Darius Bashar
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Toronto Portrait Photographer || HEARTshots || Black + White Photography

Memoirs and musings of Darius Bashar. Toronto portrait photographer and writer, in pursuit of all things real, raw and intimate. 

7 Questions With Jenn Mansell (COACH OF THE WEEK)

  1. Describe your coaching approach in 2-3 sentences:

    I work with the body to uncover the parts of you that have been hidden, suppressed, or ignored. We call these parts back into the whole of your being so you can access their joy, peace, pleasure and excitement for life.

  2. What's 1 training program that you can highly recommend to coaches looking to level up?

    Because I am such a big advocate for working with the body, breath and feelings I highly recommend Core Energetics and Radical Aliveness workshops and groups. You can coach from your head, or you can coach from your entire embodied self. There is a big difference in the impact you can make when you are able to trust your impulses and intuition.

  3. When you were 10 years old, what did you want to be?
    Either a performer or a librarian lol. My extrovert and introvert both had their own agendas.

  4. Name one book that changed your life:
    A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson. I read this book when I was 20 and would say it ignited my spiritual path.

  5. What is the BEST advice you've ever received about coaching?

    “The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.” John Wooden

  6. What is the WORST advice you've ever received about coaching?

    Everyone is a coach. The market is oversaturated.

  7. Name one thing that you are super excited about:
    The interest, excitement and momentum I feel around Breathwork and its growing presence as a healing modality, especially in Toronto.

HOW TO CONNECT WITH JENN

Instagram: @jlmansell

Upcoming events: My monthly Breathwork ceremony - http://tiny.cc/jennevent

{ CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE }

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98% of Everyone I Photograph HATES The First Photo I Show Them

It's okay. I hated my first photo too. All I could see were my imperfections. It felt as if the rest of me was erased and only the parts that I felt most insecure about were left in the photo.

There are a couple of reasons 98% of everyone I photograph feels this way too. I get into a few in this video.

The good news is I have a process that is made to lovingly work through this incredibly common phenomenon.

I call it HEARTshots, which are the opposite of HEADshots.

My theory is nobody really trusts headshots in 2019. They are too stiff and often contrived. Nobody wants to get into your head. Half the time you don't want to be in your own head. Mostly people just want to feel your heart. That's how they decide if they can trust you and if they want to work with you.

My HEARTshots process is designed for people who are ready to step more fully into their purpose and power. This can sometimes be scary, but it can also be a boatload of fun.

Seriously, people are always so shocked at how much we play and laugh during our sessions. This is the only way I know how to take photos. The more genuine joy we co-create together, the better the photos.

So, if you are ready to take a big leap forward and continue down this path of sharing your purpose and power with the world, hit me up! This is my jam. There is nothing I love more than fanning the fires of HEART-centred leaders, just like you.

I have an awesome promo for this month. Have a look and see if you feel called to connect. -> www.dariusbashar.com/heartshots.

It's okay. I hated my first photo too. All I could see were my imperfections. It felts as if the rest of me was erased and only the parts that I felt most insecure about were left in the photo. There are a couple of reasons 98% of everyone I photograph feels this way.

Keeping It Real ThursdaysDarius BasharKeeping It Real ThursdaysComment
Parul Bansal is Bald AF + Bold AF (Speaker of The Week)

If I lived to be 10 000 years old, I will never forget this photoshoot with my dear friend @parulbee.⁣
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She is a living example of what is possible when you step into your wound and then step through to your superpower.⁣⁣
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She has already inspired hundreds of thousands through her Speaker Slam winning talk and is on her way to inspiring millions more by continuing to share her HEARTstory and her journey with the world.⁣⁣

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How To Build Trust With Your Smile (Tip Tuesday)

Here is a quick and practical tip to help you instantly build trust through your smile.

It was inspired by hundreds of people who have expressed concern around not being able to smile on camera, in a sincere way.

This is probably the top complaint I hear from people prior to our shoot.

“As soon as there is a camera on me, I forget how to smile! I always feel awkward and fake on camera.”

I hear ya friends. This video can help!

Here is the a quick and practical tip to help you instantly build trust through your smile. It was inspired by hundreds of people who have expressed concern around not being able to smile on camera, in an sincere way. This is probably the top complaint I hear from people prior to our shoot.

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I Am Doubling Down On Speakers, Coaches + Authors

In august I will be doubling down on working with speakers, coaches and authors.

You will see my content change. I am not exactly sure what that means yet, but I want to laser focus on this incredibly powerful group of humans.

