Stories of heroic struggle against odds, survival, and being able to succeed eventually have always inspired people, given them hope, courage to fight, and urged them to persist and persevere in the face of difficulties. 

Rags to riches stories are meant to show you that anybody can achieve their dreams, no matter how much money their parents had in the bank account when they were younger or how many dead-end jobs they had to work to pay the rent.

Celebrities and influencers often look like they have been living fabulous lives ever since. But quite often it isn’t the case. Some of them had to work unrelentlessly to reach their dreams. They weren’t born rich and they genuinely know what it is like to scrape for every single penny.

Karina Dharma is one such awe-inspiring case. Born in Eastern Europe, Karina lived in Lviv, Ukraine until the age of 5 after which her mom left her biological father and decided to immigrate to Canada. 

Karina was raised in Toronto, Canada, living with her mother, step-dad, & her new half-sister. Both of her parents worked extremely hard to give Karina and her sister the life they both didn’t have. Initially, Karina and her family were pretty poor and rented out a small apartment in Toronto.

But, eventually, moved into a bigger house in the suburbs north of Toronto.

Even though their conditions became better, money still was a stressor and an issue in their household. And even when they were no longer poor, Karina’s parents always worried about spending their hard-earned money. 

Karina often felt guilty as she felt she was a burden to her parents. As soon as she turned 15, she started work as a swim instructor/lifeguard for the next 7 years. She often worked 2-3 jobs and spent the rest of her time playing sports, studying, and hanging out with friends.

She worked so hard to save enough money so that she could go off on her own. 

Once she understood that her parents’ relationship was still rocky and saw them fight for money, despite being married for so long, Karina decided to carve out her own path. On her graduation day, she booked her one-way ticket to Australia. And there was no going back. 

She has been an entrepreneur, a coach, a digital nomad, and a mindset mentor since!

This rags-to-riches story of Karina assures us that even if you start dirt poor, through determination, grit, and a little bit of luck you can overcome your circumstances and achieve extraordinary success.