When you just need someone to talk to

I had just landed in Denver, and things were unraveling.? Every bucket that represents the sum total of my life felt full and flourishing: home, family, work, relationships...all things seemed to be going great.?

?I was shocked that one messy text exchange tipped the scale.

?I read it all again, sat back, and thought, “Am I reading this wrong? What’s happening here? Why am I getting so upset?”? I could feel my heart-rate going up, my breathing was erratic, all other areas of my life that felt on-point didn’t matter; anxiety, frustration, and uncertainty crept into my soul like smoke fills a room, and I found myself wandering through the airport, playing old soundtracks and phantom arguments in my head.?

?I needed to talk to someone.? I needed to unpack.

Once I got my rental car and paired my phone, I thought, “Who can I call?”? I needed someone who could hear my thought process. I needed someone to listen to me, someone who could simply empathize.?

? ·? I called home...no one picked up.

·? I texted my best friend, “You there?” ...nothing.

·? I called a friend in Denver – while it was ringing he texted me, “Hey, I’m out to dinner with my wife. Can I call you tomorrow?”

·? I called my mentor who actually picked up, and after a quick exchange said, “Let's unpack this tomorrow. I’ve got to run to a meeting.”

There were a few more attempts that I came up empty-handed.? As I drove through the night, I thought “I’ve got to unpack this,? there’s nobody.”

?Sounds crazy, but tears were welling up. I could feel my body trying to absorb what my brain was trying to figure out.? I could sense that my soul (my mind, my will and my emotions) needed something that wasn’t available for me at that moment.? Someone to share the weight, someone to journey with me...a Guide.

The irony is, I had been working with some friends to build a company that addresses that very issue.?

?

A company that provides a Guide in today's workforce, an advocate, someone who is present and knows how to listen, and process life’s inevitable, unknown and unique work/life circumstances.?

I needed the very thing I was building.

Sometimes you need to experience a unique pain point to actually connect to what's happening in the marketplace today.? With a distributed workforce, mental health crisis all over the place: work and home life merging, the need for human connection, ineffective employee assistance programs. Today’s workforce needs someone to talk to.

?When 98% of recently surveyed CEO’s agree that mental health and well-being will be a priority even after the pandemic is over... the workforce needs someone to talk to.

?The fact is, companies are losing great people who think the only way to escape a unique struggle is with a fresh start elsewhere... when, in fact, they just needed someone to talk to.

Enter Paraclete

?Paraclete (Greek for “advocate”) is a platform providing SoulCare to business leaders with access to experienced professionals who confidentially - in the moment without an agenda or judgement - support employees processing inevitable, unknown and unique life circumstances.

?Through conversation, Paraclete helps business leaders create a thriving workforce where employees bring their whole selves to work, becoming more engaged, productive, loyal and healthy.

Today, we are proudly unveiling Paraclete to the world as we prepare for a formal launch in early 2022. Behind the scenes, beta users are currently testing and providing feedback on the Paraclete platform to help us deliver truly world class product and experience for our users.

We’d love for you to follow along with Paraclete by subscribing to updates at www.joinparaclete.com/stay-updated. Drop in your email, and we will drop you a note occasionally with updates (no spam, we promise).

If you have any questions about Paraclete, shoot me a message. I’d love to tell you more.