Who I am

Hello, my name is Keith Gilmore.

I care deeply about the work that I do, and I stand behind it with my entire being. It brings me joy to be in service in this way.

I’ve been coaching professionally since 2014 and have served hundreds of people over that time.

In my professional life, I’ve co-founded two successful businesses. Plus I serve as the president of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to benefit the Portland community.

I’m a public speaker who has appeared on various stages at large-scale conferences. And I’m a writer who is currently working on a book of essays. I also write a Substack publication called Culture & Psyche.

I’ve previously worked as a college instructor. For over two years, I volunteered weekly on the national suicide crisis line counseling people in their hour of greatest need.

I’ve worked with everyone from founders and executives, to military veterans and medical practitioners, to changemakers and visionaries, to teenagers and young adults, to couples and families.

In my personal life, I am a curious seeker who values uncompromising honesty and the exploration of varying perspectives in opposition to dogmatic thinking.

Some activities I love are playing chess, training muay thai, riding my bike, studying Jungian psychology, reading, writing, weightlifting, and dancing.

A few years ago, I participated in a rite of passage ceremony known as Vision Quest, where I spent three days of ritual observance alone in the mountains of Utah while fasting from food and water.

I’m a lover of life with a warm presence and a positive attitude. I am consistently seeking greater alignment within myself and take my own psycho-spiritual self work seriously.

How I can help you

I don't favor the term ‘life coach,’ though I utilize it in my web presence so that people can find their way to me. In my heart, I view myself more as an advisor.

To my mind, an advisor is someone who provides sage counsel to help provoke wise decisions. Kings and queens, cultural and religious leaders, and life practitioners of all manner have utilized advisors since the dawn of culture.

It is the stance of the humble and confident pursuer of excellence that recognizes the profound value of a well-seasoned, practiced and honest advisor. This is someone who has your back unequivocally, who sees what you are capable of, and who wants the best for you.

This is my role. I’m here to provide accountability when you feel stuck, support when you feel alone, focus when you feel scattered, direction when you feel lost, encouragement when you feel depleted, and help in all situations

If you are anxious about the future, I can help you find stability in the present. If you are suffering from a lack of meaning, I can help you connect with a deep sense of purpose. If you are struggling in your relationship, or at work, I can help you find the clarity and strength to communicate what it is you need.

I am here to help provide motivation, accountability, perspective, honest feedback, and absolute support for you as you work to bring yourself into alignment and live the life your heart desires.

My promise to you is that I will always do my best to bring about the results you’re looking for. And I will not lie to you; I will always give you my honest take as I see it.

What I won’t do

I am not here to tell you what to think or how to think. I'm not here to supplant your own inner wisdom that is there to guide you to your most fruitful decision-making.

I'm here as a helper, a confidant, a counselor, and a guide. The guidance in question being that which brings you home to yourself. That means you are the arbiter of your decision-making, wielding your sovereignty as you see fit.

I don’t know what’s best for you. That can only be known and discovered by you. However, I do know that you know what’s best for you, even if it is buried under layers of uncertainty or confusion. My job is to help you discover clarity in your vision and trust in yourself.

I won’t, and can’t, do the work for you. Nor would you want me to. The process of transformation requires sustained effort. The satisfaction of bringing your vision into reality through your own hard work is one of life’s peak experiences, and I would never want to rob you of that.

My philosophy

I'm driven by the understanding that your own sovereignty is unimpeachable, inviolable, and absolute, and by the knowing that acting truthfully from a place of love will always bring about the best outcome for all parties involved.

To claim your sovereignty is to understand the truth that no other person or entity has the authority to take your power of choice-making away. This is the power to direct your own consciousness and body as you see fit, and choose who may or may not have access to them, and to what degree.

Sovereignty is claimed through taking responsibility for everything that is yours to carry, while releasing responsibility for what is not yours. The strength to carry this responsibility is found through integration, which is the process of coming into integrity. When we are in integrity, we are robust, we are sturdy, and therefore we can hold the weight that we are tasked with.

Think of the children's game Jenga, which portrays a physical instantiation of the symbol of integrity. When all of the pieces are in alignment at the beginning of the game, the structure as such is at its most sturdy. Perhaps the pulling of one block is not enough to destabilize the entire structure, but watch as the blocks get pulled and the alignment of the structure weakens in turn. No matter what, as one continues to weaken the alignment, eventually the integrity collapses, and it's game over.

We do not want to arrive at ‘game over’ before our rightful time.

To lose one's life via habituated patterns, scrolling, addictive drugs, gambling, sex, pornography, and all manner of seeking after temporary distraction is to give up one's life before it is time.

This is what Carl Jung referred to as ‘the provisional life,’ where the heart beats and the brain pulses, but through which very little liveliness is communicated, felt, or experienced.

This is no way to live a life.

The pathway of a well-lived life is through integration—getting yourself into alignment. And through individuation—becoming who you are. This is what we're tasked with as human beings.

No one else can do it for you; not me, not the influencers you follow, not your parents, your pastor, your partner, or your therapist. That task is squarely on your shoulders, and the weight of that responsibility is heavy.

