the lighthouse keeper's journey

i didn’t know it then, but i started building my lighthouse in 2012. i was lost. i had no mojo. i was chasing around from one thing to the next, never really finding my way. and then this quote (by anne lamott) inspired me…

“lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save, they just stand there shining.”

in that moment i knew that that was what i wanted.

to stand there shining.

since that moment i feel like i have been on a mission to build myself a lighthouse. i started by igniting my spark – figuring out what it means to shine and what actually lights me up.

i brought teaching back into my life. i brought creativity back into my life. i started sharing more of me. i stepped up my own authenticity (which has always been important to me) and my vulnerability. i started peeling away new layers of my purpose and my why.

and that certainly made a difference. but eventually i began to see that there was still more to being a lighthouse than simply being lit up from within.

i had to build the whole damn lighthouse.

every part of it is needed, every component matters.

over the past 2 years i have been exploring the rest of that story… the rest of the lighthouse.

i have ignited my light; even further, by peeling away new layers of my purpose, my why, my strengths & gifts & zone of genius, my BIG vision for myself.

i have beamed my light out like a beacon; writing and launching my book, raising my voice and pushing out into new zones of visibility, vulnerability, and authenticity.

i have worked on my tower; over and over, experimenting and exploring, seeking and tweeking, working on what is the best vehicle for bringing my work to the world.

i have strengthened my foundation; building up my sense of worthiness, my confidence, my belief in myself, my resilience, my mindset.

i have used my spiral staircase; spiralling with all of my stuff: my fears, my resistance, my blocks, my patterns, my stories… i have experimented with ways to shift my stuff and to keep on marching.

i have found my harbour; i have learnt from the darkness, i have surrendered to the storms, and i have found my way back to my lighthouse again and again.

i have discovered the sky; i have played with my spiritual practice, connecting to the source of my light, connecting to my intuition and guides and angels and universe.

this did not happen overnight… this has unfolded over a 5 year journey. and my lighthouse is not perfect… it is a work in progress. the work is never really done.

i know this.

and yet i still feel a sense of frustration.

of “when will it land?”

or, perhaps ironically, “when will it take off?”

i have heard the call. i have taken the leap. i have shown up and shined my light again and again.

and yet still…

my business is not where i would like it to be.

my profits are not where i would like them to be.

my impact is not where i would like it to be.

my belief in myself and my work and my worth is not where i would like it to be.

my ability to smash through my upper limits and clear away the fog is not where i would like it to be.

my ability to rise up, and keep rising up, shining brighter and brighter for all of the boats at sea that need this message and the strategies and the healing and the community and the inspiration… well it is just not where i would like it to be.

and so today, i commit to taking this work on my lighthouse to a new level.

and so today, i am here to not just build my lighthouse…

but to embody it.

to BE the lighthouse.

to BE the highest, brightest version of myself.

to be “super soul 100” me – the me that is an “awakened leader, using my voice to elevate humanity” – helping people to be who they were born to be, and shining their light in the world in any way they choose.

to be “ted talk” me – the me that has an idea worth spreading, and is indeed spreading it far and wide

to be “top entrepreneur to watch” me – the me that runs a successful (financially and impactfully) business

to be lighthouse me.

it’s my time and i am ready…

i am ready to embody everything that i have been waiting for all this time… to rise up and reach great heights and act as if i was already lighthouse me.

i am ready to align all aspects of my biz & life & soul – to bring my financial success in alignment with the success of my mission and my message, my soul’s purpose and gifts, my service to others.

i am ready to anchor into deep, unequivocal knowing – to experience it in my heart, body, and soul – that it is landing, that that the light has come

i am ready to surrender my doubt, fear, and disbelief… my efforting and controlling and attachment to outcomes… and instead just show up and shine.

i know that there is a plan for me which is far greater than my own. i know that i am a servant of something much bigger than me… that i am here to simply contribute to a much bigger revolution… and so i’ve got to get out of my own way.

we’ve got work to do!

in 2016, after publishing my book, i got the tattoo shown in the photo, to remind me of my purpose. and rather than get an image of a lighthouse, i got the compass to remind me that the journey is never over, that every day i need to wake up and do the work.

this will be the theme of this blog for the year… real, raw stories about doing the work.

like you, i don’t have it all figured out. i am not where i want to be. but i am ready to take the journey… to keep showing up, keep rising up, keep lighting up.

that’s what self-leadership is all about. that’s what the lighthouse revolution is all about.

i am here to share my journey… the lighthouse keeper’s journey… in the hopes that something i share will inspire yours. thank you for being here, thank you for reading, thank you for shining your light in the world.

#bethelighthous

karen gunton3 Comments