and held the first NEXT Think Tank event in Austin in November.
I went to the Philippines for the first time to meet my design and development team, which forever altered how I would grow my company. I fell in love with the Philippines and their culture and would go on to make it an annual trip.
After finding alignment in our values and variation in our strengths, Jame Guldan and I merged our agencies (Purpose Inspired Marketing and 24 Hour Tech Stud) to co-found Vision Tech Team, which we’ve been successfully growing since, grossing nearly 7 figures in our first full year together.
My soul yearning for freedom and my next chapter, I started a new life. After leaving Austin with Ally, we ended our romantic relationship and I started a long nomadic journey, starting with a two week trip to England followed by a cross country convertible exploration with no end in sight.
“Tap into your fire, your innermost desire”
Feeling pain and frustration, I wrote, recorded, and publish my first spoken word / rap piece in one day… my first ‘song’ in nearly a decade, with great response. My desire for poetic expression reawakened.
“I want to create an environment just like this”
After 5 months of nomadic travel, I discovered the Conscious Community in North County San Diego (Encinitas). Stepping into the Skypad for the first time, I remember thinking “When I settle down, I want to create an environment just like this.” Two months later, I settled down in La Jolla and started to do just that, throwing epic parties and heart-centered community gatherings, including performance nights and open mics where I began to find my own voice as an artist.
Before moving to San Diego, I journeyed to Boulder where I lived for a month and put on the NEXT Summit, the largest Maverick NEXT Mastermind event to date.
“Let’s organize all this love”
Seeing a need for organization in the Conscious Community, I created the Facebook Group “San Diego Conscious Community” which has since grown to a highly engaged group with thousands of members.
I went to the depths of the earth and my soul on a 10 day journey to Peru, where I first sat with Ayahuasca. It was my greatest “purpose accelerator” to date, and also some of my deepest personal healing work yet.
We found ourselves in a rough spot with Vision Tech Team, unable to meet payroll. Faced with the choice of walking away, or stepping up fully, I chose to step into a greater leadership role and lead the company turnaround with James (while we barely paid ourselves all Summer). Our company has been thriving since and continues to grow in alignment with our vision.
I put on The First Annual NEXT Chapter Mastermind, the best event of my life to date, supporting young entrepreneurs in discovering, fully stepping into and living out their dharmas. That same month, I joined Maverick1000 as a member, a dream I’ve had since meeting Yanik and the Mavericks at Underground back in 2012.
Following my calling, I launched Evolved Enterprise with Yanik and played a temporary CEO role for the following year, building 3 companies at once. A year later, I became a contributing author to the Evolved Enterprise book with my bonus chapter on Cultivating A Culture of Growth.
A dream come true, I spent several days on Necker Island with Yanik, my Maverick friends, and of course Sir Richard Branson.
I live in the heart center of Paradise. A kingdom in heaven. With two of the best men I know.
A year and a half ago, when Kevin and I were nomadically traveling the country and exploring Sunny San Diego, we found ourselves at a beach party on Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. It was Eli Call’s going away party. But we didn’t really know Eli.
In fact, I didn’t know ANYONE there except for Kevin, and Kevin only knew Michael Hrostoski.
We were greeted with more hugs and love than I’d ever experienced from a group of “strangers” – only to quickly realize these weren’t strangers at all. They were friends I hadn’t met yet, and many of them were family I hadn’t yet discovered. But my soul knew.
After Joy Phoenix lead us through a beautiful sunset ceremony (and informed us of the Lunar Eclipse coming later that night), Eli invited us to the ‘next chapter’ of the evening, and we went to his and Micha’s home down the street: The Skypad.
As I entered, I was in awe. The home was beautiful yes, but beyond that, it was full of so much love and so much heart, more than I’d ever felt in a home before. I experienced my first cuddle puddle while Prem played soul inspiring spiritual music under the rotating green stars on the ceiling.
I remember thinking to myself: “I’m traveling for the next few years, but when I settle down, I want to create a space like this. I’m a stranger in a strange land, but feel more at home in my heart than ever.”
That night, I met Angela and we stayed up all night to experience the Lunar Eclipse (now, a year and a half later, Angela is my Executive Assistant and a total blessing in my life).
Just over a month later, I put my nomadic adventures on indefinite pause and moved to San Diego. I moved in with Bren who soon became a true soul brother and one of my best friends and biggest supporters. There, Bren, Abel, and I created a space and energy of love, joy, and expansion. New to “The Community” – before I knew it, we were throwing magical gathering and parties of 100+ beautiful souls dancing, playing, and being.
While I was happy, and very proud of the space we created, my heart (and vision and opportunities) eventually drew me back to North County, and of all places, The Skypad.
I’ve been here for a week now, and my heart is so full. Full of joy. Full of love. Full of excitement for the future. Full of deep gratitude for the present. This is a whole new chapter for me, and I feel myself expanding into it every day.
When I was in Uruguay in December, I visited billionaire Alexander Vick’s estates, and remember being so inspired by the architecture and beauty of the properties, thinking “I want to create something like this. I want to live in this, to experience it daily.”
