This is my friend Sophie.

She’s a trainer. She’s a coach. She’s an osteopath.

But what’s most important (in my opinion) is that she is a giant ball of LOVE.

I am sure, like all of us, Sophie could find plenty to feel shitty about. Things that didn’t go as she planned, people who have let her down, goals she could not meet, etc.

But Sophie consistently chooses to focus on the brighter side of life.

Of course she’s human, and nobody can stay positive 100% of the time... but Sophie gets pretty close.

I had a blast during our shoot at Academy of Lions and can’t wait to laugh and play together again.

Keep shining your light Soph. The world needs it, especially now.

Coach of The WeekDarius BasharJanuary 8, 2020Coach of The WeekComment

16 Questions To Ask Before Hiring a Photographer

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Finding a photographer to work with is not as simple as looking for someone who takes beautiful photos. You also need to consider if working with this person will help you grow your impact and your business.

If you’re thinking about having your photos taken in 2020, I want you to have a great experience and to feel good about the decision you’ve made. I’ve put together a couple points to help you find the photographer who is right for you.

Here’s a list of 16 questions you can ask yourself before hiring a photographer:

Do I love their photos? (If not, keep searching.)
Do they work with leaders in my field? (Check their portfolio.)
Will their style of photography connect with my audience / potential clients?
Will our personalities work well together?
What is their process for taking the best photos possible? (Do they have a process?)
Will the photographer take time to understand and know me as a person?
Will the photographer take time to understand my goals for these photos?
How long will we shoot for? (There’s a big difference between 15 minutes and 5 hours.)
Where will we shoot? (Do they have a studio? Does the location fit my brand?)
Will they guide me on how to prepare for the shoot?
How many photos will I receive in the end?
How many of the photos I receive will be retouched or edited?
What is their editing style like? (Some photographers can over-edit.)
How long will it take them to get me the final photos after the shoot?
Am I free to use the photos any way I like?
Do they have testimonials from real humans I know and respect?

These questions will help you discover whether working with this photographer will get you closer to your goals. Feel free to save this post and refer back to it at a later date.

Happy #TipTuesday everyone!

Tip TuesdaysDarius BasharJanuary 7, 2020Tip TuesdaysComment

Seth Godin

Me: How many talks have you done at this point?

Seth: Over 10,000.

Me: Do you still get nervous?

Seth: No, not really.

Me: How many talks did it take to stop being nervous?

Seth. About 200.

Me: How long did it take you to do 200 talks?

Seth: 2 years.

Me: So freaking cool.

I was nervous to photograph Seth Godin. Let’s be honest, he’s a legend in the thought leadership space. He’s written over 19 best-selling books, including many that have changed my life. Based on his massive success, I assumed Seth would be difficult to work with.

The exact opposite was true. He was kind, funny and generous. Also very sincere and grounded. My whole team had a blast working with Seth. We got to asked him all sorts of questions. He did not hold back; I was surprised by his openness and candor.

After the photoshoot Seth stuck around for a while to talk about life and told us some amazing stories about his childhood. Before he left, Seth asked for all of our mailing addresses and promised to ship the entire team one of his newest books, which is currently not available to the public.

Before I met Seth, a part of me still held on to the belief that the people at the top of their fields didn’t have time for people like me. But in the end, we all walked away thinking what a remarkable dude.

After that experience, I realized that these people are just like me.

It turns out you don’t have to give up your goodness to be great.

wow photo, thought leadersDarius BasharJanuary 6, 2020wow photo, Thought Leaders Comment

Happy Holidays!

Yesterday was an emotionally intense day for me.

So today I just want to be light and remember how much love and joy exists in my life.

Happy holidays, beautiful humans.

Thank you for being a part of my journey, and for all the love, support and hilarity you bring to my life.

I love you.

D

Risky FridaysDarius BasharDecember 20, 2019Risky FridaysComment

My 9-Year Vulnerability Hangover

This video is really hard for me to watch. It’s from exactly 10 years ago today.

I made 30 videos in the 30 days leading up to my 27th birthday. My goal was to inspire others to step out of their own comfort zones and share their hearts too.

I honestly had no idea what I was doing. But I felt something inside of me that so badly wanted to be expressed.

