Life Outside Fear

[lifeoutsidefear]

Don’t you wish you woke up to this view every morning? 😍🌎 ’ve been a bit quiet on instagram the last few weeks because I’m working on a course or exciting new projects coming within the next month of so! 😊 I’m super excited to share with you what I have coming. While the tangible has only become possible within the last few months, these ideas have been in my head for years. ☀️ Here’s another shot from the BEAUTIFUL mountains of Kauai, somewhere I hope to go back and visit very soon!🌊 Mahalo! (at Kauai)

[lifeoutsidefear]

I used to complain about the “locations” I had to work with growing up in a semi-rural town. 😂 It really discouraged me seeing these beautiful world-renowned places on Instagram and then having to shoot in my home town... 🌎 in fact, sometimes it even stopped me from shooting. I told myself that there was ‘no point’ in shooting. 🏔 But, I quickly realized that it wasn’t about the location around you, but rather it’s about what you as a creative can make of it. 🌊 So, here’s my attempt at making what I thought looked boring, into something magical. ✨ (at Rouge Valley)

[lifeoutsidefear]

Ever been discouraged from your goals from something doesn’t go your way? 🏔 I’ll be the first to admit that hurdles and red tape suck. They are annoying and get in the way! 🙈 But, what if we change our relationships with failure? What if, instead of a negative thing, we see these hurdles as a way of growing. 🌎 We can look at these mini failures and literally just smile at them, wave at them, as they pass by our heads and out the other side. 🌊 “The best way to treat obstacles is to use them as stepping-stones. Laugh at them, tread on them, and let them lead you to something better.” - Enid Blyton ✨ (at Polihale State Park)

[lifeoutsidefear]

I’ve never quite experienced a sunRISE like this before... 🌅 seeing the sand, sky, and water turn into this beautiful pallet of pastel tones was unimaginable. 🌎 This beach stretches for 15 miles, meaning that finding another human is quite rare! 🏔 If you’re in Kauai, check out the west shores. Less people, less “things”, more headspace. 🌺 (at Beach at Polihale State Park)

[lifeoutsidefear]

Today is my birthday 🎊 and the most beautiful thing about this day for me is that I have the privilege of sharing it with someone I love, surrounded by a place I’m falling in love with, and doing something that I have a love affection for, which is creating content and spreading positive energy. ☀️ Love is my baseline. Everything interaction, person, setting, or moment, I try love first. Why fill your head with preconceived notions of how things are, when you could fill it with love? It changes things. 🏔 Now, this doesn’t mean I have the highest expectations of everything. It means that no matter what my expectations are, my love is never any lower or higher.🌎 Why? Because look around and think about how many people love you, how the world loves you for giving you friends, family, food, shelter, and a brain. Look at how much there is to love in this world, and start reciprocating it. ✨While Kanye West may have some opinionated views on world issues at the moment, he said something recently that stuck with me. It was so simple, yet so striking. He said. “Let’s just try love.” 🌺 In the spirit of my current travels to Hawaii, Mahalo (thank you) for being a part of my life ❤️ (at Kauai)

[lifeoutsidefear]

Here’s my attempt at transitioning the feed into a ‘tropical’ one while still being at home 😂🌺 @wholeonlife and I are on route to Kauai, Hawaii and are going to make some of the best creative content that we’ve ever made, BUT we had to ease into it somehow... so here’s a shot of the lovely @_maddysmart taken in a basketball court behind my old highschool in Pickering, Ontario a couple days ago🏠👌 I’m looking so forward to sharing all this creative energy with you, and I hope you come along for the ride 🏔 I’m writing this while sitting in the Denver, Colorado airport finishing up 2000 photo edits from a wedding shoot ✊ This is the kind of lifestyle that I’m really vibing with right now ☀️🌈🌎 (at Kauai)

[lifeoutsidefear]

I often found myself trying to fix my weaknesses, instead of doubling down on my strengths. 🏔 This was a scary mindset because it meant I was spending too much time trying to make something work that I knew statistically wouldn’t. 🌎 I flipped the switch and focused on what does work, and doubling down on that. I believe that we, as humans, aren’t perfect at everything. Why should we be? That would be extremely boring if everyone became president and invented the lightbulb. ✨ Accept the fact that you have weaknesses so that you can put more mental power towards your strengths. “Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.” —Marilyn vos Savant (at Dundas, Ontario)

[lifeoutsidefear]

What’s your favourite random feature about someone? For me, it’s spontaneity. 🌎 Being around someone that has a wild idea, and acts on it in that moment. No hesitation or doubt. Just does it. 😌 Why do I care so much about this? Because to me, it defines what it means to have a “you only live once” or “time is short” mentality. I want to look back and be proud that I, and the people around me, said yes to things. ✊ Because there is nothing more upsetting then saying you had a chance, but passed it up because of fear, the unknown, doubt, etc. ✨ For example, last week we jumped in the car, hit the highway, and drove until we had an idea of where to go. 🙏 This 4ish kilometre hike to the top of Rock Dunder was incredibly gorgeous, secluded, and inspiring. 🌄 (at Rock Dunder)

