Mona Lisa

Today I’m talking about Mona Lisa.

Last week my wife and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in France and went to the Louvre to see the famous painting.

Do you know why the Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci is the most famous painting in the world?

If you have an artistic answer about the mastery of human anatomy and natural realism, I am impressed because I don’t know exactly what that means. I just Googled a phrase that provides that as an answer…

But, the real answer actually has very little to do with the painting itself.

In 1911, an Italian Louvre employee stole the Mona Lisa to bring it back home to Italy (where da Vinci was from).

Before it was stolen, it was just like any other piece in the Louvre. A great piece sure, but nothing that people lined up to see like today (image of the line below):

The heist of the piece, which wasn’t found and returned to the Louvre for 2 years, is what gave the painting so much fame.

We humans love beauty, color, nature, feelings, emotions, etc.

But what we really love is a story that weaves those things together.

A story makes for a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

What’s Your Mona Lisa?

The most successful brands in their markets have a story that sets them apart and makes them widely known.

And you may not even know the story, you just know the brand. But it’s often because of the story that you know the brand. Just like the Mona Lisa.

Create a story for your brand.

Not everyone needs to hear it or will hear it, but if it’s a good story and the right people do, you can build a brand that’s well-known and widely recognized.