When I completed the 30-day challenge and realized how far I was from my comfort zone, I had the biggest vulnerability hangover of my life. These videos didn’t go viral or make me famous, so I assumed the project was a failure and that nobody liked me.

A voice in my head told me, “Nobody gives a shit. Now shut up and promise you’ll never do that again!”

Ouch!

To protect myself from feeling this ashamed and embarrassed ever again, I made myself smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing from video for almost 9 years.

I didn’t even know I was hiding. I did not want to admit it. I tried to forget the whole thing ever happened.

It has taken me a lot of work to be able to record and share videos weekly like I do now. A LOT OF WORK. It’s easy to forget about the work—which includes this 30-day video challenge—because it hurts to look back.

When I hear myself speak in these old videos I can feel all the ways I was holding back. I can see how I was trying to be someone I thought the world wanted, and not who I really was.

I remember these videos as being a massive failure. But the truth is, these videos were massive stepping stones that needed to happen to get me to where I am today. And while a part of me still feels uncomfortable looking back, and I cringe at how nasally his voice sounds (and this is one of the better videos from this series), I am grateful for the work that younger Darius put in.

For his courage.

For his heart.

And of course, for his thick head of hair. ;)

Keeping It Real ThursdaysDarius BasharDecember 19, 2019Keeping It Real ThursdaysComment

Naked Podcast With Steve Ballantyne

Here’s how the SoftMen Podcast works…

We start out fully clothed.
We set a timer for 15 minutes.
Exactly when the alarm goes off, we both get fully naked.

On camera. No matter where we are in the conversation. And that’s when something shifts.

When two men are all of the sudden naked in each other’s presence, it’s as if the walls we had between us can’t be held up. Even if we’re both in different rooms. Even if no one can actually see our goods.

I’ve only done 3 naked SoftMen podcasts, but every time we got naked the conversation totally changes. We go deeper. We get more vulnerable. We connect more sincerely.

This is episode 02 of The SoftMen Podcast with Steve Ballantyne.

I know Steve in real life, he’s a good friend of mine. I was pleasantly surprised by how much Steve shared about his personal life and specifically his relationship with his penis. This podcast felt like the REAL Steve.

Deep gratitude brother. Thank you for showing up.

PS: If you are interested in being on the SoftMen Podcast or being photographed for the SoftMen Book you can apply for both at www.SoftMen.art.

softmenDarius BasharDecember 18, 2019softmenComment

Wanna Play In The Sun? (FLASH SALE)

Hello beautiful humans.

I know it’s cold and snowy outside, and that it might feel like forever until spring.

To help keep you warm, I have an incredible offer on my SunChaser photo adventure package.

As of Jan 01, 2020 my price for SunChasers will be $1997.

But if anyone is interested in pre-booking a 2020 SunChaser before the end of this year, I am offering them for $997.

That’s $1000 discount, which is kind of bananas. But I love playing in the sun so much and want to book as many as I can for the spring and summer.

There are a very limited number of SunChasers I can do per year, so if you are interested in pre-booking for yourself or as a gift to someone else, DM or comment below.

The first 5 people to book will receive an additional $100 off. So total will be $897.

Happy holidays!

wow photo, PromoDarius BasharDecember 16, 2019wow photo, offerComment

A Major Part of My Life That Was Missing From Instagram

Dear Jenn,

This morning I looked at the images in the gallery of my Instagram profile. I asked myself how close my page was to the real me.

Were there any major elements missing from my life?

Any glaring gaps?

Oh yes.

There definitely was.

One of the most important people in my life was missing from my feed.

My beloved.

My sweetheart.

My Bestie.

I could not find YOU on my page.

Well.. that's not entirely true. “Jenn” is all over my page, but there isn't a single picture of you and I TOGETHER.

This made me very sad. Maybe a part of me was scared to share our love with my followers. Maybe I had some sort of preconception of who I needed to be on Social Media. Maybe I was afraid of annoying people.

But the truth is, Jenn, you are the most important person in my life. If I want to uphold my reputation of being honest and real with my community, it makes no sense not to celebrate and acknowledge our partnership. It's so pivotal to all aspects of my growth.

Jenn, I love you.

You bring so much joy, laughter, power and adventure into my life.

Thanks for being the cheekiest of monkeys.

xoxo

Darius

Risky FridaysDarius BasharDecember 13, 2019Risky FridaysComment

Could I Make It On YouTube?