Mere existence is a challenge. Even just upkeeping basic hygiene, cleaning one's home, preparing 3 meals, and getting some exercise can feel like a full-time job. Now add an actual full-time job on top of that, plus a partner or a pet or kids. Even the effort of answering the day’s text messages can sometimes feel like a Sisyphean task.

But I know you are capable. Capable to carry the weight of waking every morning, carrying all that you have to hold together while keeping your vision clear and your balance true. It is possible. But we are not meant to do it alone.

Having a structure of support is a prerequisite for flourishing. Some people will find this in family, or in community, some will find it with a therapist, some with a coach. Some will find a support structure through a combination of all of these. Many, however, have no support structure at all.

Whether you find that structure of support through working with me or any number of other excellent places, please know that it is a crucial component of a well-lived life.

There is a story from Aesop: When Zeus tasked Prometheus with showing humanity the two ways, one of slavery, and one of freedom, Prometheus created a path that began with gentle terrain and friendly weather, but which eventually became an impassable chasm, with steep rock formations on all sides. That became the path of slavery.

Prometheus then created the path of freedom, which began with high rock walls and difficult brambled terrain, but which opened to lush pastures and orchards of sweet and nutritive fruit. This became the path of freedom.

This is the secret. The path of life was never meant to be undertaken alone. Its design precludes it; the walls are too high, the pits are too deep. We need a boost up and a hand lent to scale the barriers to passage. In tandem, in support of one another, we are more powerful, capable, and competent that any of us is alone.

This is why I do the work that I do. I will lend a hand where I can. We can help one another be free.

For a more thorough exploration of many of the roots of my philosophy, you can view my recommended reading list here.

My methodology

I teach what I’ve learned through rigorous study, years of professional practice, and gleanings from my own personal journey. I offer this humbly as a curious seeker who stands on the shoulders of smarter and wiser giants.

I carry a set of techniques, approaches, and modalities that come from my years of experience and training. However, I don't have any ideology behind me or my practice. My approach is non-dogmatic. I believe truth is a pathless land.

I do not, and would never, offer a one-size-fits-all prescription to self-actualization. However, I’ve been able to discern general principles and guidelines that, when applied, tend to be useful for everyone.

The process called individuation asks us to examine the nature and qualities of the deep self (what Carl Jung called the ‘Self,’ with a capital S), and the nature and qualities of the small self or ego self.

As there exists a yin and yang between the two selves, each serves an equally important function. The deep self guides the process of individuation, and the ego self allows us to navigate external reality. The task is to harmonize these two selves by bringing consciousness to the unconscious processes happening in your psyche.

Another helpful framing is to conceptualize the duality of the heart and the mind. The heart is the locus of knowing and feeling, while the mind is the locus of believing, cognizing, and analyzing.

It has been said that the mind is a good teacher but a poor student, and that the longest journey in life is moving from the mind to the heart. The heart, like the Self, is the center of wholeness. If we can operate from this center, we will be centered. If we can hold the unity of this wholeness, we will feel whole. If we can allow ourselves to trust that our heart knows what is best for us, we will be able to make wise decisions easily, without doubting ourselves or overthinking.

We do not need to get caught up with the words or even the concepts I’m using here; they are symbols pointing to something that exists on the level at which words fail. These processes of individuation and integration result in us being able to trust ourselves, make wise decisions, contribute massively, define our own success, and live a fulfilling life of meaning.

My own personal journey showed me the power of taking these processes seriously. As over time I became more and more in touch with my deep self and my heart, the texture of my life transformed for the better. And it continues to become better as time goes on.

The more I addressed my unthinking patterns, forgave myself and others, practiced loving my fate, claimed my sovereignty with discipline and determination, the ways I was limiting myself dissolved, and the more it became obvious what decision to make in any given moment that will best serve me and the world.

Now I no longer question myself. In fact, I trust myself completely. Of course, I have fears and doubts arrive, and sometimes they wield me for a time, but the frequency and duration of that time perpetually shrinks as I continue to get myself into alignment.

This work is no magic trick. It is real work requiring of effort. The process is actually simple (which is not to say that it is easy, because you know as well as I do that it isn't). But it is effective; simply put, if you do the work, it works.

I am here to help you do that work—the most important work you can be doing in your life.

If you believe that life has more to offer you, know that there is a way within reach. If you could you benefit from a guide and advisor in that process, I invite you to get in touch with me to learn how I can help.

And whether that guidance and advisement comes from me or not, there is someone out there in the world who can serve that role for you.

If you feel resonance with what I'm saying and how I'm saying it, I invite you to reach out to me. I've helped assist hundreds of individuals over my career, and I say with humility that I am great at what I do.

If you've arrived this far and feel like I'm not speaking your language, I invite you to reach out nonetheless. And if you do, I'll gladly and freely refer you to a trusted person from my network.

Let’s do good work. I hope to talk with you soon.
–Keith

The truth is

You do know what you need.
You are capable of actualizing it.
You are already on the path.
I am here to help.