People speak out
Ex-members, current members, their friends and families, speaking anonymously, in their own words.
All posts were originally posted anonymously on Reddit unless otherwise stated.
How The Lighthouse International Group Traps You
via Anonymous_Hare_1304 on Reddit, 24 July 2021
"This is a summary of the journey The Lighthouse International group take you through and how they rope you in.
At first you will get introduced to Lighthouse by either another member, or through social media such as meetup or LinkedIn. It will either be a "business network" convention or a small meetup regarding growth and development.
As an impressionable person, you might become inspired by their words and demeanor. It feels like they are there to genuinely help others.
Now you are inspired and you want to learn more and get involved. Maybe you will go through their business network program or their growth and development sessions...
The business program is around £150 with £50 personal mentorship each week. They say that this will help you become an entrepreneur, ready to start any business you wish. Or maybe you will attend one of their 'Living the Power of Now' classes which costs £10 per session. This is all dependent on which year you start. All lead to the same road anyway ...
The business program doesn't have much substance to it, just a lot of flowery sessions about your own personal growth. It is all designed for you to want more so you keep on getting mentorship and pay £50 for each session. Maybe you can afford it or maybe you can't... If you can't you are told to make sure this is your biggest life commitment. So no matter what each week you WILL find the money for it.
Initially it's making a massive difference. You are gaining a lot and can see the changes. You feel that these guys must be genuine and caring. They build you up.
Then comes the first big program. DARE TO DREAM you have to pay in the region of £250 for this weekend course. Also you get involved with something called SUCCESS FAMILIES. You have to pay £25 a week for this. The costs are slowly adding up ...
Dare to Dream is designed to unlock your mind and release your potential. After the session you are on a high and feel you can conquer anything.
Success Families is designed to help you create close relationships with people in different fields so you can build something special together.
Both sound amazing but the reality is totally different...
You are on this massive high and believe you can achieve greatness, what is next ? Well... You are told by your mentor that this isn't enough. That you won't make it. It's just a dream. But to make it a reality you need to step up your growth and development even more. You need to immerse yourself into it.
This is where they introduce LIFE QUEST. A year long program where by the end of it you truly become the best person you can be and build the exact life you want. You must pay £5k for this. You do everything possible to get the money. Once you pay you are in. You are told you will be involved in many different projects.
There are no contracts. Nothing is written about what is expected. Nothing in writing whatsoever. No cancellation policy. No HR department. You just gotta trust them. Now because the relationship between the mentor and mentee is so strong, the trust is there and every word is the gospel.
The mentor asks the mentee to write a journal without fail each day and send it to the mentor. If you miss a day you will be scolded. You share a lot of personal things. Some things you maybe haven't shared to anyone before. And the mentor has all of this in writing.
You have to wake up each morning early around 5 or 6 and attend a group call. On this call you meditate and discuss your feelings.
Each week is an hour and a half session on a weekday evening. Also an evening Success Family session on another weekday. And you add in another hour mentoring session at some point in the week too. Add in the daily calls. It all starts to pile up.
During Life Quest sessions you go deep into self development. You immerse yourself in books such as the Road Less Travelled, Life Quest and the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. You have to work through these books daily. You also become involved in projects, one of them is finding other 'success family members'. You work tirelessly for this.
Sometimes you meet at 5am and finish the day at 10pm.
Sessions with your mentor become more Intense. The mentor will tell you that you need to focus on yourself more. They become more "loving" which actually really means that they now have the freedom to say anything they wish to you. They scrutinise every aspect of your life and question it all. They may even bully you and explain it's all love. Down the line they even suggest you take on 2 mentoring sessions a week. So £100 a week!
Sooner or later you start becoming a different person. The way you speak and act becomes alien to others. But you feel that you are the one who is above all and others around are the weak ones. Maybe you start judging them because they are not growing like you. The mentor starts to mention that maybe these people are toxic. Maybe your family and friends are holding you back.
You slowly start to lose contact with loved ones. Your new family is the Lighthouse community now. They are the ones who are growing with you. Not anyone else.
Projects come and go... they don't really materialise. You may have asked some friends and family to pay to help start some projects but they get cancelled and the money is nowhere to be seen.
A year goes by and really not much progression. You are where you were a year ago. Maybe even worse.
So Life Quest goes on.. more projects happen. The group grows more. More members come in. More programs are introduced. Living the power of Now is growing. More people attend these sessions.
Now it's time to really really step things up. You are told that you should be an 'Associate Partner'. This is where you really become a true leader and also earn money through mentorship. You are also at the forefront of all projects. To join it's £25k. You get this by any means necessary. Get a loan. Borrow from family. Whatever you do you make sure you get it.
You get into debt. To deal with this you may end up living with other members. Where does the 25k go? Straight into the pocket of Paul Waugh! By the way, the mentorship doesn't stop. So you have to pay for this. You probably need to pay for even more sessions as you are told you aren't quite there yet.
