The Lighthouse Effect: How Ordinary People Can Have an Extraordinary Impact in the World

Your own setbacks aren’t what they first appear to be; rather than viewing them as failures, view them as learning opportunities that are the building blocks for future preparation.

That’s what accountability really is—fulfilling a promise to ourselves.

A different vantage point gives us new information, and with that information we can begin to change our approach.

The lighthouse does not qualify your distress; it does not ask if you are black or white, wealthy or less so, Democrat or Republican. It does not concern itself with where you stand on a particular issue. Nor does it blame you for being in the middle of the storm. Rather, its priority is how it might guide you toward safe harbor.

When a human lighthouse sees you in the midst of your storm, it points you toward safety and protection. In doing so, it also sends you and uncompromising message of belief: Yes, the situation is difficult, but you are not alone. I’m standing right here with you, and I know the way home.

The most difficult examinations are the ones that require us to take a hard look at ourselves and confront the things we don’t like.

Having uncompromising belief also means safeguarding your own spirit, defining who and what you want in your life.

When we know what we are trying to achieve, we are less likely to be swayed by uninformed opinions and more inclined to make principled and ethical decisions.

Courage is not only about finding bravery for ourselves. It is also about helping others find theirs.

Pivoting does not mean changing your goal but rather changing your strategy to realize that goal.

Each day offers you an opportunity to overcome obstacles and fears in your life. Those victories, however small they appear, are significant and don’t need to be measured against or compared with those of someone else. They stand on their own as important measures of your own personal capabilities.

Purposeful planning is most effective when you are actively seeking and getting feedback from those whose judgement you trust and respect.

Stopping in and of itself is not enough, and if that is all you focus on, then you run the risk of becoming overly self-critical and inadequate. What do you want to start doing?

Whenever we take a stand, we invite others who are siting on the sidelines to join us.

When someone we know is afraid of judgment, we can provide a safe haven for their hopes by telling them first and foremost that we are proud of their efforts.

Uncompromising belief is not only about pushing back against something we disapprove of. It also requires us to stand for something, whether that be a principle, a cause, or another human being.

But it is when the storm rages that we fully understand the courage the lighthouse represents. When the sea becomes a tempestuous beast, the lighthouse transforms to an urgent beacon signaling the way toward shelter, courageously defying the elements.

In illuminating the pathway to safety, the lighthouse offers us a chance to move beyond the fears and uncertainty of the storm and toward the peace and calm of safe harbor. So it is with the people who most impact our lives. For while lighthouses of the sea have stood watch for millennia, the most powerful and enduring lighthouses are the human ones.