First time I met Coco was on a Camp Reset school bus. We were headed a few hours out of the city into the forest for 4 days of cosmic space travel with 200+ adults. 

She was quiet on the bus—probably ‘cause it was packed with strangers in weird customs—but even then I could see the fire in her eyes. 

The second time I met Coco was a day later. She took the stage and led 200+ adults through a mind-blowing cabaret-style strip tease exercise that left us both empowered and dying of laughter. I have never seen or felt a room like that in my life. So creative, so connected, so emboldened, and so BRAVE. 

In that moment she was fully Coco Framboise. If you don’t know what that means, check out her website (cocoframboise.com) and you’ll get an idea. For me, it felt like dragon energy. But it also felt like pure art and creation.

The third time I met Coco was during this photoshoot. At the time she was going through a very tender life experience. Someone very close to her had recently passed. I remember thinking to myself how deep her love for this person was. It gave me something to aspire to for all of the relationships in my life. 

Coco never stops inspiring me. It feels as if she is always playing and that her creativity really has no boundaries. 

I love you Coco. Thanks for sharing your heart so courageously with the rest of us. 

I can’t wait for our next hang. 

D

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The first rule of business is to differentiate yourself from the pack. If your Zoom looks and sounds exactly like all of your competitors, you’re missing a big opportunity.

Today I launch my new business called DreamZoom.co. I am so freaking excited to share this creation. I’ve been quietly working on this new project for a few months now and the feedback from clients made it impossible for me not to go public with this, so it’s time to finally share it with all you awesome humans. 

Are you a thought leader who is ready to MASSIVELY improve your Zoom, podcasting and video capabilities? You're going to love this. 

My team and I at DreamZoom will create a professional home studio for you, so when you log in to Zoom everyone on the other end will be blown away by how much better you look and sound. This is a full-service end-to-end VIP experience where my team handles the entire process. 

If you’re interested in learning more about DreamZoom direct message me or comment below with the word “DreamZoom”.

As with all my launches, I have an insane promo for the first 5 people to book. 

In my opinion, mornings are the best time to activate our power and manifest magic. This 20-minute morning meditation will help you remember how freaking POWERFUL you really are.

BIG LOVE,

Darius 🙏🏽

PS: If you’re looking for a FREE collection of Guided Morning Meditations, I’ve got you covered —> https://www.artistmorning.com/free-meditation-for-creativity

PPS: Come meditate with me live. We meet as a group on Zoom every Wednesday and Friday at 9am EST. Sign up here for free —> Free Group Meditation / @artistmorning

Pull up any one of your social media pages and compare “that person” to yourself in real life. Then I want you to consider the following 3 questions…

Question 1: Is this what I really look like?
Question 2: Is this how I actually speak? Is that my voice?
Question 3: Is this how funny or fun I am in real life?

Here are my answers…

Question 1: Is this what I really look like?

Yes, this is what I look like in real life. But if you take a look at my older posts, photos of myself were rare. It took a lot of work for me to finally realize that I was hiding behind my photography and that I did not want the world to see ME. Now my social media feed has lots of photos of me—you can actually see my face! I love that dude. 

Question 2: Is this how I actually speak? Is that my voice?

Social Media D has a more serious and more poetic tone than Real Life D. I think this is okay, but I also I think there is room for me to bring my real voice to my social pages a bit more.

Question 3: Is this how funny or fun I am in real life?

Definitely NOT. Real Life D is WAY more fun; anyone who really knows me knows how freaking goofy I am. I am not sure why, but this side of me seems to be missing from my social. 

I’m curious why Goofball D doesn’t feel allowed (or maybe doesn’t feel safe) to play on my social media pages. Especially now that people are experimenting with reels and shorter format content that works so well with humour. 

To be honest, it feels more risky to me to attempt to make ‘em laugh than it does to go deep and be vulnerable. Naked pictures and stories about challenging times in my life somehow feel safe now, yet lighthearted goofball content feels scary AF. 

—————

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN. Ask yourself the same 3 questions and let me know if you learned anything. Do you feel like there’s room for the real you to show up on your social media? Which part of you feels the most underrepresented and why?

This morning meditation for positivity will help you start your day off feeling grounded, calm and excited for the possibilities of the day.

Positivity meditations are a powerful way to start your day, as they allow you to deepen your connection to your heart and to your higher self.

This 15 min morning meditation is also a great tool for anyone that wants to unleash their creativity.

BIG LOVE,

D

PS: If you’re looking for a FREE collection of Guided Morning Meditations, I’ve got you covered —> https://www.artistmorning.com/free-meditation-for-creativity

PPS: Come meditate with me live. We meet as a group on Zoom every Wednesday and Friday at 9am EST. Sign up here for free —> Free Group Meditation / @artistmorning

There is no such thing as ready. 
There is no such thing as perfect.
And there is nothing we need to create. 
We get to create. It’s a privilege—NOT a chore. 

Also, our days are numbered on this cosmic rollercoaster ride called Earth. 
Tomorrow is never promised to any of us. There are no exceptions.
This is not a bad thing; it’s actually a really beautiful thing. 
We are ALL sacred and whole from the beginning to the end.

Your move. 

Fun fact about me, my first ever photoshoot was a commercial fashion shoot. This is not the normal place most photographers start, as it’s way more intense than a free shoot with friends or family. The stakes are high, the team is huge, and the expectations are enormous—rightfully so.

