Today we’d like to introduce you to Brieanna Lightfoot Smith.
Hi Brieanna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey begins with 8 words. “This is not the end of your story.”
That’s what my mom said while sitting on the edge of my bed.
I was fifteen – discouraged, distracted and disjointed. No one knew it at the time but I was struggling with a quiet desire not to keep going.
I didn’t have any close friends, I struggled to fit in and because of this life often felt overwhelming and honestly pointless. But my mom’s words felt like light at the end of a long tunnel. I repeated them to myself whenever the weight of the day pressed too hard and I wanted to give in to the lies that the best way to process my life was to end it.
“This is not the end of your story.”
A part of me longed to believe it and now at the age of 34 I can say that belief paid off in ways I couldn’t have imagined. People who started out as strangers becoming life long friends. Work that seemed pointless as a high schooler watered the seed of my love for writing. I’ve even been able to create the sort of community and sense of belonging I craved at 15 and if I could go back and speak to that girl who listened as her mom spoke to her from the edge of her bed, I would share one of my favorite Bible verses from Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has not been smooth or linear, but I no longer expect it to be.
It’s included detours I never would have chosen—opening and closing businesses, releasing relationships that no longer aligned, and miscarrying two babies. Each of those struggles held the potential to break me, yet they somehow became the places where God was quietly building me.
What I once labeled as loss has revealed itself as formation. Every detour carried a lesson. Every ending created room for something new to emerge.
Through it all, I’ve learned to offer myself and others more compassion. I’ve learned that strength doesn’t always look like striving—sometimes it looks like surrender. I’ve learned to move through life with more flexibility, trusting that when something is removed or passes away, God has a way of filling the spaces that pain tried to hollow out.
These experiences didn’t derail my destiny; they developed it.
They deepened my capacity.
They clarified my calling.
They shaped the framework and philosophy that now anchor my work.
My story isn’t one of uninterrupted success, it’s one of sustained grace. And what I’ve come to understand is that every detour can become direction when you let God lead, because He uses every turn, expected or not, to shape you for where you’re going.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
B. Light Media is a leadership development firm committed to helping high-achieving, purpose-driven women and teams build lives and work that don’t burn them out. We specialize in sustainable leadership, capacity management, and rhythmic planning through our proprietary R.E.S.T.™ Framework.
Across corporate, university, and nonprofit spaces, we’re committed to blending faith-rooted wisdom with research-backed strategy, making leadership more humane, holistic, and whole. Our work empowers individuals and organizations to create cultures where clarity, capacity, and calling can coexist.
What sets us apart is our philosophy: We don’t teach productivity for productivity’s sake. We teach alignment. We teach rhythm. We teach leaders how to build systems that honor both their purpose and their peace. Rest is not a reward for finishing the work—it is a prerequisite for being who you were created to be.
Our signature offerings include:
The R.E.S.T.™ Leadership Labs & Intensives for companies and universities
The Freedom & Flow Planner—a rhythm system designed to help leaders practice sustainable habits
The R.E.S.T.™ Residency for women exploring long-term transformation
Workshops, keynotes, and retreats centered on rest, identity, and sustainable leadership
Brand-wise, I’m most proud of the ecosystem we’re building: planners, assessments, workshops, creative curriculum, wellness experiences, and an expanding Residency that all point back to one truth – purpose and peace are powerful leadership strategies.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ve come to understand risk not as recklessness, but as obedience. For me, risk is often wrapped in the invitation to trust God beyond my current capacity, clarity, or comfort. It’s less about leaping blindly and more about aligning boldly—taking the next step even when I can’t see the entire path. I don’t consider myself a thrill-seeker, but I am someone who is committed to following the assignment.
One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was restructuring my entire approach to business and leadership. In the summer of 2024, I walked away from traditional productivity culture and the pace that had built my brand but was swiftly draining my peace. I stepped into a slower, more intentional rhythm, trusting that God would honor capacity the same way He honors calling.
This shift birthed my R.E.S.T.™ framework, my planners, my residency model, and ultimately an entire ecosystem of offerings that now define my work. But at the beginning, it was a risk: to pause, to pivot, and to rebuild something more aligned with who I was becoming.
Another major risk was expanding my work into corporate and university spaces when I had primarily been known for community-based programs. It required reframing my expertise, investing deeply in curriculum development, and trusting that the revelation God gave me could live beyond the spaces where I had originally nurtured it. That leap has opened doors I never imagined and affirmed that clarity always makes room for calling.
Every significant move I’ve made has required a measure of courage, yes—but more importantly, a measure of conviction. I don’t chase risk for the adrenaline of it. I embrace it when it becomes the most natural next step toward obedience, alignment, and sustainable impact.
Pricing:
- Freedom & Flow Planners 4-Month Edition: $59 12-Month Edition: $89 Corporate & bulk gifting rates available upon request
- Signature R.E.S.T.™ Leadership Sessions start at $3,500 Half-day and full-day intensives available for teams, universities, and nonprofit organizations
- Keynotes start at $2,500
- R.E.S.T.™ Residency (Annual Leadership Formation Cohort) Tuition begins at $5,000
- Corporate or Organizational Partnerships Multi-session packages and retainer partnerships are available for companies seeking long-term culture or capacity transformation initiatives
Contact Info:
- Website: http://brieannalightfootsmith.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brieanna-lightfoot-smith/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@blightfootsmith
