Pilot Concepts: Spark-Sparkle-Spectacle and Flickers of Light to Lead Us Home.

Introducing two new newsletter concepts for my words...to make them more accessible and sustainable, and hopefully meaningful, in 2023.

Welcome to 2023. For all of us, marking a new year offers a perfect mental space to reframe our lives, as is the custom. Instead of setting a resolution, though, I’m making a commitment to shift into writing two short newsletters. More on that in just a second.

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When The Fireworks Report started, I was in the throes of processing my Post Traumatic Stress Injury, and honestly wasn’t sure that recovery would include experiencing a full life on the other side. I imagined that I would spend the rest of my life trying to heal. Today, at the start of 2023, I can proudly admit that I was wrong. Healing was hard and the recovery was long, but I living that full life on the other side today and I’m thrilled (and also very excited about what the next professional chapter looks like, when the time is right!)!

Part of me always sought a way to share my knowledge and thoughts about leadership and organizational development, about people and culture, and about growth and development. I thought that meant that I had to have a job that hit all those marks and haven’t entirely closed the door on a consulting career, but until that becomes more clear, this is a way for me to share those things.

Additionally, my recent departure from my social media platforms (except LinkedIn) has highlighted what I miss about them: my friends’ freely given inspirational quotes, blessings, and other nuggets of joy. I miss those.

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Enter the first of two new concepts: Spark-Sparkle-Spectacle, my three-part newsletter that explores a leadership, growth, or organizational life topic, idea, or concept from the interweb, my studies, something I’ve admired, or a podcast gem. I’ll briefly outline the topic, idea, or concept, and then explore how it could be applied in small scales or global phenomena. The newsletter won’t be an anthology, though…my goal is about a 5 minute read.

What I mean:

• Spark – Sparks are those little catalysts, beautiful ideas, inspiring posts, flashes of truth that ignite the imagination.

• Sparkle – Sparkles are ways the Sparks multiply in a still-relatively-small context. Think: beautiful ideas, inspiring posts or sparks of truth revealed in individual hearts, families, and communities.

• And Spectacle – Spectacles are saturated with grandeur and largesse. They are Sparkles transforming into wholesale change in the world. Think: ideas that bloom in individual hearts, families, and communities inspiring global movements.

I’ll be keeping the broad metaphor of fireworks alive in this newsletter: the spark is the start of the show, where someone lights the first fuse and you’re alive with anticipation and excitement. The sparkle is the buildup, where each individual formation of light and colour delights you and leaves you longing for more. And finally, the spectacle is the finale, where the show blows your mind and exceeds your wildest expectations. Your heart could hardly handle more and your brain is still processing what you feel.

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And the second: Flickers of Light to Lead Us Home is my “Twitter”-like microblog of encouraging, uplifting blessings. Inspired by the lyric from Coldplay’s “Fix You” (because who can’t use more Coldplay in their lives?) about light guiding us home, these words will bring you joy and remind you who you really are in a format that will max out at 250 characters (or one image), with self-limitations strictly monitored.

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With these shifts, I see The Fireworks Report being more than an anthology of my traumatic stress injury journey. I’m committing to be on the lookout for the things that might interest, inspire, and intrigue. Having fallen down in my commitment to write these newsletters, these new things have taken on a new meaning for me - something akin to a job, until I find one.

I hope that you’ll love the new content coming your way and will share any beautiful tidbits that you notice on your travels, too. Just hit Reply to chat with me and we can explore them together!

If the idea doesn’t interest you, please know that you can unsubscribe from either the Spark-Sparkle-Spectacle newsletter or the Flickers of Light microblog at anytime. I won’t be offended. If you have any feedback so that I can improve, I would love that.

A spark can become a sparkle. A sparkle can become a spectacle. Let’s create a spectacle together.

Lights will guide you home.