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. 

The Best Business Decision I Ever Made

Finding a great coach or mentor is still the fastest way I know to grow your business and your life. 

It’s not rocket science. The steps are really clear. 

Step 1: Figure out what you want. What’s your goal?

Step 2: Find someone who has already achieved this goal for themselves. 

Step 3: Do some research to see if this person is a good teacher or mentor. This part is important, as some really successful humans are terrible teachers. 

Step 4: Convince this epic human to teach you their ways, to share their greatest secrets and their most effective tools, and to open their most powerful relationship connections to you and your business. (No big deal, right?)

Bonus Step 5: If your coach or mentor has a community of students at different stages of the process, this is important. The reason is because spending time with really amazing coaches can sometimes be limited (due to all the epic things they are always up to). Having a community of like-minded peers to connect with makes a massive difference. This might even lead to some friendly competition.

All this to say, my dear friend and business coach Giovanni Marsico scores ridiculously high on all 5 steps. I have been in his Archangel business coaching program for over 2 years now and I am still getting my socks rocked by this dude. 

So grateful I took the leap and invested in myself. When I started working with Gio, the price was by far the highest ticket item I’d ever spent on my business or myself. This felt scary at first, but also lit a fire under my butt to make sure I did everything in my power to make it work. 

And work it did! 

It was easily the best business decision I have ever made. Gio and his incredible team and his ever-growing community at Archangel have been instrumental in some BIG revenue growth in my biz. Every time I hit an upper limit, Gio finds a way to lovingly smash that limit down and give me permission to fully dream and FULLY BE ME. 

I love you Gio. The work you are doing is truly God’s work. 

Sincerely,

D

——————

PS: If you want to make something beautiful with me in 2021, send me a message and let’s start the convo.

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Marla + Julian (The Intimacy Experts)

It’s a lot of fun spending time with Marla and Julian. Each is such an interesting being—wise, honest, super direct—and I’ve been lucky enough to connect with them individually a few times now. 

But seeing them together is a really unique and special experience.

In case you didn’t know, they are two of the top intimacy and relationship coaches on the planet. Marla and Julian Colker specialize in helping entrepreneurial couples with love, intimacy and connection. They have a company called The Intimacy Experts (@theintimacyexperts) and have been featured by many major publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNBC, ABC, and Oprah.

Last fall I got to collaborate with these two lovebirds for a really fun shoot. 

I remember how palpable their connection was. There was a magnetism between them; these were two SUPER successful adults that could somehow access levels of playfulness and joy at any moment. There was also an animalistic energy between them that was fun to experience and photograph. 

Marla and Julian, I miss you guys and can’t wait to hang again soon. Hopefully in LA next time.

Love, 

D

PS: If you want to make something beautiful with me in 2021 send me a message and let’s chat.

Click To Enlarge Photos Below

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Meditation For RESILIENCE + STRENGTH (Build EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE)

This is a 15 minute guided morning meditation to help you build emotional resilience and strength. It will help ground your energy and then also help you tap into your higher self, in order to remember who you truly are.

This 15 min morning meditation will help you start your day feeling empowered and ready to take on whatever the day presents.

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

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Guided Meditation for CONFIDENCE (15 Minute MORNING MEDITATION)

In each moment, we always have access to a version of ourselves with infinite courage and confidence.

This 15-minute meditation will bring you closer to that version of yourself.

This meditation is great for days when you need a little extra confidence. Maybe on a day when you want a bit more fire under you to get important things done. 🔥

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 // @dariusbashar

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

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Coco Framboise

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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I'm Having a New (Business) Baby

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. 

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Morning Meditation For POSITIVE ENERGY

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

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Writing Prompt: Social Media You vs. Real Life You

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?

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MORNING MEDITATION for Positivity (15 Minute GUIDED Meditation)

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

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