| Feature - Soul Awakening |
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| Written by Leisha Chen-Young | |||||||||
Life-changing decisions made 30,000 feet in the air should perhaps be cautioned against—except in the case of Sylvia Daley. Daley is one of those people you love, but love to hate. She makes things happen, she’s a “go-getter”, a “doer”, a real “high flier”. It’s fitting then perhaps that her life-changing moment did come at 30,000 feet in the air, on her way back home to New York after yet another business trip, this time to Buenos Aires. Reading a story in the airline’s in-flight magazine about two investment bankers who left the corporate world to open a small hotel in Vermont, she was suddenly inspired. “There was a picture of them lounging with their guests, drinking wine and living the “life of Riley”. I thought to myself, ‘But I can do that too. I can definitely drink wine and entertain people!’” And so it started a train of thought for Jamaican-born Daley. She would give up her executive job with American Express and open a bed and breakfast in the Hamptons—she would call it Quintessentials Bed & Breakfast and Spa. Truth be told, the seeds of the plan had been planted many years before, when she was stationed in Hamburg, Germany, for 10 years as the European Area Manager of Siemens. Being the “doer” that she is, she occupied her spare time by taking classes in alternative healing—massage, aromatherapy and essential oils, reiki—the entire course took her seven years to complete. Was it perhaps in preparation for the full service spa she would open many years later? Was the purchase of an 1830s Victorian Sea Captain’s house, two years before she quit Wall Street, again a subconscious preparation for her life-change? “Honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to do with it,” Daley says of the seven-bedroom house. “I just knew that I loved it.” Familiar with the North Fork area of the Hamptons after spending many summers there with friends, she knew she wanted to own a house there. It also reminded her of her home country. “It was so green, like Jamaica,” she says, “and I loved being surrounded by water.” She knew that she wanted to offer more than a hotel, but an entire experience. “It was very important for Quintessentials to be a lifestyle retreat,” she says, “where harried New Yorkers, like I once was, could come for three days, and feel like they were away for three weeks. It’s an entire holistic experience that encourages rejuvenation and relaxation.” She holds tight to her Jamaican roots, even though she has lived in New York since she left for university, more than 30 years ago, and this resonates through Quintessentials. The five bedroom-suites are not only elegantly decorated in colonial tones with harmonizing Caribbean touches, but are also named after cities in Jamaica (Kingston, Mandeville and Negril). High tea consists of jerk chicken wings, and cocktail patties, alongside cakes and pastries. But the richest Caribbean sensation is in the spa. Many of the products used in the spa draw on healing properties of Jamaican goods, like her cane sugar rub used for body scrubs, and the hot stone massage, which uses river stones from Black River. Vinotherapy (the restorative powers present in grapes) is also an important part of the healing process, drawing directly from the more than 30 wineries that operate in the region. But how do you make the transition from a high-flying exec to owner of a B&B? “It was a big step, I know that,” Daley admits, “but I had been taking risks all my life. My enormous curiosity drives my appetite for exploring new things and places.” This explains why she speaks four languages and has lived in so many different countries. But this is not a move you make overnight. “You do your research so you can take calculated, researched, studied risks. Be smart with your dreams.”  A night-time villa view at Tiamo Resorts, Andros Island, The Bahamas. © Mark Gerardot While success is always down to hard work, it’s also down to a little luck. The Hartmans stumbled across a beautiful piece of beach on the remote, under-developed Andros Island—that just so happened to have a clear title, and were lucky enough to find the owners and convince them to sell them the land for what they could afford. Now that’s a whole heap of luck. But it was dedication, and a little ignorance that led to their success. “A very wise man once told me that you need two things to start your own business: tenacity and naivety,” Hartman explains. “It was the combination of these two that allowed us to follow our dream over four-and-a-half years.”
The eco-friendly theme came as an after-thought. Spellbound by the remote beauty, Hartman was also struck by the difference between living in Key West and Andros Island, and realized that even with the development in Key West, there should be more similarities. “We weren’t tree-huggers, we just approached the environment on a pragmatic level.” Wanting to leave as little impact as possible on their beautiful beach, they set about creating a fully solar-powered resort. Their desire to conserve the beauty spread to a preservation of the island’s way of life. “Regrets are there to help put your life in balance,” he says. “It’s about embracing what’s in front of you, focusing on the moment and enjoying the condition of your life. Each day.” And even though their routes may have been slightly different, Daley’s and Hartman’s philosophies are the same. “The future is unpredictable,” Daley says, “so it’s important to enjoy yourself in the now. Allow yourself to dream big,” Daley says. “Many people censure their dreams, but it’s important to dream huge, huge, huge!”
Sharon Feanny admits that she perhaps dreamt too big. While dreams of opening a dedicated yoga centre may have fallen short, the journey she encountered led her to a new dream—one that was realized in the recent eight-year celebration of Shakti Mind. Body. Fitness., her wellness centre in Kingston, Jamaica.  Sharon Feanny, Shakti Mind. Body. Soul. © Jessica Bicknell
Feanny’s journey to fulfill her destiny took many turns, although she seems to have come full circle. She started in the wellness industry, as a spa manager in 1987. However, a job offer in public relations moved her into the corporate world and to California, where she worked with luxury hotels and cruise ships. In 1990, on a trip home to Jamaica, Gordon “Butch” Stewart offered her a job as Group Director, Public Relations, at Sandals, promoting her to Vice President of PR in 1995. Her career couldn’t have been going better, but it was then that “the rug was pulled out from under me,” she says, preferring not to expand. In search of solace she turned back to yoga, spending three months in Rajasthan, India, where she learned the principles of yoga. She was at a crossroad. Various other business enterprises followed, including the very successful establishment of Starfish Oils—a Jamaican based company that creates candles, oils and soaps—but yoga was always where her heart and, ultimately, her peace lay. “I have been through a lot,” she shares, “and I have had many blessings as well as sadness.” But, throughout her journey, she remained devoted to her spiritual path. “I have been through depression, the hard days, divorce, losing a business, but it has brought me to where I am today.” Today at 42-years old, re-married and with two young children, she is content. Success is now less about the size of her bank balance, but more about her success in making a difference in people’s lives. Here is where the stories of Daley, Hartman and Feanny converge. Daley measures success in her ability to help others. “It’s about being able to stay in the moment and help others also,” she says. “When I help others, I learn and recognize that I am helping myself too.” Being with people forms success for Hartman too. “I don’t miss the need to drive a particular car, or wear certain clothes,” he shares. “Those things have become immaterial to me in the past 10 years I have lived in the Bahamas. Success is about being with people in a positive way—simply living, eating, sleeping, and being with good people.” |
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