Mindfulness Mode

Daniel Hess is a Writer/Filmmaker born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. After losing his best friend/cousin to Cystic Fibrosis when he was 10, Daniel began his first foray into writing and poetry. As he grew up and at the behest of his close friend in high school, Daniel pursued filmmaking in college. After graduating from Towson University in 2012, he fell into life quickly, but thanks to a few mentors could find a footing in corporate/event videography. While this became a place of steady income, it was something that kept creativity far out of reach. At age 28, after receiving word that he would soon need heart surgery, a new spark for letting a creative voice be heard emerged again. Over the course of the last three years, Daniel stepped away from the event videography space, committing his company, To Tony Productions, to only producing original short and feature film productions. In January 2021, Daniel self-published his first book, a collection of poetry entitled Just a Boy Blaming Himself. In January 2022, Daniel underwent successful open-heart surgery and on June 6th, 2022 will be releasing his first novel, Focus Puller. He is also currently producing several feature films as well.

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Contact Info

• Website: www.totonyproductions.com
• Book: Focus Puller by Daniel Hess
• Book: Just a Boy Blaming Himself by Daniel Hess

Most Influential Person

• Tony

Effect on Emotions

• I used to be more like things would push me to an angry place, way easier when I was younger but thinking through, stopping, and pausing has just made a world of difference with all of that. Especially when you think that life is short and obstacles happen.
• We just need to push forward and balance everything. So mindfulness has been just a huge help with that in my life.

Thoughts on Breathing

• Certainly, when I'm doing events where everything is very fast-paced, just taking that moment to step somewhere where it's a little calmer, and just taking a couple of deep breaths to balance everything makes such a world of difference for me.
• I'm able to say, this is a little overwhelming. But step by step, we can make it through, and just that little 30 seconds of pause helps me to just balance, center, and kind of keep moving forward with everything, no matter how challenging it can be.

Suggested Resources

• Book: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• Book: Focus Puller by Daniel Hess
• Book: Just a Boy Blaming Himself by Daniel Hess
• App: Crossword Puzzle 

Bullying Story

• I can remember in middle school and early high school, there was one kid in particular, who would always just say very nasty things and try to get under my skin.
• The thing for me was trying to understand why this person was acting the way they were. And inevitably, what resolved the issue was going to the school like a therapist person, that bully and me, just sitting down and talking.
• What ended up being realized was that the two of us weren't really all that different. It was just he had some insecurities or things that he was working through.
• And inevitably, we actually ended up not becoming super close friends. We were friends by the end of the time at that school.
• But I think the thing is that, just by engaging in conversation, because I think the attitude in school is like you got to stand up for yourself, and with violence. But I was always of the mindset that it was just like, I think it just needs to be a conversation.

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