I have often been concerned lately by the question: what of what I did, decided, chose, brought me here, to 27 years of entrepreneurship, that is, to more than 3 times the average lifespan of an entrepreneurial business in Romania.

Honestly, I am concerned about this question for two reasons: one is selfish and one is disinterested. The selfish one refers to perpetuating good habits and thus continuing the business I run. The disinterested one pursues the need to share and contribute to the success of others, a need that has become more and more evident lately.

I was surprised by the evidence of an aspect that I had the chance to feel and experience all these years without spending too much time naming it clearly. Since then, I have turned this valuable and tiring thought on all sides at the same time, until I managed to define it: Love is what is the basis of my determination and concentration. Love for what I do, for people and for the community in which I live. That’s why I want to bring my personal resources to support goals that are not even apparently directly related to me. Of course, the springs of self-satisfaction and feelings of fulfillment are extremely personal and individual. But I’m talking about a general attitude, a deeper feeling, more than the pursuit of specific goals. I’m talking about the warmth you feel when you’re in front of a new and daring project, when you’re in the middle of your team of dozens or hundreds of people.

It took me around 40 years of life to start understanding how different people are. I am a great observer of people in general and one of the great pleasures is to somehow stay hidden in the crowd and observe mimicry, attitudes, behaviors and gestures. The fact that we are so different, in addition to making life so interesting, also gives us a practical and unique space for development and our own path. That’s why I slowly become quieter at meetings with friends, preferring to listen than talk, imagine and study than convince. Of course, this makes me more and more unpleasant and makes me think of those grumpy and silent old people.

We are not even remotely similar and when it comes to what drives us in our initiatives for which we bring resources, take risks and become active, the differences are even greater. However, I believe that one of the most important fuels of entrepreneurs is Love. Without love, everyone would only follow their own specific goal, cannibalize themselves, empathy and interest in the land we occupy would completely disappear. Without Love, including the business environment would be incredibly petty.

We all start with certain expectations and desires and those who are willing to take risks turn into entrepreneurs. I can’t forget and deny that what brought me on this path 27 years ago was need. But that’s not what kept me in this industry for so long, that’s not what prompted me to grow the company to 1,500 employees. It’s the love for everything around me, translated into the desire to offer happiness and security to the more than 1,500 families who rely on the business they are still growing, to contribute to the development of the industry and other leaders, other businesses. That’s why I drove 400 km in one weekend to speak in front of some high school students and I will continue to do so.

It takes fuel to fuel the burning of an entrepreneur! The rest is technique, experience, chance… Success is temporary and the threat continues, good and bad times follow one another and something is needed to keep this mechanism alive. I don’t claim to have discovered the only fuel, but I strongly believe that “that something” that all entrepreneurs, leaders in general, have and that keeps them alive is Love that makes them look towards a goal that goes beyond the boundaries of their own interests.

Otherwise, every day entrepreneurs go back to their business with the same appetite for risk, with the same suppleness in thinking, contributing to stability and economic growth. There seems to be plenty of fuel in the Universe to fuel their energetic thoughts, firm actions, falls, and rebirth.

The article was also published on forbes.ro