What differentiates geniuses like Leonardo Da Vinci from us mere mortals?
You might know Da Vinci as an artist, but he was also an architect, scientist, musician,
mathematician, inventor, anatomist, geologist, astronomer, cartographer, botanist, historian
and writer.
Not bad when you think that most of us can't even park a car without turning down the volume
of the radio first.
He didn’t just excel in one area, but rather he flourished across disciplines and created
concepts that have lasted for centuries.
Da Vinci had a very specific approach to life that anyone can learn, and the 7 key points
of Da Vinci's mindset are described in the book "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci:
Seven Steps to Genius Every Day" written by American author Michael J. Gelb.
Let's take a look at what these 7 principles are and try to reflect on how we can integrate
them into our everyday lives.
# 1: Curiosity
Curiosity, this means having an insatiably curious approach to life and unrelenting quest
for continuous learning.
Da Vinci is not the only one who embodied a seemingly infinite supply of curiosity.
Many of history’s great inventors and leaders had the desire to unlock the mysteries of
life.
If you’re like me, this one seems fairly obvious and something you already know is
important.
So, I think about curiosity in 2 basic questions: 1.
What if?
2.
How come?
I know I am embracing curiosity if I ask myself these 2 questions multiple times each day.
What If: Asks your brain to project into the future.
It helps you see opportunities where you might have missed them, it helps you make connections
and it is a sneaky way to get your brain more goal-oriented.
What if I started a conversation with this person?
What if I tried this new activity?
What if I started that new workout program?
What comes after ‘what if…’ is typically magical.
The second step is to ask yourself "How Come?"
How come gets you into ‘why’.
Instead of passively observing the world or going into automatic responses, ‘how come’
helps you question both your actions and other’s motives.
I believe this question keeps me honest and alert.
It forces me to live more purposefully.
Da Vinci didn’t waste a second of his life.
He was always creating and guessing and tinkering.
‘How come’ helps you use every second of your life with a mission.
Here are some ways you can capture more Curiosity: • A Hundred Questions: Write down 100 questions
that are important to you.
These could be questions you wish to answer yourself such as, “What is my purpose?”
or “What is the meaning of life?” or questions you want to know about everyone you meet like,
“What is your passion?
or “What makes you happy?”
This is the ultimate ‘what if’ and ‘how come’ exercise.
• Ten Power Questions: After you have brainstormed a list of 100 questions, select the 10 that
have the most powerful impact when you read them.
Which ones spark a feeling of motivation or achievement?
These are your catalyst questions.
For example: When am I most naturally myself?
What is my greatest talent?
What is my heart’s deepest desire?
• Daily Themes: Da Vinci was an avid writer and note taker.
He had a journal everywhere he went.
I have a journal at my desk AND at my bed to take notes when all kinds of ideas pop
into my head.
Carry a journal with you everywhere and write down your ideas and observations.
Each day, choose a theme or word.
You can do this at the beginning of the day to set the intention or at the end of the
day as a cool down or wrap-up.
# 2: Demonstration Demonstration is a commitment to test knowledge
through experience, persistence and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
I love this principle, because it is empowering.
Demonstration is the embodiment of taking your life into your own hands.
This principle tells us: • Test every idea.
• Don’t take anything for granted.
• Experience life first hand.
I believe life should be an experiment.
That we should have a series of amazing hypotheses every day, and we should be testing them.
A hypothesis consists of a 2-part statement: If I do X then Y happens.
If I work then I earn.
If I keep fit then I will live a healthier life.
And so on.
The exercise "If ..., then ..." puts you in a mental position of always chasing opportunities,
always looking for and testing solutions.
For example, if I take this personal development class, then I hope to be happier.
Or as small as if I reorganize my closet, then it will be easier to get ready in the
morning.
The ‘If…, then…’ exercise puts you into opportunity-hunting mindset, so you are
always looking for and testing solutions.
Here are some ways you can capture more Demonstration: • Find Your Greats: You have probably heard
of all the most popular artists and authors, but who are your favorites?