[lifeoutsidefear]

When you conform to what society thinks is right or correct, no one will notice you out of the pack. 🏔 Just like you don’t ‘notice’ people who do the normal things in life. You notice the outcasts and the people who push the envelope, not the ones that keep it nicely tucked in. 🌎 Be someone who pushes the envelope, and be someone who notices it too. “Expect the unexpected, and whenever possible, be the unexpected.” - Lynda Berry ✨ Also, this was my first time at the aquarium and it BLEW MY MIND 😍 highly suggest it as a place to go and explore for a few hours when you’re in Toronto! 🌄 (at Ripley's Aquarium of Canada)

[lifeoutsidefear]

| Wards Island ; 06/02 | If you haven’t gone to the Toronto islands and explored around, you’ve got to! 🌎 But, look beyond be obvious cityscape backdrops and ferry rides. Look for the botanical fences that surround the homes on these islands, look for fields of well-kept greens in amongst a disc golf course, and look for the retro fire station buildings that add a throwback vibe to your surroundings. 🏔 Happy Thursday friends ✨ (at Toronto Islands)

[lifeoutsidefear]

One difficult thing that I had to come to terms with was the idea of loving every step of the process, no matter what high or lows came my way. 🌄 I used to only see my goals as an end result, not caring about the work in between. 🌎 But what I realized was that if I spent every day not caring about the process, just so I could eventually be happy, what fun is that? So, I decided to love the process as much (if not more) than the end goal, and it makes every single day, whether a struggle or a success, that much more enjoyable. ✨ “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.” - Mohandas Gandhi (at Toronto, Ontario)

[lifeoutsidefear]

Here’s a picture of me wiping absolutely nothing off my hands. This is about as close as we’re gonna get to #SelfieSunday but in reality, @kevintablizo pulled the trigger on this awesome shot. Thanks mate! Hope everyone had a super productive and happy weekend 🙏🏔 Here’s to another killer week ahead 🌎 (at Scarborough Bluffs)

[lifeoutsidefear]

I found that when I started to appreciated the journey and fall in love with the process of trying to get to where I want to go, the hard work doesn’t seem that hard at all. In fact, I look forward to it. ✨ When you hate what you do, you dread having to do it. When you love what you do, you get excited by the thought of going out and working hard. 🙏 Find something that makes you want to wake up and hustle every damn day 🌊. “I've done my best, and I begin to see what is meant by the "joy of the strife." Next to trying and winning the best thing is trying and failing.” - Lucy Maud Montgomery 🌎 (at Toronto, Ontario)

[lifeoutsidefear]

I used to look at my friends and distant family and ‘wish’ that I had what they had, thinking that in some way what they had made their life better than mine. 🌊 It was a toxic mindset to have growing up. What I realized was that every second I wasted thinking about what they had, I had one LESS second to build something for myself. If I spent my life being upset and jealous of others, when would I ever have time to become someone that others were jealous of? ✨ So, whenever you catch yourself looking at Instagram and saying “I wish I had that life”, just remember that those 5 seconds, 5 minutes, or 5 hours that you just spent doing that is now how much LESS time you have in your life to succeed. ❤️ If you want to be happy with yourself, be happy with what you have at any point in your life. 🌎 “Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” - Oprah Winfrey ☀️ (at Queen Street Warehouse)

[lifeoutsidefear]

Whenever I tell people that Iceland reminds me of Mars (because I’ve definitely been there), this is always the picture I show them 😂☄️ But on a serious note I’ve had a crazy urge to do more travelling recently. 🌊 To me, there’s nothing more satisfying than the feeling of breathing the air of a new place. It’s quite literally a breathtaking feeling. 🌎 Where are you planning to travel next? We are looking at places all over the globe but can’t possibly decide! Any suggestions would help a TON!😊 (at Krýsuvík)

[lifeoutsidefear]

Here’s a thought that I always bring up in conversation when talking about a tough life decision. How do you want your life to be remembered by? 🌊Do you want to look back and say that you deflected and turned away from every tough decision just because of the POSSIBLE consequences? Or do you want to look back and be proud of the fact that you took those leaps of faith? Personally, whether or not things work out, I want to have lived a life where I took every risk possible. This isn’t to be confused with being reckless. What I am talking about it not turning a cold shoulder just because of what you think might happen. Wouldn’t you rather focus your energy on thinking about all the positive things that might happen IF you take those risks? Happy Monday friends ✨ (at Toronto Islands)

[lifeoutsidefear]

I used to often shy away from decisions because I was afraid of making the wrong one. 🌊What I didn’t realize was two things. 1) if I wasn’t willing to practice making decisions, how was I ever going to get better at making them? And 2) maybe it’s not about making the absolute correct decision but more about making A decision that moves you forward in some way. ✨ When we don’t decide, we stay still. It’s with choice and action that life moves forward, and so long as we keep moving and keep on making decisions that we are able to grow and progress. 🌎 (at Toronto, Ontario)