Sustaining the Glow

A firefly made its way into my life tonight.

Standing on the porch of my friend place, on an almost-summery night in the big City, I was lucky to see a glowing insect for the First time ever. Waiting for so long for such an encounter and getting to finally see it made me jump and shout: Wow, a glowing insect! And I certainly called my friends around to come and share the excitement.

For the first couple of minutes, I kept waiting for the little bug to show off its electric skills again, and it did. It did it over and over, and over again. It did it so many times that it no longer captured my attention, nor did the excitement of the first minute encounter last for long.

I couldn’t help it thinking: do we glow like this fly in people’s lives and faint eventually? Is our glow doomed to faint, or simply, what does it take to sustain that glow? And more importantly, how does that glow sustain its spark in the heart of its receivers?

The best part of my life which I always remember with the cheeriest smile is when I meet people, things, gadgets, or whatsoever for the first time. I eventually eliminate what doesn’t spark my attention, and get to observe what ‘glows’ into my eyes and my mind. But somehow, that glow gets to faint. Maybe not, but the passion certainly matures into a different experience.

When a new restaurant goes into business, the novelty drives people in crowds, but not so many places keep that vibe over years.

So what does it take to sustain that glow?

Some people say ‘The business is smart’, or ‘this couple is meant to be’.

Trying to conceptualize more what such things could mean, I believe its the way two things ‘act’ and ‘react’ to each other. In other words, think of it as the authenticity of the glow AND the authenticity of the passion that drove me into the glow.

Let’s think of it in terms of a relationship, and then a business.

When someone blows your mind, you watch, you follow, and you react. Drivers are many. Its what is inside you and your passion for what you’re seeing, as well as the reality of what you are seeing. In other terms, if one day you wake up and no longer feel the glow, it is either that you were fooled by what you thought you like, OR the person wasn’t truly what you thought they were. Simply, it wasn’t sustainable.

From a business standpoint, it is a bit more compliacted as it involves multiple users and a provider. But if we look at the multiple users as one entity to simplify the thinking process, it still is an action-reaction experience. As business owners shift their services or products toward what does not make sense to consumers anymore, the business game changes eventually. The demand plunges, and the glow fades away.

Belonging to a generation of ‘sustainability’ at all levels, ecologically, environmentally, and financially, I really value this concept. We can no longer ignore the effect of having unsustainable interventions or relationships in our life.

Your glow is your value. Think of ways you can keep glowing in people’s lives, of ways you can keep adding value.

In a very changing and ecologically competitive environment, what are the challenges and where should you start?