In 1935, a young Anglican priest named Chad Varah stood over the grave of a 14-year-old girl.
It wasn’t a normal funeral.
She had taken her own life because she mistakenly believed she had picked up a sexually transmitted disease…in reality, she had simply gotten her first period.
She had no one to turn to. No one to ask. No safe place to get reassurance.
And now, she was gone.
Varah couldn’t stop thinking about it. The problem wasn’t that help didn’t exist. The problem was that she had no way to access it.
If she had one person to talk to—someone who wouldn’t judge her, someone who could clear up her confusion in minutes—she might still be alive.
That thought stuck with him for nearly 2 decades.
And in 1953, he finally did something about it.
He launched a simple service in London: a telephone line where people in distress could talk anonymously, without judgment, without fear.
He called it The Samaritans, but it was, in essence, the world’s first crisis hotline.
I saw the power of these hotlines firsthand when I worked in psychiatry.
People would hesitate to book an appointment, but they had no problem calling an anonymous hotline.
The moment their name, face, or medical history was removed from the equation, something changed.
They were more honest, more open, more willing to ask for help.
Sometimes, they didn’t even need a solution—they just needed to be heard.
To have someone say, “You’re not crazy. You’re not alone. This is normal, and you’re going to get through it.”
And sometimes, just that was enough to help them move forward.
Because when people don’t talk about what’s weighing on them, it doesn’t just sit there…it grows.
It turns into self-doubt. Shame. Overthinking…
And this keeps you trapped in a place you don’t need to be stuck in.
Not because there aren’t solutions. Not because help doesn’t exist.
But because sometimes reaching out for help is hard.
And hey, I get it. We’re human. We all feel this way.
It’s just that most times, we can’t afford to stay stuck.
Because there’s always a price to pay in time, energy, identity, reputation…
Which is why I’m making the Productivity Hotline anonymous.
Not because productivity struggles are the same as a crisis hotline, but because the psychology behind them is.
- Some people don’t ask for help because they don’t know where to go.
- Some people don’t ask because it feels embarrassing to admit they’re struggling.
- And some people just need one safe, judgment-free conversation to finally get unstuck.
That’s the Productivity Hotline.
Except instead of a payphone, it’s your inbox.
Instead of a regular coin… you’re dropping in an Ayapy Coin.
And instead of a robotic, script-reading customer service rep who couldn’t care less about your problem, you get me…ready to help you figure out exactly what’s keeping you stuck and how to fix it.
More details here: www.yosianderson.com
Tp. Tp.
There’s more where that came from!
See, I’ve been writing daily productivity emails for online business owners since November 2024.
And what you just read is barely a scratch on the surface.
The real gems… The fun, insightful, and occasionally absurd behind-the-scenes stories… My best offers… The kind of stuff that makes you go:
“Wait… did that REALLY happen?”
I don’t blast those out to the whole internet.
(Some things… should be kept private.)
But if you want to snoop around… if you want to see what really happens in AYAPYLand…
There’s a door.
And it’s open.
For now.