This is Nico. He was the first person I approached in Vancouver. I had no idea what to expect because this was my first time photographing strangers in a new city.

I was in town for a week of portrait photography sessions. After my fifth shoot of the week, I was tired, 2 hours behind schedule, and ready to put my camera away for the day.

Instead I told myself, “Just one stranger, then we can go home.”

It’s always so nerve-racking when I start looking for someone to photograph. If you’ve ever asked someone out on a date, it’s a similar feeling.

I often get shy and chicken out with the first 3 or 4 people. Then eventually I build up enough courage to say hi to a stranger.

Even if it seems like I have it all together in the videos, honestly it’s an emotional roller coaster ride for me every time.

But here’s the thing…

All it takes is one yes—just one kind stranger to give you a few moments of their day—and all of the sudden everything shifts.

All the nervous energy instantly transmutes into excitement energy and then it’s GAME ON.

It’s as if I’m in a totally new body, with an upgraded brain.

Sometimes all it takes is a few seconds of bravery to change the course of your entire day, or even your entire life.

Thank you, Nico, for stopping and for taking a few moments to make art with a stranger.

Big love,

D

PS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Nico and taking these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok.

Sometimes the most productive thing I can do is to go slow and do absolutely nothing.

Sometimes the best thing I can do for my business is to put my phone away and go for a walk.

Sometimes the best life advice comes from eye gazing with a newborn baby.

This past week I spent quality time with family and friends in Florida. I was once again reminded that I am so much more than my work, and that life is so much more than checking things off a to-do list.

I used to think I was broken or that there was something wrong with me, because when winter showed up I became a totally different human.

The stark difference between Summer Darius and Winter Darius was really hard to accept.

If I wasn’t careful, Winter Darius would be very toxic and harmful to myself. I could easily disappear, sometimes for up to six weeks. My life would start to crumble, and the more time I was alone the harder it became to reconnect with the world.

At some points it felt impossible to get out of bed. I wouldn’t talk to anyone, unless I absolutely had to. And literally no one knew I was going through this, which only exacerbated the isolation and loneliness.

It felt as if in the summer months I was a fresh and fast-moving river, full of life and beauty.

And when November rolled up, that river started to freeze. And by December all life felt trapped in the cold ice.

The truth is, the surface does freeze over in the winter. But there are ways to keep the flow of creativity and life force energy moving underneath the surface all winter long.

Here 3 practical tips I now use every November to help myself more gently adjust to the changing seasons. —> watch on IG / watch on TikTok

If you have any good tips to fight off the winter blues please share them with me.

Big love,

D

Creative projects are like relationships.

Sometimes we fall in love too quickly and place unrealistic timelines and expectations on the creative relationship and end up getting our hearts broken.

That was me earlier this year with a different creative project. I was convinced we would take the world by storm and it would become my forever creative project. It had only been a few weeks, but I was ready to commit to her for life. So I got on one knee and proposed and things moved really fast from there.

I hiring a world class wedding planner (i.e. project manager).

We had a big wedding (i.e. project launch).

I had excel sheets coming out of my yin yang, planning every detail of what was going to happen and how fast our creative family would grow.

I spend over $50,000 because I was 1000% sure this was my person (aka project).

6 months later that project fizzled out and I was left burnt out, in debt, and terrified of ever meeting another creative project again.

I had decided to give up on creative dating. It’s easier to be on my own.

Then, when I wasn’t looking, she showed up in my life. Her name was NoStrangers and initially I wanted nothing to do with her.

Yes, she was very cute and very artistic and there was definitely an attraction. But I was so unsure of myself and really scared. I didn’t want to get hurt again. So I ignored her at all costs.

But here’s the thing, she kept showing up in my life. Smiling at me in my dreams and meditations.

Then one day I decided to go on a date with her. That’s it. One date! Nothing more.

No expectations. No timelines. I wasn’t going to take her anywhere fancy. I wasn’t even going to wear my nice shirt. I wanted to keep it casual.

That first date we walked the streets of Toronto and I took my first photo and video of a stranger. I was so nervous and awkward. I fumbled a few times, but even in the awkwardness I could feel sprinkles of kismet and magic. It was super subtle, but enough to get me on a second date a few days later.

In the next few months my entire life would be transformed.

This creative relationship that I was not looking for and was not ready for became something much bigger than me. Millions of views, over 100,000 new followers, 100s of DMs and dozens of invitations to travel and bring this project across the planet.

One of my favourite things so far to come from this project is watching other artists take my art and make their own. Rómulo is an artist from Angola and he’s taken several of my photos of strangers and made them into beautiful paintings. I am blown away by his talent.

I had no idea this seemingly simple project would grow so quickly and inspire so many others.

It’s becoming the thing I am most known for and I wonder if it’s connected to my life’s legacy. I am no expert, but I think Love and Legacy are very similar. If you overthink and over plan for them, they have a way of slipping through your hands.

Love,

D

This is my favourite feature on the iPhone 14. It’s super easy to activate. Within seconds your videos can start to look like you are using a $5,000-$10,000 professional cinema camera.

Although this feature is very easy to use, I’ve noticed a lot of people aren’t taking advantage of it fully because of a few simple settings that they miss.

So here is an easy step-by-step video to help. Tip #3 and #6 are the ones most people miss.

PLEASE NOTE:

This feature is only available on iPhone 13 and 14. I’ve used it on the 13 in the past and it’s pretty awesome, but on the iPhone 14 it’s been upgraded and works even better.