A handful now join. Their lives become all engrossed. 100x everything ! Just a couple of hours sleep and all day it's full of intense work. Full time! There is no time for a job so the financial problems mount. You may resort to constantly asking family for money.
Some people crack. Some are treated like dirt. The bullying of some individuals Intensifies. It's during this time where people become very close to the founder Paul Waugh. He's talked about all this time as this mythical figure. Someone is so consciously aware! The pinnacle. He has multiple businesses. He has earned billions. He has inspired many. There's no information about him online... What are these businesses ???
You are told to trust him and not question. If you question this means there is an issue with yourself.
Some people exit never to be seen again..
Some disappear totally! Social media account deleted, number deleted, whereabouts unknown! What has made these people disappear? No one knows...
More projects are happening now. One major one is Lighthouse Kids designed to help kids become leaders.
The aim is to help 1 million kids in a year. It's not fully discussed as to how we do this. But just go with it.... We have to get people to come into this project and donate £75 to help a child. Members get family or friends to donate. A lot of noise is made around this project.
And then all of a sudden the project is dropped. The reason why? Don't ask... It's because YOU are not conscious enough to make this a reality. Because YOU are not taking initiative.
Also what has happened to the money that was collected??? Don't ask. No one is refunded back the money.
Other projects like this come and go. The Lighthouse Self Leadership Project - where you try and train people to be mentors. Comes and goes.
Benefit of Hindsight. A program where you get people to share what they would have done differently about their lives... Supposed to be the next big thing in social media. Comes and goes...
Legends Report. A subscription service where you read articles about people who are legends of the past and present so you can be one too. Comes and goes...
Certain individuals suffer serious mental health issues. Some are as young as 19. One such person was publicly attacked verbally in one of the meetings and they broke down. This person left shortly after 6 months and later we hear they are suffering from anxiety. It's not because of how they were treated... It's because they left (this is what we are told).
Others leave too and we are told it's because they are not consciously aware. Some try to go public but Paul does everything in his power to ensure it doesn't happen. He's shown as the victim and not the ex members.
The group grows and grows. More people join. More people become Associate Partners. Some may make money but it all has to be spent again for the next big thing.
A never ending cycle.
These mentors have a counselor like relationship but none of them are qualified. So many lives become damaged through it. Some even have intimate relationships which don't last because of how toxic things get. After a while you truly become a robot. That spiritual gut feeling is wiped out. You are no longer recognisable.
I hope this information is sufficient enough for people to turn away. Be careful! The group I think now is called Oracle or something ? Whatever the name, it's the same thing. Once you hear the name Paul Waugh, please think twice. Do your due diligence. If something sounds too good to be true it normally is. If a company is not properly regulated then there are serious red flags.
I also hope the people who are fully involved wake up and see the truth. For the sake of their lives and their families lives. It's never too late. Do not fear any reaction or humiliation.
You can live a very fulfilling life without all of this. Bettering yourself is a great thing but do not over-engross yourself. Have a balance. The best thing to do is to always try to exercise the freedom of who you are. Own your own self. Try your best to listen to the gut feeling."
Lighthouse International Group - are they really going to make a difference in your life?
via CreativeWrap919 on Reddit, 24 July 2021
"Initially this group of people headed up by Paul Waugh can make you feel like they will help you to make a difference. However when you have a life challenge they can use this to manipulate or step up support to get more ingrained in your life. You will feel like they are supportive, you have a guide in life, you are part of a group of like hearted people and can make a difference to the world. The reality is they might offer you the chance to invest money in what seems like a great opportunity.
In my experience there will be no paperwork and there will be no return on your money. All financial transactions should have receipts and paperwork. Ask for that, at the very least, so it’s a transparent transaction if you choose to Invest. But take your time, think twice it is unlikely you’ll get a return and will be asked to invest more.
There are other ways to achieve your goals it doesn’t have to be through them. Any choice can be turned to the better. See what other options you have before committing what could be thousands of pounds.
Take heart those who read this and have already invested a lot of time and money to them. You may face strong voices if you question them or choose to ask about where your time money and effort are going. You can stand up to them.
They are NOT so powerful, whatever they say, YOU ARE! It could feel overwhelming but there is loads of help out there to help you manage yourself away.
I understand, I’ve been where you are. But now I’m in a much more healthier place , with a balanced life , where I am achieving great things and making more of a difference than when spending time, money and effort on a lot of discussion, talk and no real action.
Ask yourself that question , what is the real difference to your life they are making long term? Do you have time to spend with others outside of LIG relationships? Can you really connect with the world if all you do each day is connect with them? What have you sacrificed? Do you believe what you now achieve is worth that?Are you achieving the financial success they promised?
Please, I urge you to think before you make any decisions about who you choose to help you make a difference in your life."