Stronger Together

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I was born in Iran in 1982. This was 3 years after the Islamic Revolution.

My family did not agree with the radical shift in how the country was governed. My mother was passionately against it. So my parents decided we MUST leave all of our family and friends and move halfway across the planet to Canada.

We didn't know anyone. We didn't speak the language. We didn't have much, but we had peace and safety.

Most of my family remained in Iran: hundreds of cousins, aunts, and uncles. So despite growing up fully immersed in Canadian culture, I still felt a connection to Iran.

A lot of really scary things are happening in the world lately.

A lot of escalating tension.

How do I keep going with my privileged Canadian life when so many people are hurting?

How do I continue taking photos of beautiful smiling humans when there is so much pain throughout the rest of the world?

One part of me wants to take it all in and be paralyzed by my fear and hopelessness.

Another part of me wants to put a wall around my heart and not let any of it in, pretending it will all go away if I don’t think about it.

But I have played both of these extremes before. Neither works.

Neither serves me or my community.

Neither is my deepest truth.

Because what I really want is to help. I want to make a difference. I am not yet sure how, but I know that staying quiet is not the path forward.

To the 176 innocent lives that were lost during this horrific tragedy, I pay my deepest respect. You did not deserve this.

You were caught in the middle of two powerful children fighting over nonsense.

Children with access to bombs and drones and media that will spread their hatred and lies.

To the families of the victims, my heart aches for you. Something so precious and dear was stolen from you in an instant. When I actually give myself a moment to sit with this tragedy, it steals my breath.

I am not sure what else I can do, but I do know that I am here. I have a voice. I can fight for what’s right. And I can hold space for fellow humans who are suffering.

politicsDarius BasharJanuary 13, 2020politicsComment

What Should I Write About Next Week?

Hello beautiful humans.

If you have 30 seconds I could use your opinion. Can you help?

I want to make content that connects with you. Instead of guessing, this week I thought I’d ask.

If you have a sec, take a peek at the 10 ideas below and let me know which one you want to see next week.

Tips to help you take better self-portraits.
Tips on how to be more natural in front of the camera.
A personal post about my relationship with Jenn.
More naked men photos from the SoftMen project.
Beautiful fashion photography photos.
Tips on how I used social media to generate $15k a month last year.
A goofy dancing video.
A video tour of my studio.
A video about my morning routine.
An intimate story about photographing famous people.

Leave me a comment with which one is your fave. Feel free to add multiple numbers if you want to see more than one.

Thanks for your support.

PS: If you have another idea of something you want me to post about next week, feel free to share the suggestion in the comments or send me a direct message.

Risky Fridays, Ask A QuestionDarius BasharJanuary 10, 2020Risky Fridays, Ask A QuestionComment

The World Needs Your Love

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 LeadersComment

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. ;)

TBD

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.

On today's naked podcast, I talk to Steve Ballantyne about our SoftMen photoshoot in 3 days. We also got into a juicy conversation about Penis Wellness, masterbastion without ejaculation and many other deep and hilarious conversations.

softmenDarius BasharDecember 18, 2019softmenComment

Nobody Cares About Your Business on Instagram

On today’s #TipTuesday video, I share something I learned last week and has resulted in my most liked and commented post ever.

Not only did this post receive more likes and comments than I’ve ever received, but whats way more important to me is that at the core of this tip is an opportunity to share more of the REAL Darius with the world. To be more authentic, more inspiring and to have more fun on my Instagram account.

This tip came courtesy of Theresa DePasquale during last Thursday’s weekly Archangel Summit business coaching call, with Giovanni Marsico.

Theresa is a straight up ninja, everything from content creation, social media strategy and also deep analytics. She’s grown several instagram accounts to hundreds of thousands of followers and has worked with major brands to help them build powerful communities online.

In the 90 minutes we spent with Theresa she dropped a lot of tips and wisdom bombs.

But there’s one in particular struck a chord with me.

I tried it out the next morning, and within 24 hours the results blew my mind.

Thank you, Theresa! I think this might be a game-changer for me.

tbd

Darius BasharDecember 17, 2019 Comments

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!