HER STORY: When You Follow Your Bliss
“What would we really be doing if we were following our bliss.”
Building a Brand on Intuition and Resilience
By Samantha Dreiling, Co-Founder, Ananda Elixirs
I remember the exact moment everything began to shift. I was driving down a quiet country road at sunset, feeling completely defeated. My former business was unraveling, grief had reshaped my world, and I felt exhausted in every sense of the word. And yet, somewhere inside me, there was still a small flicker of hope.
I turned to my husband and asked, what would we be doing if we were truly following our bliss?
His answer surprised me. What if we started a mushroom company?
Functional mushrooms had supported us through one of the hardest seasons of our lives, but everything on the market felt uninspired. Instead of dismissing the idea, I leaned into it. Within minutes, what began as desperation shifted into curiosity, then excitement. The name came to me almost instantly. Ananda Elixirs. Ananda means bliss. It felt like the beginning of something entirely new.
We built the brand from our home in Arizona, brewing mushrooms in our garage and spending weekends at farmers markets, sharing our product and our story. Those early days taught me to trust myself, to listen closely, and to keep moving forward even when the path wasn’t clear.
As the business grew, life asked something unexpected of me again. My heart was pulling me back to Canada, closer to my family. It didn’t make sense on paper, but I knew it was the right decision. We sold everything and began again.
Within months of returning home, Ananda Elixirs began to grow in ways I never could have predicted. What once felt like loss became the foundation for something stronger, more aligned, and more meaningful.
Looking back, I can see that every turning point began the same way. Not with certainty, but with trust. Following your bliss doesn’t mean the path is easy. It means listening to what calls you forward, even when it asks you to begin again.
Ananda Elixirs is more than a business. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the most beautiful chapters begin when you choose to follow what feels true.
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Samantha Dreiling is the co-founder of Ananda Elixirs, a functional beverage brand inspiring people to follow their bliss. After overcoming personal loss and life’s challenges, she built her business on intuition and resilience. Samantha lives in Ottawa, Canada with her husband and two daughters, sharing her passion for mindful and joyful living.
