There is a line in the movie “Walk the Line,” a story about Johnny Cash’s life, where he says, “like I’d seen a thing or two, you know.”
Johnny Cash was a singer and songwriter and each of his songs tell a story—sometimes it’s a story about one of those things he’s seen. Sometimes it is a story about what somebody else saw. The bottom line is he had something to share, and that’s part of why he is considered to be one of the greatest musicians, ever.
Now you may be wondering, what in the world does Johnny Cash have to do with this blog?
Basically, our approach to content is all about creating and sharing stories. We’ve discussed the worst-case scenario of creating content and a story about the way business used to be. There are lots of other examples, because we keep coming back to this theme. Like Johnny Cash said (and I am taking the line slightly out of context), everyone has seen a thing or two, and that means you all have a story to tell.
I meet a business owner of 25 years, and I know right away they have seen a thing or two. A sales person of 10 years, you know they have a story. A support associate of 20 years—oh yes, they have seen it all.
All of these stories, all of these opportunities to share…there is nothing more engaging than a story, and it’s never been easier or more cost-efficient to share your story than it is now.
You don’t have to be Johnny Cash. You don’t have to be the next Stephen King. You don’t even have to tell your stories, if you don’t want to, though I encourage everybody to try. My father built a dental practice from the ground up and I’ve encouraged him to write a book about it. It’s a great story. I’ve talked to my wife about using her talent to write music. Now, she’s done it, and you can check out the results here. I’m encouraging you, too.
Why?
Because I want to learn what you have to teach us. I want to hear the stories about the thing or two that you have seen. And because telling a story, your own story, is the best way you can differentiate yourself. It’s how you can captivate your audience to a point where they are driven to reach out and connect with you.
What you do with those conversations is up to you.
(what’s the worst thing that can happen? Read here)
Image of the Johnny Cash was created by the Ray García under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license