Meet Samuel Sokol | Human Being

We had the good fortune of connecting with Samuel Sokol and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samuel, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
For a LONG time, I’ve wondered why sometimes I feel really connected with others, and other times completely alone. At some point, I realized that since I learned to speak, I hadn’t stopped. I wondered if radical listening might be part of the answer. So, I chose to be silent for a week at a large gathering of humans called Burning Man. It turns out listening is a big piece of the puzzle to human connection…but, there’s also gratitude, curiosity, trust, vulnerability, and playfulness.

I wondered how I might share this amazing experience with others. So, I created a game and tested it with hundreds of diverse people of different ages and backgrounds for over two years. As I played with kids, and teens and adults, the game got better.

Whether they were strangers or friends, people loved it. …and a little game with a big heart called Graticube was born. It’s a simple tabletop game played with cards and dice that inspires meaningful conversation.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was able to pull a rake, operate a lawn mower and push a snow shovel. I tend to see “problems” as opportunities.

I’ve not been formally trained in tech, but always interested by it. In 1996 I uploaded my first web site. From there, I helped companies solve tech problems. That’s been my background: problem-solving business and tech “problems.”

A powerful catalyst in my “career” of entrepreneurship was what a learned from personal growth and business success courses. It’s the kind of learning that you hope everyone can experience.

The foundations of the courses were both the power of leading with values and also learning through playing games. The outcome was fun and accelerated learning with really interestING and interestED people.

I started as a beginner, like anyone. Over 15+ years I’ve learned how to teach the material and have done so globally.

One of the problems I see with this kind of in-person-education is that there are so many barriers. Time, money, location, language, culture, freedom to travel, awareness of the opportunity…the list goes on. And, educators are mortal…so there’s a limited window of time.

So, I wondered, how might it be possible to create a game that works for 100% of humanity to play it forward?

I created Graticube, improved it through collaboration and testing over two years and recently launched on Kickstarter, Amazon, Shopify. Graticube is a little game with a big heart, that inspires authentic connection through curiosity, creativity, listening, and gratitude. This tabletop game is designed to be enjoyed in curiosity and gratitude with perfect strangers, best friends, family, and co-workers.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First, it depends on the friend. I would start by understanding what they enjoy. Denver/Colorado has so much to offer from highly physical sports to sophisticated art and cultural experiences, fine dining establishments to greasy spoon dives and so much more.

A week gives us lots of time to explore

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Deepak Chopra has been an inspiration for the work we do. We created two adaptations of our Graticube game inspired by his books Total Mediation and Abundance. We are fortunate to work with him and his team to bring this small game with a big heart to a global audience.

Website: https://graticube.game

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graticubegame/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/graticube

Twitter: https://twitter.com/graticubegame

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graticubegameofficial/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIypcKCoYvG0cglnMI7THLg