I had been working as a filmmaker and cinematographer for a few years, so I was not starting from scratch. But honestly, I had no idea how to use strobe photography lights and had exactly zero experience communicating with fashion models (which I’m sure you can image is important for a FASHION shoot).

Needless to say, there were many sleepless nights leading up the the shoot. But I wanted to make sure I was as prepared as possible. So I practiced with my friends and even myself. I watched as many YouTube videos as possible. I ran through scenarios in my head.

The great news is that the shoot was a BIG success. The client was very happy, and ended up booking me for over a hundred more shoots over the next 5 years.

Here’s the lesson I learned from this experience…

Big risk CAN equal big reward. But to make this work, 3 things are crucial to the equation:

1) A rock solid team. I hired the best humans I could find; without them I would have fallen apart.

2) Crystal-clear communication with the client and team. Managing expectations and making sure everyone is on the same page is CRUCIAL.

3) An opportunity. I needed someone to take a chance on the new guy on the block. For this, I will always be grateful to @cestmoiclothing, @sandrabastone and the man in charge of it all Larry (@larryezerzer), the owner. He saw talent in an untested photographer and took a risk.

The risk worked out great for all of us. Years later, and I am still working with C’est Moi Clothing.

Here are some photos from our most recent shoot.

Huge thank you to the team who supported this shoot. You guys are freaking rockstars. 🌟

———————

Model: @paigedubrul

Hair & Make-up: @kellyd.makeup

Production design + styling: @sandrabastone & @ariellaezerzer

Digital Tech: @misha_ras

Lighting Support: Sean Tate

Editing: 85Retouching

Photography: @dariusbashar

PS: Special shoutout to Sarah Morales. She was my first stylist and my rock for at least the first 50 of those shoots. Her support, mad talent and kindness were essential and will forever be appreciated.

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This Self-Love Meditation is a bit different from the others. It has a very powerful self-love visualization in the middle that can quickly and effectively bring you to a place of self-acceptance and self-compassion.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Sending a shoutout to my brother from another mother @SoulBrotherDane for being the beautiful human in the thumbnail below. 

Big LOVE and happy Hump Day!

D

PS: If you’re looking for a FREE collection of Guided Morning Meditations, I’ve got you covered —> https://www.artistmorning.com/free-meditation-for-creativity

PPS: Come meditate with me live. We meet as a group on Zoom every Wednesday and Friday at 9am EST. Sign up here for free —> Free Group Meditation / @artistmorning

It’s really cool photographing people over the course of a few years—especially humans that are on a mission to change the world. Over the past 2 years, I have photographed Dr. Stephanie Estima 4 times.

Immediately during our first shoot, I could feel a powerful energy inside her. Shortly after, Dr. Stephanie launched her now super successful podcast called Better! She just crossed 1,000,000 downloads, which is HUGE. She interviews the top thought leaders on the planet on the topic of health, fitness, sex, intimacy, longevity, parenting, mindset, and pursuing excellence. I have personally recommended her podcast to so many people and they always thank me. 

It was awesome watching Dr. Stephanie grow and impact millions. It was also a lot of fun for me to see our photos all over the internet, as she used one of our HEARTshots as the cover for her podcast. :)

Fast forward to fall 2020 when we shot our most recent photoshoot for the cover of her first book, The Betty Body, which launches today. It was amazing to witness her acceptance and comfort with becoming a world-class thought leader. 

She had a lot of confidence during our past shoots, but there was something even more magical about Dr. Stephanie this time. There was a radiant lightness to her. Although she was taking on a lot more responsibility with the massive success of her podcast and her upcoming book, somehow she felt like a kid playing. 

Keep shining that glorious light of yours into the world, Dr. Stephanie. I can’t wait for our next shoot and to meet the next version of you. And congrats on your book launch.

I absolutely love how the photos turned out and I’m getting another big kick watching as they spread across the internet and the world. I just bought copies of your book for my partner Jenn and my mother. I know they are going to love it. 

Big love,

D

PS: If you want more info on Dr. Stephanie’s book, here’s the link → https://bettybodybook.com // @dr.stephanie.estima 

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was a teenager. That’s over 2 decades. For almost that entire time I somehow forgot about every single long weekend holiday. 

Instead of taking a little extra time to rest and recharge I would double down and use the day to “catch up” or do more work. 

Today, for the first time I want to try something different. 

I want to take the day off. 

As I write this I feel guilt building up inside me. I feel like a bad entrepreneur. Like I’m being lazy. 

It’s funny cause I don’t feel this way about any other entrepreneur that decides to take the day off: only me. I actually admire them and think to myself, “I guess they are ahead of me and have figured out how to make it work.”

My to-do list is long and deep. But honestly, it’s always been that way. No matter how many things I get done, it keeps growing like a game of Tetris. 

I have a few meetings today that I probably can’t reschedule, which is often the case when I don’t pre-plan for holidays. 

Maybe today I’ll attend those unmovable meetings and clear as much of the rest of my schedule as possible.

And maybe today I go ahead into my schedule for NEXT YEAR and book off Family Day long weekend.

Does anyone else forget about long weekends until it’s too late? 

PS: In case you were wondering, Family Day in 2022 is Monday, Feb 21.

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Photo by Faramarz Hashemi