We need to stop calling people “resilient” and assuming that means they’re okay. ❤️‍🩹

Jeff Johnston lost his 23-year-old son, Seth, to fentanyl. Four years later, he lost his wife, Prudence.

He got sober. He rebuilt. He found purpose. He started helping others.

Beautiful comeback story, right?

Yeah…life apparently didn’t get that memo.

Because some mornings, the man who speaks on stages about resilience still needs 45 minutes just to get out of bed.

THAT’S the Jeff I wanted to talk to.

Not the speaker.
Not the founder.
Not the inspirational comeback story.

The human underneath all that armor.

We went there: grief, addiction, fentanyl, men’s mental health, psychedelics, shame, suicide, success, self-forgiveness—and why this idea that we eventually become completely “healed” might be bullshit.

Then Jeff said something I can’t shake:

“I need to be nicer to Jeff.” ❤️

Because maybe resilience isn’t becoming unbreakable.

Maybe it’s being able to say:

This still hurts.
I’m still figuring it out.
And I’m still fucking here.

🎙️ Storytime with Lori featuring Jeffrey Johnston

If you’re the fixer, the leader, the parent, the friend who always answers—the person everyone calls “the strong one” this conversation is for you.

So let me ask you: Who’s checking on you? ❤️‍🩹

#StorytimeWithLori #MensMentalHealth #Grief #AddictionRecovery #FentanylAwareness

I went to Arizona thinking I understood Televerde.

Narrator: She did not. 😂

I knew the story: second chances, incarcerated women, BDR development, an incredible mission.

What I didn’t fully understand was the talent.

I met women talking pipeline, customer experience, renewals, sales strategy, business intelligence and brand with the kind of hunger and business acumen companies say they’re desperate to hire for.

And that changed the conversation for me.

🔥 Opportunity, not charity.

These women don’t need us to lower the bar. Maybe we need to get a hell of a lot better at looking in places where talented people have already learned how to clear it.

And Diane + Nayaja… ❤️ you two got me.

The dreaming. The planning. The rebuilding. The “oh shit, people are actually watching me now” part. 😂 The belief you’re lending each other while you build enough of your own.

That’s the story I wanted to tell.

Don’t be so captivated by someone’s second chance that you overlook their talent. Because sometimes people don’t need saving. They need access. A door. An introduction. A seat at the table. Someone willing to see them BEFORE everyone else does.

So I’ll leave you with this:

❤️ Who believed in you before you fully believed in yourself?

And maybe the bigger question…

Whose belief are you holding right now?

🎙️ New Storytime with Lori.

#StorytimeWithLori #Televerde #WomenInTech #WomenInSales #SecondChances #Talent #Leadership #SalesLeadership #TechChannel #WomenSupportingWomen #CareerDevelopment #Opportunity #FutureOfWork

Last week I talked about my birthday. 🎂

A beautiful day, full of people who love the hell out of me… and still feeling the absence of someone who doesn't show up the way I need them to.

Well, apparently there was more shit to unpack. 😂

Because here's the mindfuck about healing:

You can make the right decision and still be heartbroken by it.

You can set the boundary and miss them.

You can be deeply loved and still grieve what's missing.

None of that means go back.

That's the messy middle. And I'm learning this one the hard way:

Loneliness is a feeling. It is NOT an instruction. 👏 Missing someone doesn't mean they deserve access to you. And hurting doesn't mean you chose wrong.

Sometimes it just means it mattered. ❤️‍🩹

🎙️ This week on STORYTIME with Lori: The Messy Middle: When Doing the Right Thing Still F*cking Hurts

Because apparently healing doesn't give a shit about my preferred timeline. 😂

#StorytimeWithLori #TheMessyMiddle #Boundaries #Healing #Relationships #PersonalGrowth #Podcast