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How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci
How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci
LI K E L EON ARDO
D A V I N CI
Se v e n St e p s t o Ge n i u s
Ev e r y Da y
M I CHAEL J. GELB
How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci - Page 1
MAIN IDEA
Leonardo da Vinci was the ultimate high achiever -- with simultaneous careers as a world-class artist, architect, scientist, inventor
and engineer. In his spare time, he was also an accomplished cook and played musical instruments to a professional level.
Therefore, if anybody can exemplify how to apply creativity and learning skills productively, da Vinci is the consummate role model.
While it is true that Leonardo da Vinci was a genius, it is also true that most people typically use only a fraction of their potential
brain-power. Therefore, by analyzing how da Vinci achieved so much, a system for personal and professional achievement can
be developed. In essence, this system has seven key principles, detailed below.
By learning through imitation of the system da Vinci used to achieve so much, you are following a role model that embodies a very
practical and down-to-earth approach to applied genius. This system also provides proven techniques for sharpening the mind,
liberating intelligence, creative thinking and expansive self-expression.
Leonardo da Vinci lived through one of the most remarkably creative periods in history -- the Renaissance. Notable developments
of this era include the printing press, pencils, inexpensive paper, the magnetic compass, the large sailing ship, the long-range
cannon and the mechanical clock -- inventions that would alter the course of human history. Like the Renaissance, the modern
era is characterized by technology, and the release of newer versions of consumer products and technologies. Therefore, it is
altogether appropriate to look to the Renaissance for hints and clues on how to manage change creatively and productively. Da
Vinci’s approach to life and his careers provides just such guidance and inspiration.
In the final analysis, Leonardo da Vinci could well serve as the patron saint of independent thinkers, and the ultimate model of what
the human spirit is capable of achieving.
Principle #5 -- Arte / Scienza -- Balance Science and Art, Logic and Imagination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6
The concept of being left-brained (logical) or right-brained (artistic) is now well known. Leonardo da Vinci’s
life, however, showed what can be achieved when both sides of the brain are harnessed. The dynamic
between the two sides of the brain generates substantial capacity for achievement.
Principle #6 -- Corporalita -- Develop Poise -- the Balance of Body and Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7
In addition to cultivating an ability to think clearly, logically and creatively, da Vinci was in exceptionally
good physical health. He taught (and exemplified) the idea that smart people should also take good care
of their physical health and well-being if they expect to remain productive throughout their lives.
Practice focusing on near and distant objects often. Create a specific workplace where creative problem
solving is the sole activity. Remove all distractions and
Place your index fingers together at eye level in front of add the tools that enhance creative thinking -- good
your face and move them apart while looking straight lighting, a sound system, inspiring art, comfortable
ahead. (This sharpens peripheral vision). furnishings, pleasant aromas, etc. The environment
Increase the amount of time you spend visualizing should provide accessories that are designed to enhance
positive outcomes. and strengthen the senses.
Learn to draw or paint. Key Thoughts
2. Sound -- the difference between listening and hearing. ‘‘All of our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions.’’
Listen to the sounds that surround you. Separate them -- Leonardo da Vinci
into layers -- the loudest, the more subtle, the rare, etc.
‘‘The eye encompasses the beauty of the whole world. Who
Listen for total silence -- the complete absence of sound.
would believe that so small a space could contain the images of
Study the lives and work of composers and artists. Listen the entire universe.’’
for the patterns they use time and again. Listen to each -- Leonardo da Vinci
individual component of the music, and identify how that
element contributes to the whole. ‘‘The average human looks without seeing, listens without
hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves
Develop your own personal all-time top 10 list of music.
without physical awareness, inhales without awareness of odor
3. Touching -- the difference between contact and feeling. or fragrance and talks without thinking.’’
Look at a fine painting. Ponder the delicate touch required -- Leonardo da Vinci
to produce an effect like that.
‘‘The five senses are the ministers of the soul.’’
Go outside and touch some of the patterns that occur in -- Leonardo da Vinci
nature, feeling for texture and form.
Spend an entire day focusing solely on how things feel. ‘‘just as an athlete develops his muscles, Leonardo trained his
senses, educating his observant faculties. We know from his
4. Taste. notebooks the kind of mental gymnastics he put himself
When eating, avoid distractions and focus on how the through.’’
food tastes. Experience all the flavors available. -- Serge Bramly
Buy three kinds of the same food and write down in your
‘‘The idea or the faculty of imagination serves as both rudder and
notebook the differences in taste between the three.
bridle to the senses, inasmuch as the thing imagined moves the
Get involved in groups that offer a broad experience of sense.’’
new and different taste sensations -- such as a regular -- Leonardo da Vinci
dinner group or some other special interest group.
‘‘I have found in my own experience that it is of no small benefit
5. Smell.
when you lie in bed in the dark to go over again in the imagination
Write in your notebook what you smell when visiting the outlines of the forms you have been studying or of other
various places in your day. noteworthy things conceived by subtle speculation; and this is
Spend one complete day being totally aware of the smells certainly a praiseworthy exercise and useful in impressing things
and aromas that you come into contact with. on the memory.’’
