You know when something really impacts you and you need to share it with the world? The Black Door is such a story… Lyndon recently posted it on our Create the Life Club blog, and then today I was asked to re-write from my perspective – which is a little different as I want to bust through the black doors in life!!
I have grown up with a Dad who pushes himself, and me, out of the comfort zone constantly – so I know what it is to feel fear, and (fortunately) have discovered the delight on the other side. When I came across the story of the Black Door, I realised that this is what we do, and must challenge ourselves to do. My darling husband however, is less inclined to take a leap into the unknown. (There is hope though – he is a skydiver…)
Lyndon was working in a job that he enjoyed, but was exhausted and “not being there to see our son grow up”. He was so impacted by the story of The Black Door, and “bit the bullet”, resigning and leaping into the unknown to spend time with the family, and support me to grow my new business.
Was it a wise move financially? Not in the short term, that’s for sure… But he says “I wish I had done it sooner, because money cannot buy what I gained.”
Here is the story that impacted us so powerfully…
There is a story of a black door, a young man and a Persian general.
The young man, it is said, was a prisoner of war, and the general was a very fair man. When the day arrived to decide the fate of the prisoner, the general had him brought before him. The young man was certain of death, but the general generously gave him two choices. On the young man’s left was a firing squad, guns poised ready. On the right was a plain white wall with a large black door in the middle of it. The young man was given leave to determine his fate…the firing squad or the black door.
The young man made his choice and in a short while a volley of shots rang out and the prisoner crumpled to the ground. The general shook his head and commented to his aide that in all his years he had seen only a few men choose the black door. May I ask, sir, the aide queried … what lies beyond the black door? Freedom, the general replied. The black door leads to freedom, but I have seen only a few men choose it because they are afraid of what horrors may lie beyond. Most would rather choose a fate that they know, even if it means death, than experience the unknown. The man brave enough to choose the black door deserves to be free.
Today, in the world of business, change is constant, and those afraid to experience change are in a precarious position. Trends in business are changing, and business and career choices once thought to be safe and stable are no longer so. The advice our parents gave us – to go to university, get a good education and get a good job with a company who would take care of us for the rest of out lives – is no longer true. Company restructuring, downsizing and retrenchments have caused abrupt changes inadequate to take care of a family’s needs. And yet, there are choices to be made, and those brave enough to make them will survive the economic crunch
Are you ready to choose The Black Door??
To view the blog by Lyndon that this was taken from click The Black Door.
