Lorena Bernal is a London-based life coach, entrepreneur, actress, and model. Her career has taken her across the world and evolved into supporting those both in and out of the public eye through a journey of self-discovery and personal transformation.
As a coach, Lorena combines practical techniques with spiritual practices to offer a new perspective for achieving growth and has extensively studied parenting, children, and adolescent therapies, as well as qualifying as a mindfulness practitioner.
She is also the founder of Live Love Better, a coaching and events platform dedicated to helping you live your best life. From mindfulness and meditation to communication and cultivating gratitude, their retreats, conferences and informal sessions take a deeper dive into the tools needed to heal, grow, and thrive as a person, parent, and partner. Additionally, she runs a school intervention programme that promotes purpose and prioritises the wellbeing of students and their families alongside educators.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your background, and your current role.
Ever since childhood, my interests have been twofold: psychology and human emotions, alongside a profound attraction to the entertainment industry, including modelling, acting, and hosting television shows. I embarked on my modelling career at the age of 7, delved into drama studies by 11, and by 17, my professional career had taken off in earnest within Spain, allowing me to embrace acting, modelling, and TV hosting at an elite level. My journey as an actress propelled me towards Hollywood, where I found significant success and fulfilment.
Concurrently, I pursued an academic interest in psychology alongside various therapeutic disciplines, science, healing, mental heath issues, emotional wellbeing etc., eventually becoming a certified life coach, spiritual coach, and mindfulness practitioner. I paused my career for a few years as I couldn’t balance it with becoming a mum of 3 children. But I never stopped studying and getting ready for when I could get back to the workplace. My life’s journey has been enriched by living and working across diverse cultures and countries, engaging with a multitude of people along the way.
Currently, I amalgamate all these rich experiences and knowledge, from my roles as an actress, model, host, certified coach, mother, and spouse of a high-profile individual, into founding Live Love Better. I aim to spread the profound insights I’ve garnered to as wide an audience as possible, all while continuing to cherish my passion for the arts.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
Regarding the planning of my career, the answer is no; I’ve never sat down with a plan. My approach has been more intuitive, led by feelings and an intrinsic trust in the process and the guidance of my inner voice. I’ve always believed that being drawn towards something with your heart is an indication of the right next step. I was never scared to fail so I’ve always taken the steps I was drawn to and embraced every single consequence from them. I have always been very open to opportunities and dreamt big, and life has always surprised me.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
Throughout my journey, I’ve encountered numerous challenges, yes. However, I prefer to view them not as obstacles but as opportunities for growth, lessons learned, and essential steps towards reaching the next level of my development. Perhaps the greatest challenge lies in learning to ignore the mind’s persistent chatter, opting instead to follow the heart’s guidance. Adapting to every change I’ve faced has been also a challenge since it’s not easy finding yourself when you are constantly changing scenarios. New countries, cities, languages, cultures, systems, friends, life dynamics etc.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
My most significant achievement to date has been doing what I love, enjoying every moment of it, and not being swayed by my doubts, the doubts of others, or societal judgments. This approach has allowed me to understand my complete identity and to pursue all my interests collectively, without sidelining any of my passions. I take it as an achievement because there were times in my life when I had no idea of how I would be able to combine being the mum I wanted to be, being there for my husband and family, and working on my passions as I wanted to.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
The major factor in my achieving success has been the pivotal learning to love more and think less, to act without fear and with complete trust. Recognising the transient nature of life, I understand the futility of leaving without having fully embraced the journey, chasing success without truly living and loving. When the underlying intention is to maximise life’s experiences, employing all your talents and passions, each step taken is from a place of authenticity, leading inevitably to the right outcomes. And that, for me is the biggest success one can have. Understanding life and living it to the fullest.
How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?
I view mentoring as an integral part of parenting, an aspect I deeply cherish and advocate for, assisting other parents to navigate their journey. Also, although I never had a formal mentor, I’ve learned immensely from the successes and failures of others. Life presents continuous learning opportunities, and we should focus more on teaching and learning from each other’s strengths. I have seen people thriving with mentors and I love it, although the downside is an intrinsic sense of loyalty I have seen that can be developed that sometimes keeps someone from moving on to the next mentor or learning phase.
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Equality, what would it be?
To accelerate gender equality, I would emphasise the shift from hatred, anger or resentment towards understanding and empathy in every element of the equation. Recognising that not everyone comes from the same background or adapts to changes similarly is crucial. Celebrating the distinct contributions of each gender, and leveraging our unique qualities, can foster a thriving society through equal opportunities and rights. I truly believe that humanity needs masculine and feminine energy, combined for the good of everyone. And this is only achieved if we embrace the unique qualities that differentiate us and we collaborate.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?
I would advise my younger self to trust in her intuition and heart, to listen to that inner voice of wisdom, and to be courageous in expressing her true thoughts and feelings, ensuring they stem from the heart and not from learned ideologies or societal trends. Embrace authenticity and vulnerability, as they allow others to connect with their true selves too. Nothing will fulfil you if you don’t want it from your heart and you share it with love.
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
My ongoing challenge is to immerse myself in all my passions, enjoying each while giving necessary attention to myself, my family, and my work. I aspire to elevate my career as an actress and an artist, and also as a coach and the impact of Live Love Better, aiming to guide others towards a deeper connection with their hearts and inner love. Since, as I said, I think it’s the key to people´s yearning for success.
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