The Quest for Purpose with L.T. Bourne

As with so many children in the world today, Leonardo Lightbourne (L.T. Bourne) grew up with an absent father. Watching from the window as his father drove away left L.T. feeling confused and heartbroken. As he grew, he became a people-pleaser, trying to win the favor of others so that they wouldn’t abandon him. This led to a lack of boundaries and some bad decisions.
 
Thankfully, L.T.’s best friend’s father served as a mentor and a positive influence in his life. Without his encouragement and guidance, L.T. is doubtful that he would be where he is today.
 
Upon completing university, he struggled to find employment...for months. He felt like a failure. During this low point of his life, L.T. began journaling, realized that he was suffering from parental abandonment issues, and he determined to work through them.
 
From there, his book, https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Mans-World-conquered/dp/1733116117/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=it%27s+not+a+man%27s+world&qid=1603991902&sr=8-2 ( It’s Not a Man’s World: How I conquered the Sins of My Father), was born.
 
L.T.’s journey is full of lessons about boundaries, surrender, forgiveness, and empowerment. His story is a message of hope, of embracing your life right where you are, and of taking responsibility for your own narrative, no matter how rocky your start may have been.
 
→ OUR STORY
 
Hey there, welcome to Season 3 of https://bellystory.com (Belly of the Beast Life Stories). I’m David All.
 
It’s another season of life here at the podcast. This third season is a very rare collection of stories by men who share the golden thread of growing up with an absent biological father and broke the pattern to be a good man. I’ll be sharing my own Belly story later this season. And let me tell you that a year ago, when we launched this show, I didn’t realize this was my Belly story.
 
Wisdom for our Soul -- Courage for your Journey. Extraordinary life stories illustrate the nature of personal transformation. A change that forced us down into the dark, gooey stage of life where we found our purpose and climbed up a new person.
 
Our podcast has a purpose — a mission to heal, inspire and shape lives with extraordinary life stories. Stand with us — Visit https://bellystory.com (BellyStory.com) to share your story, listen and subscribe, sign-up for episode updates and chip-in, and enable our mission.
 
→ EPISODE SUMMARY
 
Part I
- L.T. remembers the day his father left. He was just a child. There was an argument with his grandmother; his mother was crying; and then his father drove away as L.T. watched from the window.
- He knew his father was only 10 minutes away, yet he never came to visit.
- L.T. felt like he must have done something wrong. This led to him developing a people-pleasing personality.
- Watching family sitcoms on TV showed L.T. that he was missing something in his life, that something was lacking in his family structure.
- Father’s Day was especially difficult. Having to go to church and witness the celebration of happy father-child relationships was like pouring salt in a wound.
- His own birthday was difficult to celebrate too. He felt like his birth must have been a mistake. Why should he celebrate his parents’ mistake?
- Thankfully, L.T.’s best friend had an intact family, and his friend’s father became a mentor and father-figure to L.T.. He nurtured and encouraged L.T.. He even let him sit in on some lectures he gave his own son.
- After university, it would be months before L.T. would land a job. He felt like a failure.
 
Part II
- During that time of unemployment, L.T. started journaling. Through his writings, he recognized he had parental rejection issues he needed to work through. The book idea was born.
- Writing his story helped L.T. drop the people-pleasing. Telling his story “gave me back my power as a man.”
- Wisdom comes through pain. And telling our...