I feel that way about my new home. And while I “created” it in how I’ve lived my life to date to bring me here, I really just had to show up. Eli and Micha already set the foundation for the beauty and energy here, and Dane Maxwell and Kevin evolved it further.
As I explore North County, I feel more and more inspired by this Paradise, and feel more called to contribute to it (I have an exciting project coming soon around this, for now just note “Conscious Campus” and “Evolve Encinitas” and details will unfold shortly).
Right now, there’s no place I’d rather be. I’ve found Heaven On Earth. I’ve found peace. And from this place of peace, I will serve my greatest gifts yet to the community and to the world around me.
Thank you. I love you.
Posted by Dmitriy Kozlov on Sunday, March 20, 2016
After living in La Jolla for over a year, I moved into my new home at The Skypad… the place that first made me feel like “this is home” when I came to San Diego on my nomadic journey. Living here has been the greatest platform for my heart opening and personal evolution.
I conceptualized and started building Influex “Influence and Expression” – which will be the premier platform for building personal brands for influencers.
I just cried watching this.
Witnessing, through my 28 year old eyes, my 11 year old get bullied into depression, my 12 year old self do anything to numb the pain, my 13 year old self nearly get beat to death by a gang… and then coming even closer to death through his own knife.
This is my story.
WARNING: This performance is: Raw. Naked (literally). Violent. But it’s NOT rated R… not even PG-13… because I was barely 13, and this was *reality* (without much “PG” at all).
Writing and performing this piece has been some of the greatest healing I’ve ever done in my life to date.
I love my life. All of it. And I’m grateful for all the steps that have guided me here, including all the pain that ultimately lead me to my purpose, all the darkness that enlightened me to my dharma.
Isabella Konold *thank you* with a deep bow of reverence and gratitude for helping me excavate and tell my story, for empowering me to dig deeper when I wanted to pull back, and for inspiring me through your own riveting story and potent performance to make this leap in expression of truth.
In diving into my darkness, I’ve discovered a new power and potency in my current path, with a whole new level of emotional freedom, from the pain of my past.
Artistically, this has felt like my best work to date – and yet, it’s only the beginning. Another step on a 1000 mile journey.
I feel so grateful to everyone who helped make this happen.
Krista Richards for the beautiful musical collaboration, architected just minutes before the show, which made a world of difference in my expression and its impact (that’s Krista playing piano on the right side).
Bella Verita for witnessing and giving feedback on my rehearsals the night before (I finished writing this piece less than 24 hours before show) and your last minute availability made a world of difference.
Angela Povse for, on top of supporting me in so many other ways, watching me rehearse over until the last hour Thursday afternoon. Courtney Acamo for your grounding love and support in the hour beforehand and for preparing.
Sunny Durante for capturing all of this on video so professionally, for the lights and the fast turnaround and your care.
Joshua Armstrong for the beautiful photos captured before, during and after.
Kevin Kurgansky for listening and feedback through the development of this piece in the days leading up to it.
Paul Rossano for emcee’ing the evening.
Dane Maxwell for being one of my closest inspirations in the past year to follow my heart through my art.
To all the volunteers that showed up to setup for the evening for Isabella’s show, and through that for this opening piece as well. It meant so much to have the space to prepare and not worry about many hosting space details.
To all those who knew me in middle school that commented with some memories on my status last week, to help me discover more memories.
Jess Johnson, for working closely with Isabella on our VIP day together – in many ways, that day was the spark of this unfolding expression. You two asked at the end of the day: “What’s your relationship with anger and shame?” – after which I began to shine more light into my shadow, and gained greater courage to go there even without the light.
And THANK YOU to everyone who attended. Being witnessed in this by my friends, as a loving audience, changed my life.
I’m emotional as I write this, so I’m sorry if I missed anyone. I feel grateful to everyone who supports my artistic expression.
…and of course, since you’re going to eventually see this recording on Facebook anyway.
Scott Seigal and Igor Burdetskiy (“Scott and Iggy” from end of the piece) thank you for being true friends back then.
And mom, Irina Kozlova, I love you <3 I love you so much. You were the best mother I could have possibly asked for. Part of me is scared for you to see this; you did your best to love me and care for me then. Most of all “you brought us out of poverty” – and so much more. I love you and you inspire me. I couldn’t possibly imagine the pain you’ve been through, persevered through, for me and Yuriy, in Russia, through immigration and beyond.
There’s nothing that I wish had happened differently. I’m grateful for every step that has led to today. I’m in awe of today. And I deeply trust in the unfolding future.
——–
…Oh and this might be a good time to debut my new “stage name” > ForWord.
Posted by Dmitriy Kozlov on Sunday, April 9, 2017
Before my second trip to Necker Island, I wrote and performed the first part of my poetic one-man show, highlighting my “coming of age” story from birth to age 13. My intention is to evolve this into a complete spoken word show, acting out my entire life story and core message.
I spoke at “The New Underground” and started speaking and performing more overall. Shortly after, I stepped down from management role in Evolved Enterprise and started building my next greatest expression through my companies, my communities, and my artistic expression.
