The Watchfire Helix: Embracing the Upward Spiral of Transformation
A framework for evolving your self, your leadership, and the organizations you shape
There are moments in life when the path forward becomes uncertain. Not because we’re lost, but because something inside has shifted. What once felt like success starts to feel like constraint. The map we’ve been using no longer matches the terrain we find ourselves in.
This experience isn’t uncommon. It’s not failure or burnout. It’s not a midlife crisis, although it may wear those clothes. More often, it’s a subtle invitation. A quiet call to reexamine what we’re doing and why. A signal that some part of us- some part of our business, our leadership, or our identity- is ready to grow beyond the shape it has outgrown.
In myth and literature, this is the beginning of the Hero’s Journey. The protagonist hears a call, crosses a threshold, and enters unfamiliar territory. The world they knew no longer holds them. They must descend, face trials, and emerge transformed. Joseph Campbell called this the Monomyth. It’s one of the most enduring and universal story structures we know.
Traditionally, the Hero’s Journey is drawn as a circle. A closed loop. Departure, initiation, return. But when you tilt the circle and look at it from the side, something shifts. The journey is no longer flat. It becomes a helix. An upward spiral. And that spiral doesn’t just bring us back to the beginning. It brings us back with perspective. With memory. With depth. To paraphrase T.S. Eliot, we can now know the place where we began for the first time.
This is the shape of real transformation. Not a straight line. Not a single loop. But a spiral of return, where each revolution brings us closer to the truth of who we are. Each time we circle back, we carry more awareness, more clarity, and more capacity to live in alignment with our True Self.
I created the Watchfire Helix to reflect this process. It’s a framework for personal and organizational transformation- not built around a final destination, but around the understanding that growth, meaning, and alignment are ongoing. It draws from the Hero’s Journey, the Enneagram, Integral Theory, and other principles I’ve picked up along the way from entrepreneurship, psychology, philosophy, and spiritual practice. And it’s organized around seven recurring Arcs that mirror the inner and outer shifts many of us pass through again and again as we evolve.
These Arcs are not linear. They’re not steps to check off. They are invitations. Patterns. Lenses for reflection and refinement. You might spend months in one Arc. Or move through several in a single season. The point is not to finish the Helix. It’s to live it. To spiral through it with greater presence and increasing self-knowledge- whether you’re evolving a life, a company, or a culture.
Orientation is where we begin. It’s the Arc of remembering what matters. In this phase, we reestablish connection with purpose, values, and vision. This could mean reconnecting with why we started the business in the first place, or realigning a leadership team that has lost its spark. When the air feels foggy or the mission unclear, this is the ground to return to. Tools like a vision statement, values inventory, and life or organizational dashboard help clarify what we’re really orienting toward. It’s not about chasing someone else’s definition of success. It’s about rediscovering the path that is truly ours.
Identity brings us inward. It’s the work of knowing ourselves and our systems more fully. Through tools like the Enneagram, narrative reframing, and shadow work, we begin to understand the patterns that shape our behaviors and our organizations. What stories have we been telling ourselves about who we are? What parts have we been avoiding? Identity work lays the foundation for clarity, honesty, and compassion- on both personal and collective levels.
Coherence is where internal clarity begins to shape the external. This is the Arc of alignment. We examine how our time, energy, culture, and roles reflect (or fail to reflect) what we truly value. Do our calendars match our convictions? Are our company rituals reinforcing what matters- or eroding it? Here we begin to close the gap between what we say and how we live. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s integrity. A growing sense that our actions, relationships, and structures are in harmony with our deeper truths.
Momentum gives shape to action. It’s easy to drift when there’s no structure, just as it’s easy to burn out when structure becomes rigid. This Arc is about rhythm. Using tools like the Watchfire Endeavors Productivity System, weekly reviews, and practice design, we create systems and cadences that support clarity without constriction. For leaders and teams alike, momentum becomes not a matter of hustle, but of intention and consistency- right action, sustained over time.
Resonance is where our expression meets the world. As we align more deeply within, our outer work and communication begin to reflect that inner truth. This Arc explores how our presence- personal, professional, or organizational- can radiate clarity. Is the story we’re telling the one we believe? Are our offerings and our culture expressing what we stand for? Resonance asks us to become coherent in our visibility, our brand, our relationships. The goal is not polish, but authenticity.
Ascent is often misunderstood. It’s not just about climbing. It’s about growing in scale and capacity while staying rooted. As we take on more responsibility, leadership, or visibility, there is always the risk of drift- of losing touch with what matters most. This Arc helps us design structures of growth that support wholeness. It includes boundary work, energy management, and rethinking our relationship to time, money, and power. True growth doesn’t require self-abandonment. It requires deep rootedness in order to reach new heights.
Evolution is the Arc of return. But this is not a return to the old way. It is a return with wisdom. Integration, reflection, and renewal become the focus. What did we learn? What needs to be released? What rhythms must be restored before the next spiral begins? This Arc includes personal and team-level rituals- seasonal reviews, legacy work, and intentional pauses. It is the exhale before the next inhale. The composting before the next bloom.
These seven Arcs are not fixed stages. They are living themes in the life of every person, every leader, every organization that dares to grow. They show up differently for each of us. But when we learn to recognize them, we begin to walk through life- and through our work- with more presence, more intention, and more grace.
If I had to summarize the promise of the Helix, it would be this: You are not meant to stay the same. Neither is your business, your culture, or your leadership. But you are meant to stay you. Every revolution of the spiral is a chance to become more yourself- individually and collectively.
I’ll be writing more about each Arc in the coming months. Not as lessons, but as shared explorations. I don’t have any answers for you. But I’ve walked this spiral enough times to know it’s worth following.
If you find yourself in transition- or if your organization is evolving faster than your current framework can hold- I hope this offers language for what you’re already sensing.
You’re not starting over. You’re spiraling upward.
And the fire, as always, is there to guide you home.