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Everyone has an ideal in their mind of the kind of person they want to be. While we’re all very different people, I bet the following adjectives probably rank high on your list: Charming, witty, intelligent, multifaceted, highly skilled, successful, learned… I could go on.

What I think everyone aspires to is be a Renaissance Man (or Woman) – Skilled at a multiplicity of pursuits, master of oneself and the world. As you know the original Renaissance Men were artists, scientists and engineers.   Take Leonardo da Vinci - an artist, engineer and business man pretty good at raising capital and support for his pursuits.

Leonardo, like those other geniuses we know about, were voracious and stubborn. Like many of the most successful entrepreneurs we know of today, they were ahead of their time - often treated with skepticism. It’s not an easy path being a trail blazer.

Take for example Filippo Brunelleschi. His most famous achievement was the design and construction of the dome in Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The construction of the dome has been compared to the 15^th century equivalent of putting a man on the moon. Giorgio Vasari said of Brunelleschi that “we can surely say he was sent by heaven to renew the art of architecture.”

The dome Brunelleschi built was the largest dome ever constructed and was only surpassed in size in the twentieth century thanks to steel and concrete. He even held the world’s first patent.  Truly, Brunelleschi was an incredible genius and visionary.  All this is evident in hindsight. In his time, Brunelleschi did not find his path so easily and originally had many more detractors than those singing his praises.

In 1418 a contest was held to design the dome of the Florence Cathedral, which has been sitting, unfinished since it was started in 1296. (Think about that the next time you feel bad about not getting your business idea off the ground right away - how about a couple hundred years!) When Brunelleschi presented his design… things didn’t go well. In fact, the judges, who were the greatest architects of the day laughed at it. Brunelleschi got so upset defending his plan for the dome he was labeled a madman.

Undaunted by his setback, Brunelleschi carried on. He knew that the judges hadn’t understood his vision for the dome, and told the judges, “I assure you that it is impossible to raise it in any other way. You may well laugh at me, but you must understand, unless you are obstinate, that it neither should nor could be done otherwise.”

Eventually Brunelleschi was awarded the commission, but still had to fight adversaries who did not understand his plans and sought to undermine him even as the construction began. However, by sticking to his vision, Brunelleschi was able to overcome numerous setbacks and invent new machines to help with the gargantuan construction process.  When he was done, Brunelleschi was showered with praise.

So what made Brunelleschi a true Renaissance man? Yes, he was a genius, but it wasn’t just that. What made Brunelleschi a Renaissance Man was his ability to dream big and stick to his goals. He didn’t give up. He wasn’t afraid of being called crazy. He used logic and reason and his belief in himself to accomplish an incredible feat of engineering.  He believed in himself.

So, what does this have to do with technology, business and your life?

We've been at this business for over a decade - changing the face of how business should use CRM to manage contacts and how they use email and social media to connect to their markets.

Too often, we've found our "skeptics" who say - oh, that's a CRM.  Or, that's email marketing. The problem is all these things stand alone as an unfinished "dome".  What is the missing connection?  The piece that integrates your world, saves you time, money and builds your business.  We have built the ultimate "dome" - but, that is not the complete story. You, our customers are the missing peice, because you are our fellow visionaries. You are the pieces that will complete the story of The Connected Market.  To be a Renaissance Man or Woman, it takes vision and commitment.  It takes a determination to see the world with a new set of eyes.

We have created the platform that can transform businesses and the lives of those entrepreneurs who started in business and those inside organizations who are there to make a difference.   We believe that technology should be used to support and complete a vision - your vision of what your business can be, your life can accomplish.

So how can you be a Renaissance Man or Woman?

1. 1. Believe. Don’t just set lofty goals – understand the work involved in reaching them.
2. 2. Don’t be afraid to take risks, to embrace new technology, what it can do differently for you, in your way and to follow a new path.
3. 3. Connect others to your vision. You’ll have people who don’t believe: detractors, skeptics and cynics. Remember, sometimes people just lack vision, no matter how smart they seem to be. It’s your job to bring your vision to the world - eventually others will see it and build upon your vision too.

Entrepreneurs today need to be Renaissance People in every sense of the world. They need to wear many hats, to be experts in sales, marketing, customer service, collaborations and new work flows.  They have to master every aspect of their business - and deliver their vision to the world.  Most importantly, they need to do differentiate their vision from the norm of their competition.   MP3 players existed long before Steven Jobs delivered the iPod and iTunes to the world!!  What is your differentiated edge?

You can start with 1to1Real, The Connected Market, Social Spaces - and go from there.  That’s why we created The Connected Market - why we're still evolving 1to1Real. It’s a revolutionary foundation for you to invent your business upon - truly unlike any other program out there.  In the words of Thomas Merton:

“The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt”

85% of entrepreneurial businesses fail in the first 8 years of business.  Less than 1 out of every 100 businesses ever sell.  We believe a Renaissance is afoot with a change in independent thinking, a new breed of business and economics.  Small and medium sized businesses have struggled without the tools and resources to keep up, grow and succeed with technology.  We have created a new cloud platform that can do what it takes to change these statistics.

Becoming a Renaissance entrepreneur means seeing the world differently.  I challenge you to be part of the Renaissance of small businesses and "intrapreneurs" inside governments and large organizations that can achieve greater things than ever before to show what success looks like in life, in economics, in The Connected Market.

We'll build a masterpiece together.

Picture: Wikipedia
Referece: Discover your Genius, Michael J. Gelb