Hey there! I’m David, but my friends (and for some reason my sister) call me Spinks 👋
I’m a coach who specializes in helping founders, execs, and community leaders navigate transition and find inner belonging. I also publish a newsletter for 7,000+ readers on the same topics.
I’ve spent most of my life focused on the topic of belonging. Finding it for myself. Helping others find it.
For the first 15 years of my career, I worked to solve this problem by building, and teaching others how to build, community. I cofounded CMX which connected over 20,000 community professionals via conferences, trainings, and online spaces. That business was eventually acquired. I also wrote The Business of Belonging, a book that has taught tens of thousands how to build community-centered businesses.
Then, after experiencing my “dark night of the soul” and traversing my abyss, I discovered that I’ll always struggle to find belonging with others if I have not found belonging with myself.
As long as I believed that I was “not enough”, I would forever seek others’ approval to fill that hole. I would people please, chase success and achievement, and sacrifice my health in order to feel like I am enough. Of course, it never worked. Enoughness can only be found within.
It was with the help of coaching, therapy, IFS, meditation, nature, breathwork, friends, family, and community that I discovered my innate enoughness. It’s an ongoing journey.
I have now dedicated my life to supporting others in navigating their transitions. I help them work with all that impedes them from finding belonging within, and living a more aligned, balanced, and joyful life. You can learn more about my coaching practice under Downshift here.
When I’m not working, I’m usually in the woods, meditating, reading, or being silly with my wife, parents, and two kids.
If you’d like to get in touch with me about coaching, or anything else, please drop me an email below!