The Black Door, Bravery and Social Media

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Blog Post on Video: The Black Door, Bravery and Social Media

Let me tell you a story.  It’s a parable that’s been around for a long time. It’s about a spy who had been captured and sentenced to death by a general of the Persian army. The general, however, permitted the condemned person to choose between the firing squad and the black door.  

As the moment of execution drew near, the general ordered the spy to be brought before him to receive the doomed man’s decision.  This was not an easy decision, and the prisoner hesitated, but soon he made it known that he preferred the firing squad.  Not long thereafter, a volley of shots in the courtyard announced the grim sentence had been fulfilled.  The general turned to his aide and said, “You see how it is with people; they will always prefer the known way to the unknown.  It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined.  And yet I gave him his choice!”

“What lies behind the black door?” asked the aide.

“Freedom,” replied the general, “and I’ve known only a few men brave enough to take it.”

There are two messages to this story.  The first, of course, is that we will often choose the familiar, even if it is undesirable, over the unknown, which might represent a wonderful opportunity.  And second, that few people are brave enough to choose freedom.  

I’m not saying we should reject the familiar — not by any means.  But we should question the familiar.  Just because it is familiar doesn’t make it good, best or even the right thing to do.

Right now you are probably saying to yourself, “I would have chosen the black door.  I would have had nothing to lose; the firing squad was certain death.” But actually faced with the choice, would you really?  How many doors to freedom have we passed up during our lives – during our careers – because we tend to cling so fiercely to the familiar?

How many times have frightening events come about that later proved to be gainful?  Each of them was a black door through which we eventually passed to greater freedom. But at the time, we may have chosen to keep things as they were.

It’s good to remember that it is often those things we worry about and fear most that turn out to be blessings in disguise.    
      
I’m sure many of you might be reluctant to use social media for business…to blog, to tweet, to put up your own videos on YouTube and to build fan pages for your own organizations on Facebook.  But once you do all of that, will it not add greater freedom – not to mention what it will do for your brand visibility – to your professional lives?  For many of you, I’m sure, social media will open doors to once-in-a-lifetime marketing and sales opportunities.  

So I urge you, all of you, do not be afraid to choose the black door. Do not be afraid of social media.

This “blog post on video” was recorded on November 29, 2009 in Sudbury, MA. It’s an adaptation of a post I wrote on February 9, 2006 called “Instead of the Black Door, It’s a New Blog,” which you can read in its entirety here.

Bob Cargill is a copywriter, creative director and social media marketer who helps brands to strategize, develop and implement successful new marketing programs. He is available for hire (satisfaction guaranteed) — and for speaking engagements — now. To contact Bob, click here.