I am committed to finding ways to create massive value for this audience, both through my HEARTshots photography and also through what I know about authentic branding and self-expression.

Why Speakers, Coaches and Authors?

  • These are the people I can help the most.

  • These are the people I have worked with for over 10 years.

  • These are the people who share my core beliefs.

  • These are the people who have experienced the greatest ROI (return on investment) from my photography.

  • By working with people who are so deeply committed to helping others, I will be able to make a much bigger impact on the world. (teach the teachers)

  • These are my people! I believe in them with everything I have. I also fully believe in the power of sharing our HEART stories.

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Over the last 10 years I have been so fortunate to work with many world class speakers, coaches and authors from around the world. I have also been blissed to work intimately with leading speaker organizations such as TEDxToronto, SpeakersSlam, Archangel, Talk Boutique and Elite Speakers Academy.

With each collaboration I feel invigorated and refreshed.


These are my people. I am ready to dig deeper and do whatever it takes to deliever even more value to them.

If you are a speaker, coach or author who is ready to level-up let’s connect. Comment below or direct message me. I have a special promotion just for you.

For more information on my HEARTshots promo click here.

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LISA DA ROCHA
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Take A Risk With Your Heart

If you don’t show up, it’s impossible to be loved.

For years I kept parts of myself hidden. Especially in group situations.

I said a lot more in my head then I did out loud.

There were times I wanted to suggest ideas or make jokes.

There were times I had questions or concerns.

There were times I longed for deeper connection and a feeling of closeness.

But instead of trusting my impulse to speak-up and step-in, I’d stay quite and distance myself.

A voice in my head told me it was too big a risk to let people see “the real” me. What if they didn’t laugh at my jokes? What if they didn’t care about my questions? What if they had no interest in getting closer?

The fear of being rejected prevented me from fully showing up.

I’d often walk away from a social gathering feeling frustrated and alone.

“See, no one really cares about me.”

Then I realized by focussing on my fear of rejection, I would only allow 10% of myself to show up. I thought I was playing it safe because 10% would not piss anyone off. But by keeping 90% of myself hidden, I never gave people enough of the real me to genuinely connect.

At the core, sharing my heart is a risk. There are no assurances I will be accepted.

But by hiding my heart and my truth, I am making it impossible for people to truly love me. You cannot love what is not seen or felt.

They might love that 10% part of me, but then I will always be afraid that “if they actually knew the ‘real me’ they’d feel differently.”

From my experience almost every time I take a risk and let people see and feel my heart, it actually leads to deeper connections. My truth often reflect on parts of their truth. My “risk”(to open up) gave them permission to share more of their hearts as well.

By sharing more of your heart, there is always a risk that you will be too much for some people. This can hurt, especially if you are like me and suffer from the disease to please. But I have come to realize that being too much for some people just means those are not your people.

And that’s okay too. The point isn’t to be accepted by everyone. That’s just not possible. But it doesn’t mean you can’t still have love and respect for those people as well. From my experience, each person that moves away, also makes space for another that wants to step-in.

My approach is to spend less time analyzing other peoples experiences of my heart and more time just letting her sing.

It’s a process. Sometimes I still hide my heart because I am afraid it will be rejected. But the more I share and open, the more love and support I receive. This feedback loop continually validates that taking risks with my heart is one of the smartest things I can do.

Try it out. Take a small (or big) risk today with your heart and see what happens.

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For anyone that feels called to take a risk and share more of their heart through photography and art, I have an amazing promo this month. 

See the link below for all the deets → HEARTshots Promo

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Blow Shit Up Regularly

I remember last summer when Anya Romanova reached out to me. This was before I launched my HEARTshots package. At that time 90% of my bookings were coming from my signature Black + White Portraits.

She told me she loved my black and whites and really wanted to work together, but also that her particular brand needed something with more colour and lightness. This wasn’t the first time I heard this. At least 5 other people said something similar, but I sort of dismissed it.

Anya being Anya, kept pushing me to try something new. So I booked her in. I called the shoot a “natural light portrait”. Super catchy right!?

A part of me was very resistant and actually pissed.

“Why are you blowing shit up Darius?! We have something that is working really well (the black and white portraits), why are you going to abandon it to try something else? Something so basic and simple (you aren’t even using any lights… all natural light! Who is going to pay for that!”

So instead of ignoring that part of me, I decided to try something different. I fully listened to that part of me. I let him vent and get all his thoughts and feelings out. Then I (sincerely) considered his concerns and fears and after some time to reflect, I decided to do it anyway.