Broaden your vocabulary past a simple ‘‘It stinks’’ or ‘‘It -- Leonardo da Vinci
smells nice’’. Add floral (roses), minty (peppermint),
musky (musk), ethereal (pears), resinous (camphor), foul
(rotten eggs) and acrid (vinegar) to your vocabulary.
How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci - Page 5
Poise means to remain balanced and calm despite the efforts of Try writing down your feelings about a particular subject.
external forces. A person with a high tolerance for ambiguity can Identify which part of your anatomy receives those signals
retain their poise and work effectively, while others with less most unerringly -- and then watch for repeat occurrences.
tolerance will become upset by the lack of certainty. Keep it simple:
To increase your tolerance for uncertainty: - Enjoy a few deep exhalations.
- Soften your belly.
1. Go back to your notebook. - Be receptive to what your instincts are trying to say.
Look at your list of 10 most important lifetime questions. Key Thoughts
Which one makes you feel most uncertain. Write down
the ambiguities involved in that specific area. Try ‘‘In the 1980s, the American Management Association published
sketching an answer. Choose specific music to associate a study concluding that the most successful managers were
with thinking about this area. distinguished by "high tolerance for ambiguity and intuitive
Take some steps forward in confronting ambiguity head on. decision-making skill". Now, as the pace of change accelerates.
"tolerance" for ambiguity is no longer sufficient; ambiguity must
2. Welcome and embrace ambiguity. be embraced and enjoyed. As we begin the twenty-first century,
In your notebook, list three situation with ambiguous information threatens to overwhelm us with sheer volume.
possibilities from your life. describe how you felt at that Intuition is more important than ever. The bottom line: Embrace
time -- where did the ambiguity hit you? ambiguity and trust your gut.’’
By becoming aware of how you automatically coped with -- Michael Gelb
ambiguity in the past, you can watch for its presence in the
‘‘The highest happiness becomes the cause of unhappiness.’’
future -- and develop an enhanced ability to deal with it better.
-- Leonardo da Vinci
Once you’re thus forewarned, you’ll look forward to
experiencing the feelings ambiguity can generate. ‘‘Constancy may be symbolized by the phoenix which, knowing
3. Cultivate your ability to endure confusion. that by nature it must be resuscitated, has the constancy to
endure the burning flames which consume it, and then it rises
Contemplate paradox and creative confusion in your life:
anew.’’
Write down when you were the happiest and the saddest. -- Leonardo da Vinci
Is there any connection between the two?
List three of your greatest strengths and three of your ‘‘The painter must be solitary. For if you are alone, you are
greatest weaknesses. How are the lists related? completely yourself, but if you are accompanied by a single
companion you are half yourself.’’
List three things that have really changed in your lifetime, -- Leonardo da Vinci
and three things that have not. Compare the two lists.
Evaluate whether the greatest joy in life comes from being ‘‘The greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more when they
100-percent committed to clear goals, or in achieving a work less.’’
high quality of life. -- Leonardo da Vinci
These sorts of mental exercises and self-analysis will ‘‘It is well that you should often leave off work and take a little
prepare one for confusing situations which may arise. relaxation because when you come back to it you are a better
4. Allow time for ideas to incubate and for intuition to make itself judge.’’
heard. -- Leonardo da Vinci
Incubation is most effective if periods of intense activity can ‘‘The blurred outline and mellowed colors allow one form to
be alternated with periods of rest. At times, this will produce merge with another always leaving something to our
an Aha! style breakthrough thought, while at other times imagination. Everyone who has ever tried to draw or scribble a
intuition will bubble gently to the surface unaided, subtle and face knows that what we call its expression rests mainly in two
easy to overlook. features: the corners of the mouth and the corners of the eyes.
Therefore, to do your best work: Now it is precisely those parts which Leonardo has left
deliberately indistinct, by letting them merge into a soft shadow.
Ponder the question; ‘‘When, in the past, have you
That is why we are never really quite certain in what mood Mona
produced your best ideas?’’ And then replicate those
Lisa is really looking at us.’’
circumstances again and again.
-- E.H. Gombrich on Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa
Many people do their best thinking when alone. If that’s
your style, schedule long periods free of interruptions at
least once or twice a week.
How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci - Page 6
Principle #5 -- Arte / Scienza Leonardo da Vinci used the concepts of mind maps quite
Balance Science and Art, Logic and Imagination extensively. Da Vinci was a successful artist, inventor, scientist
and military engineer:
Main Idea As an artist, he painted the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper --
The concept of being left-brained (logical) or right-brained two of the greatest paintings ever produced, along with a
(artistic) is now well known. Leonardo da Vinci’s life, however, number of other great works. He transformed the direction of
showed what can be achieved when both sides of the brain are the art, pioneered the use of oil paints and introduced a host
harnessed. The dynamic between the two sides of the brain of innovative methods and techniques. Da Vinci was also a
generates substantial capacity for achievement. renowned architect and sculptor.