Watch the video now on my Instagram and TikTok pages.
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Big love,⁣
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D

This is my first paid talk. SpeakerSlam is paying me $1000 to share my story about taking photos of strangers. How freaking awesome is that?!

I thought about playing it super cool and not making a big deal about getting paid to do a talk. There’s a voice inside saying “Dude, it’s tacky to talk about money. Don’t be that guy.”

But you see it’s not about money, it’s about momentum. It’s about breaking a limiting belief that I’m not actually a speaker worthy of getting paid to share my story or my wisdom.

SpeakerSlam has been changing lives for years now with their incredible monthly speaking events, where they give anyone with a story an opportunity to share it with the world. Their speakers have gone crazy viral in the past and their talks have been seen by close to 500 MILLION humans world wide.

Many lives have been changed. Many book deals, speaking tours, and new businesses have launched because of SpeakerSlam. Don’t believe me—ask Gina, Mike, Malcolm, Parul, Marcos, just to name a few.

SpeakerSlam also knows that the next level is to help aspiring speakers get paid for their talks. They already have a robust training program to help new speakers level-up their brands to stand out in the competitive professional speaking world.

And now they are taking it even further by putting their money where their mouths are and throwing their own conference and paying the speakers themselves.

That’s how committed SpeakerSlam is to developing aspiring speakers.

I know there are many humans in my community that are aspiring speakers, authors and thought-leaders. If you have never heard of SpeakerSlam I highly recommend checking them out.

If you happen to be in the Toronto area on November 19th come join me at the SpeakerSlam Momentum conference and hear my talk on following your heart, listening to the whispers of the Universe and building your legacy.

There are many other incredible speakers (that I know personally) who will rock your socks. You are sure to leave this event feeling new creative momentum and inspiration to bring your own story to the world.

Here’s the link to learn more, buy your tickets or get the Live stream details —> LINK.

Big love,

D

This idea changed my life. I first heard it in Liz Gilbert’s incredible book Big Magic—a must read for anyone on a creative journey.

(If you don’t know what “Dating Creativity” means, watch this video on IG or the same video on TikTok.)

When I look back at my own creative journey, the biggest mistakes I’ve made have all been the result of thinking too strategically. Creativity is not a means to an end and should never be treated transactionally. It is a deep and meaningful relationship, worthy of my full presence, adoration and love.

Whenever I bring a creative idea to life and my first step is to ask how much money can I make and how fast can I grow, those ideas usually end with a lot of wasted energy and money, plus a massive blow to my confidence.

On the other hand, the ideas that initially make no logical sense (have no obvious ROI) but deeply fascinate me? Those ideas are often the ones that last.

And ironically, those ideas also become my biggest money makers.

Stepping outside of logic and ROI to pursue a creative idea can be super scary.

But if you show up consistently with an open heart and allow yourself to fall deeper and deeper in love every day, there is a chance you might meet the creative love of your life.

Big love,

D

This was my first photoshoot with Nooshin, but it most definitely won’t be my last.

Yes, she is beautiful. That’s obvious. Yet what’s more impressive to me is how deep and intentional she was throughout our session.

As with most of my photography sessions, we started with a juicy 2-hour conversation.

Hearing her story and learning about her intentions with this photoshoot got me so excited.

By the end of our session I remember having this deeply inspired and hopeful feeling. And it wasn’t just because we took so many incredible photos together.

This hopeful state was due to witnessing the way in which Nooshin loved and celebrated herself through these photos—all of them.

She’s clearly done a lot of inner work to be able to hold space for all the different versions of herself that showed up in the photos. I shared a tiny handful in this IG video, but an entire spectrum of Nooshin showed up and she greeted each version of herself with kindness, compassion and love.

Well done Noosh… I am already planning our next collab!

Love,

D

Everything is a canvas.

Your morning coffee.

Your yoga mat.

Your text message.

Your prayer.

Your outfit.

Your stride.

Your email.

Your breath.

The neck of your lover.

The inside of your lover.

Everything a canvas.

This past week I have had several conversations with deeply intelligent, kind and spiritual friends who have decided to tune out what’s going on in Iran. I believe this is coming from a place of not knowing what to do, so I’m here to help.

Here are 3 things you can do to tune in to your own humanity and the humanity of others in the face of bad news and global events:

1. Reach out to a friend who is impacted by the situation and ask how they are doing and if they need any support. Don’t be pushy; they might not be ready to talk about it. But knowing that you care might have a positive impact on their lives.

2. Consciously make a boundary around the content you will consume on the topic. If your boundary is 0% tolerance (as in, “I want nothing to do with this topic”) then consciously state that. Maybe your boundary is “I am willing to have 1 conversation on this topic a week” or “I will read and share 1 post a week”. There is no right way of doing this. Each person is different. But I do believe there is power in intentionally deciding your own boundaries. PS: You are allowed to move your boundary at any time.

3. Journal about the topic. Here’s a question to explore in your journalling practice this week. What has your grief or sadness about the situation taught you about life? These emotions can be very intense, but they are also full of gifts. What could happen to your life if you were able to change your relationship to these so-called darker emotions?

Life can be intense. We all need to step back and tune out the noise at times. I get it—I do it too.

But stepping back is only one tool available to us—it shouldn’t be the end destination. It should be a resting point, to help us build capacity so that we can step forward and reconnect with our fellow humans.

Big love,

D