I could of just ignored that part of me and jumped right in, but by allowing that side to be heard I was able to bring him in as an ally. (This might sound super weird to you, but it honestly gave me "team" momentum).

I looked that part of me in the eyes and said,

“Thank you for sharing." I value your input. But, the only way we can find out where our limits are, is by pushing past them and giving ourselves permission to fail.”

It is so easy to rest on our laurels. To play it safe, especially when something is working. And there is nothing inherently wrong with that. But for me I love exploring the edges of my world and of my heart. I adore the feeling of moving faster than I can think and riding the wave of momentum.

In this place, I am outside of all attachment to output, results and ends.

Also, all of my greatest discoveries and creations were birthed at these edges. Once I realized this, I was able to reframe this type of “risk” and I started strategically pursuing it.

The key was to start with proper expectations. Will this new thing instantly be as great as the last thing I have spent months/years refining? Probably not. And that totally makes sense.

Patience, kindness and genuine playfulness are also super helpful at the edges.

Thank you Anya and everyone else that so lovingly poked me to the edges. Its been one amazing 365 day journey with HEARTshots. I am so excited to be doing round 2 with Anya this month. I have a really great feeling about this one.

Also… I am getting that familiar feeling that it might be time to blow shit up and birth a new photography experience.

Stay tuned… or even better if something moves you and you have an idea of a new photography look/experience please hit me up and share. I deeply value your input.

Much much much love!!

D

PS: I have included some of the photos from Anya’s first HEARTshots and also a short video with her thoughts on the experience. Kinda cool seeing the photos and then the video of the real life human (aka Anya) and her experience.

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For anyone that feels called to working together, I have an amazing promo this month. See the link below for all the deets --> HEARTshots Promo

Darius BasharComment
Project Finished Day 01

Last month my friend Elan Marko invited me to join his online sales sprint group. This was a group of entrepreneurs that were going to login through zoom (video calling app) for 2 hours a day and focus on one personal (sales related) task, which they were going to work on alone, usually in their own homes or a coffee shop.

We’d say some really quick hellos, share our 1 intention for the 2 hour sprint and then put our video on mute and just WORK.

You weren’t required to login every day, but at a minimum, 2 group work sessions a week.

Everyone was working on something different. Interactions were minimal, but you’d see everyone’s floating heads for the entire 2 hours, muted but moving and hustling. Getting shit done. 

I never really knew exactly what anyone was doing, but being able to see real human faces, was a game changer. It provided a really cool positive social pressure. A reminder to make the day count… cause everyone else seemed to be. It brought a lot of focus and ramped up my productivity.

So grateful to Elan and the whole team in the May sprint. It felt really supportive, fun and was effective. I highly recommend it to any entrepreneurs that might be having trouble focussing at home alone. 

So, when Blake Fleischacker asked me if I wanted to join his Project Finished sprint, I got that same tingle in my stomach that I got when Elan asked me a few weeks back… one part excited...one part nervous.

Project Finished is similar but different. One key difference is that the group work session starts at 6:30am instead of 9:30am or 1:30pm, which is the time slot for Elan’s sprint. This means (mostly) uninterrupted time to work, as the work day has not yet begun for most people and I won’t be bombarded by emails and text.

The other big difference is Project Finished requires you to make (almost) every 6:30am group work session. (yikes!) Sounds intense, but I think this might be really great for me, as my gut is telling me I need more structure.

The other difference is it’s not a sales focussed sprint. It can be, if you want that to be your monthly project, but the point is you pick 1 project and you focus on that singular goal from 6:30am to 8am every single weekday.

For me this is a giant experiment. And you know how much I love experiments. 

My hypothesis is if I carve out 90 mins a day, 5 days a week and share a heartfelt, social media post (this write-up is day 01) I will be able to organically and sincerely grow my HEARTshot photography business. 

My theory is that 1 real and honest post will = 1 new HEARTshot client. And more importantly the *right* type of client. People who see and feel the real me and want to make something magical together. 

It’s a theory. I may be wrong. But there is only one way to find out. 

So much love to my brilliant, innovative and creative homies Elan and Blake. I feel so grateful to have you guys in my life and that you both felt I would be a good fit for your amazing sprints. Thanks for continually inspiring me.

much much much love. 

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For anyone that feels called to working together, I have an amazing promo this month. See the link below for all the deets --> HEARTshots Promo

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