I so often don’t ask for help. But I can't stop thinking about what my life would be like if I was a YouTuber.

Could I do this? Could I build a successful channel on YouTube and create a following?

Here’s a list of why this could work:

I have all the technical equipment.
I know how to film and edit. (Thank you, film school.)
I am really comfortable in front of a camera.
But most of all, I am willing to go DEEP and BE REAL.

I get so freaking excited by the possibility of succeeding on YouTube. Maybe too excited. So then I run off a different list intended to manage my excitement.

It takes years to make a single dollar.
99.9% of YouTubers fail.
There are millions of channels already.
YouTube is known to have some of the worst commenters.
It takes a shitload of time to edit videos.
You can't hide in a video. Your face and your voice are there for everyone.

I’ve had many other ideas in the past that did NOT workout and it was really disappointing. So I'm trying to protect my heart.

But what I’ve learned lately is that releasing dreams into the world builds momentum and accountability. My mind is still blown by what has happened so far with my SoftMen Book project. So for now, I am just going to claim my desire. Feel it with everything I have and pay close attention to when the Universe opens a path.

I believe I can make a big impact on YouTube, and I have no clue how to go about this.

Can someone in my community help me? Do you guys have resources, experience, or support that will help me get closer to my dream?

PS: Here’s my first video podcast on Youtube. It’s super raw and unpolished, but I kind of love it.

Keeping It Real ThursdaysDarius BasharDecember 12, 2019Keeping It Real ThursdaysComment

Bob Gauvreau (Coach of The Week)

I used to hate money. I genuinely believed it was the root of ALL the problems in the world.

In the past, I had some trauma around money that left me hurt and wounded. And so later in life when I became a photographer and artist, it was easy to fall into the “starving artist” mindset.

Here’s how it works…

“I don’t care about money; I just want to create cool things. If I put all my focus into being creative, money will eventually find me and I won't ever have to worry about it.”

Not only did this strategy NOT work for me, but it harmed and limited me. By refusing to take an honest look into my finances and my beliefs around money, I eventually burnt myself out.

But money is just another metric for evaluating growth. It is not the most important metric. It is not the only metric. Things like integrity, community, authenticity and joy are also super important metrics that I track closely.

And so today, I refuse to work with clients that are not committed to profit. This is a radically different approach from my previous “starving artist” stance.

I’m tired of watching brilliant, passionate, loving humans ignore money and burn themselves out. This burnout can lead to them quitting their dreams and even growing to resent their gifts and superpowers.

But working through our personal limiting beliefs around money can be challenging to do on our own, and sometimes we need help. We need someone who has done it already — for themselves and hundreds of others.

Someone who lives and breathes it.

Someone who is wildly passionate about this work.

Someone who is crazy smart, yet also compassionate and non-judgemental.

My friend Bob Gauvreau is exactly this person.

He has a best-selling book on gaining financial clarity. In fact, he’s so damn good that Tony Robbins brought him on as his sole Canadian Partner for his Global Accounting Advisors Team.

And besides being brilliant when it comes to finances and business strategy, he’s also honestly one of the nicest dudes I know. Seriously!

So without further ado, here’s a bit more about Bob Gauvreau, coach of the week...

10 QUESTIONS WITH BOB GAUVREAU

What's one thing about you that would surprise people if they knew?
I was recruited by Tony Robbins to be his sole Canadian Partner for his Global Accounting Advisors Team providing business and tax advice to entrepreneurs around the world.
Name one thing that you are super excited about:
Helping entrepreneurs deliver more impact through incredible financial results.
Who is your favourite type of person to coach?
Entrepreneurs, meaning individuals who have a vision, who are willing to invest in realizing that vision, and are committed to realizing incredible future results.
How would your mom/dad describe what you do for a living (their words, NOT yours) :)
I file peoples taxes.
When you were 10 years old, what did you want to be?
An NHL star!!
What's 1 training program that you highly recommend to coaches looking to level up?
Tony Robbins - Business Master.
Name one book that changed your life:
Scaling Up - Verne Harnish.
Name one of your favourite podcasts:
Gary Vaynerchuk Podcast.
When do you feel most alive?
I feel most alive when I am on stage.
Name one thing that frustrates you:
People who try and tear people down instead of picking them up.