We often hear about value: offer value to customers, define your unique value proposition, act according to your set of values. But what is value, truly?
Values are amongst a few things in life that come close to permanence. Essentialism, the philosophy of choosing the vital over the trivial, includes the values among the very elements that define who we are. And yet, Greek philosophy speaks of ‘αξιακή ακαμψία’—the rigidity of values—to remind us to allow ourselves a subtle deviation from our values. For life is movement, and those who cling too tightly, risk missing the blessings of change and freedom.
The Subjectivity of Value
Value is never fixed. It is subjective, dependent on perception, and usually shifting with environment. A horse at a car dealership has little worth; the same horse at the racetrack may be priceless. It is not the horse that changes but the eyes that crowns or diminishes it —for them.
Even when two professionals sell the same service, they are not equal in the eyes of those who choose them. Their value does not lie solely in the service, but in their presence, their source, their resonance, the way they embody what they offer.
Value is not an object. It is not constant. It is a mirror of context, not a fixed truth.
Value in Business
At its essence, business exists to create value—for ourselves, for our communities, for the planet. Every company is a thread in the fabric of the marketplace. Startups with bold visions, seasoned corporations with long histories—they may look different, but they are woven together in a shared ecosystem.
If we only look at differences, we miss the deeper unity: the common pursuit of growth, the shared challenges, the universal drive to innovate. Diversity is not division; it is the expression of different values finding their place in the same marketplace. Each business carries within it the values of its founders, its people, its culture. And though they manifest differently, it is these values that allow distinct entities to coexist, complement, and strengthen one another.
And through it all, one commodity rises above the rest: time. In business, time is the highest value. To respect it, to use it well, to offer others back their time—that is one of the greatest gifts a business can give.
Value in Relationships
The same truth lives in love. Too many seek value through their partner’s success, equating another’s greatness with their own, even though each being is whole on their own.
But real value in love is found in acceptance, whose natural byproduct is holding space for one another. When we accept another human being as they are, we are nourished by their value without needing to possess it. Acceptance flows more easily when values are shared. Two people aligned at their core can hold space for one another, allowing each to unfold their true self with all their layers, all their emotions. That is where the joint adventure begins —an adventure not of conquest, but of presence: walking side by side, holding space, observing and supporting each other grow.
Without shared values, passion may ignite, but the ground is less steady. In love, as in business, resonance is the foundation —and it grows deeper as consciousness evolves.
The Untouchable Part of You
Be yourself. Life is too short to be someone else. Attach your sense of value not to external success, not to others’ approval, but to that untouchable part of you that no circumstance can diminish.
Your people—whether clients, partners, or lovers—will always find you when you live from that place.
Not everything we encounter carries the same weight. Not every opportunity, not every relationship, deserves our time. To discern what matters to you is the heart of wisdom.
At the End, What Remains
Value is not fixed, and it is not universal. It is alive, subjective, relational. A horse does not change, yet its worth shifts with the stage on which it stands. Businesses thrive not by offering everything, but by honouring what is essential. Lovers endure not through passion alone, but through the acceptance that allows each to grow.
And yet, there is a common thread: value is born in connection—between a need and an offering, between one heart and another, between soul and self. Time, the highest commodity, is the measure of what we truly value, for what we give our time to reveals what matters most.
So ask yourself: What matters to you? Not everything holds equal weight—not every opportunity, not every relationship. When you discern the vital from the trivial, when you root yourself in values yet allow the gentle deviation that life demands—you will stop chasing value.
You will embody it.