Supporting Ideas As an inventor, da Vinci envisaged a vast array of devices
including helicopters, parachutes, hydraulic equipment and
Da Vinci gave birth to the modern ideas of ‘‘brainstorming’’ and much more. He also pioneered the concept of automation
‘‘creative thinking’’. He also developed a method of problem around which the Industrial Revolution was built.
solving, called mind mapping.
As a military engineer, da Vinci conceived the tank, machine
To create a mind map: gun, guided missile and submarine -- but never wanted any
1. Take a blank piece of paper, and write the question you are of these devices to be built.
considering at the top. As a scientist, da Vinci made significant contributions to the
2. In the center of the page, draw a symbol which represents fields of anatomy, botany, geology and physics. He was, in
both the left- and right-sides of the brain. essence, the father of comparative anatomy, botanical
3. Next, print key words which come to mind on lines that science, hydrostatics, optics and mechanics. He also
radiate out from the central image. Print one key word per discovered the sun did not move 40-years before Copernicus,
line, with each line being the same length as each key word. developed the concept of the telescope Galileo would use
60-years later to make his breakthroughs, wrote about the
4. For each key word that you have drawn, draw lines out from
theory of gravitation 200-years before Newton and suggested
there, listing the ideas that flow from that key word. Give each
the basic theory of evolution approx. 400 years before Darwin.
of these second-generation words their own line, going
outwards from the parent key word. In summary, Leonardo da Vinci set the stage for modern
scientific thinking to become established. Pretty impressive
5. Keep going without censoring what you’re doing. Write down
achievements for someone who was born in 1452 and died at
whatever comes to mind for each of the key words.
age 67 in 1519.
6. Once you’ve generated enough material, stop and look at
Key Thoughts
your map. Look for major themes -- ideas that have been
expressed in a few different variations. Number the themes ‘‘These rules are intended to help you to a free and good
you can identify. judgment : for good judgmen t proceed s from good
7. Connect ideas that are related with arrows, or use colors to understanding, and good understanding comes from reason
connect these different themes. trained by good rules, and good rules are the children of sound
experience, which is the common mother of all the sciences and
8. Now redraw the mind map, with every theme grouped
together. Keep refining it until you feel you’ve completely the arts.’’
exhausted the subject. -- Leonardo da Vinci
Mind mapping is a technique by which you can generate a lot of ‘‘Everything is connected to everything else.’’
ideas on how to solve problems. It is equally useful for fun -- Leonardo da Vinci
exercises or something that is of critical importance. For
example, you might: ‘‘Leonardo took an artist’s vision into science. He understood that
science, as much as painting, has to find the design of nature in
Make a mind map of what you can do on your next day off. her detail. He gave science what is most needed, the artist’s
Make a mind map of your dream vacation. sense that the detail of nature is significant. Until science had
Make a mind map of how to spend a perfect evening with a this sense, no one could care -- or could think that it mattered --
close friend or other associate. how fast two unequal masses fall and whether the orbits of
planets are accurately circles or ellipses.’’
Make a mind map of all the possible uses for mind mapping.
-- George Sarton
(Try coming up with 20 different applications that would be
useful for you). ‘‘Those who become enamored of the art, without having
Make a mind map of something you want to memorize, using previously applied to the diligent study of the scientific part of it,
vivid images and other materials. may be compared to mariners who put to sea in a ship without
a rudder or compass and therefore cannot be certain of arriving
Enhance your mind maps creatively with drawings, sketches,
at the wished for port.’’
pictures, etc. All of these attachments will improve your
-- Leonardo da Vinci
memory and recall of that subject.
Use a mind map to do some creative thinking.
And don’t forget to include a break for ideas to incubate. Go do
something else for a while, and then come back and draw a
revised version of your mind map. You’ll find plenty of new
material will come to mind.
How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci - Page 7
Principle #6 -- Corporalita It is important that while you rest in that position, you let
Develop Poise -- the Balance of Body and Mind your neck move freely. You should almost be able to feel
your body lengthening as your spine reverts to its natural
Main Idea shape while you rest.
In addition to cultivating an ability to think clearly, logically and Arise slowly, with your head leading the movement
creatively, da Vinci was in exceptionally good physical health. forward. Get up in a smooth, flowing transition, easing
He taught (and exemplified) the idea that smart people should yourself into a crawling position before you stand up
also take good care of their physical health and well-being if they again.
expect to remain productive throughout their lives. Pay particular attention to your senses. You should
Supporting Ideas almost feel a little taller. Now visualize moving with grace
and poise through your normal daily activities.
In business, the state of your physical body influences your mind
and your performance. The essential idea is that you can For best results, try and repeat this exercise twice each
improve the quality of your life dramatically by cultivating fitness day -- when you arise in the morning and when you get
and better coordination of mind and body. To do this: home at the conclusion of your work day.