A long story...
Just one of many quiet Sundays during the summer of 2003. Three young men are sitting on the makeshift roof terrace (read: roof) of a student's house in Maastricht, in the South of The Netherlands. Enjoying the sun, Diederick, Jeroen and Thomas run out of beer quickly. They set off for the supermarket at the train station, which is the only one opened on Sundays. Since it only sells special beers, they are forced into the purchase of a more expensive beer. They buy some bottles of Amstel Bright, a light beer with a Caribbean touch. The beer turns out to be quite good, and serves to enjoy the rest of the afternoon on the roof terrace - coincidentally a great opportunity for experimenting with a newly bought digital camera.
A few weeks later, Diederick's telephone goes off. It's Jeroen. He's in the train, reading a paper with an advert of Amstel Bright about a photo contest. He reads out loud: "Win one of 120 dream holidays to the Caribbean island of Curaçao - send in a photo of your ultimate Bright moment and take two of your friends on a trip to Curaçao!" No sooner said than done: the photo's that were made a few weeks before are sent in and -to make a long story short(er)- the dream holiday to Curaçao is in the bag. In October of 2003, the three embark on their trip to the luxurious beachfront Hilton hotel, looking out over the sparkling blue Caribbean sea, enjoying their ten-day stay.
Little do they know, the sandy beach, the murmur of the sea and the rustling of the palm trees make up the setting for a decisive moment in the development of Realize! At the insistence of Thomas, Jeroen and Diederick now take up the book for a bald American philosopher: A Brief History of Everything, by Ken Wilber. The puzzle falls into place piece by piece, and an almost audible 'click' is heard each time a new connection is made. Wilber's integral model also raises new questions. What would our studies of international business and international economics look like if you were to add depth? And what would it mean to work, organize and run a business in a more integral way? These questions mark the birth of what is now called Realize!
The sun meets the rippling blue sea in streaks of orange and red. A table on the beach. Three steaks and a bottle of whine. Three young men, shedding their worldview like a snake sheds its skin. What is to come in its place is still unclear, but there is a spark, and the fire is lit.
The path that leads from that Curaçao beach to Here & Now is long and winding. A business plan, a growing network, internships, theses, a partnership-in-formation in a kitchen in Amsterdam East, the first clients, a growing insight in personal qualities... Today, the path leads us to The Hub on the Westerstraat 187 in Amsterdam, where Realize! is domiciled. And tomorrow? That story is yet to be written...
