Life & Work with David Bernstein

Today we’re excited to be connecting with David Bernstein again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

David , always such a pleasure connecting with you and thank you for sharing your stories, insights and inspiring messages with our community. We’re looking forward to getting the download and what you have been up to since our last interview, but first can you briefly introduce yourself to folks who might have missed the prior conversation.
My name is David Bernstein and I am a founder, teacher, consultant and retreat facilitator.. My businesses span the leadership, wellness and corporate culture spaces. Although they are unique, all of my businesses shares a common thread – connection. Each of my companies was launched as an iterative process, each venture was built upon the next, and each business concept is part of the natural evolution of my creative contributions to the world. All of my ventures are mission driven and share a common value – the power of transformative experiences, in all of their forms and formats.

Business #1 – Life Force Project was my first entrepreneurial pursuit and a product of my experience in a corporate finance environment. On the heels of divorce and the 2008 Financial Crisis, I left my cushy office job on a pilgrimage into my inner and outer world. I lived abroad, learned alongside yogis, shamans, and surfers. I spent moonlit nights alone on desert beaches and forged auspicious collaborations and connections in the most bizarre yet seemingly familiar contexts. After 4 years of world travel and exploration I was inspired and felt the call to share my life experiences and lessons. Shortly there after Life Force Project was born. LFP is a wellness travel business that curates experiences conducive to change. We have grown from a small and scrappy retreat company to a diversified wellness platform that offers our own calendar of retreats worldwide, builds corporate wellness platforms, and operates a number of wellness models for hospitality and travel partners including Exclusive Resorts, UnCruise, University of Denver, Centura Health, The Lakehouse Denver, and more.

Business #2 – Song Bird Sanctuary a new real estate and hospitality development in Lyons, CO outside Boulder is the natural progression of over two decades of real estate investment, retreat facilitation, hospitality and travel. After 10 yrs of world travel with Life Force Project, my life partner and I decided to create a place where our friends, colleagues and a cohort of rescue animals could rest, be nourished, and experience the wholeness of their being without judgement and trepidation. Song Bird Sanctuary was founded in 2022 and is a stunning retreat space set in the foothills of Colorado’s front range. Alongside my co-founder and life partner Ann-Clarke, we offer a blend of business, natural beauty, and rare conversations and experiences for our guests. Which brings me to my most recent venture..

Business #3 -Business Reimagined is a corporate culture and leadership consulting platform. Our mission is to create a culture of connection through exceptional experiences and rare conversations. We serve enterprises who seek to thrive in uncertainty. We unlock organizational resilience through practices and technologies designed to harness a cohesive culture at the nexus of purpose and profit, impact and imagination. Business Reimagined believes that leaders and their teams thrive in environments that are conducive to change and connection.
We host customized offsites and retreat experiences in the most inspiring settings, including our very own Song Bird Sanctuary.

Awesome, so we reached out because we wanted to hear all about what you have been up to since we last connected.
My mantra right now is “Alchemizing Uncertainty”. I say right now but in actuality this challenge, to overcome adversity and uncertain circumstances, has always been an edge for me. Life was pretty rocky when I was just a teenager, and it didn’t really slow down through my 20’s and 30’s either. Uncertainty was always there for me. My mantra is reflective of how I have been relating to this edge recently, which is to say that I have become much more familiar with and open to it. In the past, in times of uncertainty, I would have either powered through or found a way to rise above. From where I stand today, I am realizing that neither approach is ideal. As I mature in my relationships to my parter, my work, and my self, I am beginning to hold the discomfort of uncertainty, to stay close this discomfort, and to ask the questions that can help me move WITH it – not through it or above it, like I had in the past.

As a result of this internal work – I have been able to cultivate a powerful framework that I will be applying to my retreats, consulting work and events that we host at Song Bird Sanctuary. Time seems to be flowing at just the right tempo as my gifts become more refined and my latest ventures come to life.

We also want to give folks a chance to get to know you a bit better so we’ve prepared a fun lightning round of questions. Ready?

• Favorite Book: David Whyte – Consolations
• Favorite Band or Artist: Bob Marley
• Sweet or Savory: Savory
• Mountains or Beach: Mountains
• Favorite Sport (to watch): NFL Football
• Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): basketball and baseball
• As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: honestly I dont think I new.. but I loved starting up groups and clubs
• French Fries or Onion Rings: french fries
• Chuck Rhodes or Bobby Axelrod: neither
• Favorite Breakfast Food: coffee 🙂

Was there a moment in your career that you can tell us about that illustrates or demonstrates the kind of person you are, your approach, ethos, etc.
I would say that my entire career – in all of its iterations and deviations has been a demonstration of the kind of person I am at my core. When I worked in finance – amidst the number crunchers and deal makers, I always felt most comfortable and confident with people, in the realm of connection and collaboration. Money which drove a lot of decision making and orientation, was not a driver that motivated me.

As a first time business owner and entrepreneur over a decade ago, the same dynamic was true. I loved working in wellness and traveling. I was in a market that was growing fast and had the opportunity to make a lot of money at scale, but I was always gravitated to people and the connection that we created together. This was the case for my team, my clients, and my community,

As my sights now shift to a new set of business opportunities and a role as a teacher at CU Boulder Leeds School of Business, the same applies. Our values at Song Bird Sanctuary and Business Reimagined are based in impact and connection – not money and quantitive growth.

Image Credits
Trevor Traynor
Dana Nichols