Set out to find your greats.
Don’t take anyone else’s word for it.
Start your own search for the artists, classical musicians or writers that inspire you.
Go to a museum and look at the paintings without glancing at the names.
• Be Devil’s Advocate: Try playing devil’s advocate against yourself.
Try making the strongest possible argument against one of your own beliefs just for the
mental exercise.
Write at least 3 points against yourself.
# 3: Sensation Sensation is the continual refinement of the
senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.
We often forget to savor and sensualize our experiences.
Da Vinci was incredibly inspired by the world around him and the more he honed his senses,
the more he became the genius everyone knows.
Plan out 5 experiences in the next few months where you practice honouring each of your
senses.
smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing - take notes and document your progress for each
of these senses.
# 4: Sfumato Sfumato is a willingness to embrace ambiguity,
paradox, and uncertainty.
Da Vinci had a very unique ability to understand the extreme opposites of opinions and phenomenon.
He was also able to explore unknowns and revel in the uncertainty.
Most of us are uncomfortable with not knowing or unanswerable questions, so we avoid anything
out of our control.
We stick to what we know and immediately do a Google search the moment we don’t know
something.
Here are some ways you can capture more Sfumato: • Stop Googling: For the next week, anytime
you need to look up a word or trivia fact, try to guess the answer instead.
You can phone a friend for help as well, as long as they brainstorm with you too!
• Embrace Your Ambiguity: List some situations from your life where you are confused or feel
ambiguous about an outcome and explore the feelings that come up.
• Cultivate Confusion Endurance: Tap into your own paradoxes by asking questions like,
“How are my strengths and weaknesses related?”
or “What is the relationship between my saddest moments and the most joyful ones?”
# 5: Art & Science The fifth point is based on finding the right
balance between science and art, between logical reasoning and imagination, which implies the
use of both the right and left-brain hemispheres at the same time.
Da Vinci was in fact a great advocate of using both sides of the brain.
He did this in his notebooks by linking ideas with drawings.
Specifically, he was the original mind mapper.
Create a mind map of your life: Have you ever thought about how the different parts of your
life are connected?
Make a mind map of your major life moments and how they are connected.
On the screen you see an example of a health mind map.
# 6: Corporality Corporality is the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity,
fitness and poise.
Da Vinci was incredibly athletic in addition to his mental prowess.
From early on, he realized that if he wanted his mind to perform at optimal levels, his
body also had to be in top shape.
I couldn’t agree with this more.
If I have a bad night’s sleep, my work suffers.
If I don’t eat well, my energy slows.
If I don’t get enough movement, my back kills me.
Here are some ways you can capture more Corporality:
• Learn the Science of Eating: learn to make your food intake more purposeful.
These are things that should be taught in all schools actually, keeping a correct diet
and knowing what to eat, knowing what too much sugar or too much saturated fat, to give
a couple of examples, can cause is no less important than knowing Pythagoras' theorem.
• Get on a Sleep Schedule: Everyone has different sleep needs and different sleep
rhythms.
For the next week, track your sleep times and hours and see which days you have the
most energy.
Are you a night worker?
A morning person?
Learn your cycles and then honour them by building a sleep routine.
• Cultivate Ambidexterity: Da Vinci used both his right and left hands as he worked.
You can do this by trying to brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand or get a really
patient person to play a game of pool, tennis or catch where you switch hands!
# 7: Connection Connection is a recognition of and appreciation
for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena.
I think this is one of the most complex and interesting Da Vincian principles.
It has to do with something called ‘systems thinking’.
Systems thinking is when you are able to take vast amounts of information and create routines,
lists and organization.
It also has to do with pattern recognition.
Systemic thinking is particularly useful for dealing with complex problem situations.
Basically, systemic thinking is a way to help a person view system from a broad perspective
that includes seeing overall structures, patterns and cycles in systems, rather than just seeing
specific events in the system.
So, tell us, which of the 7 principles described in this video appeals to you the most?
If you like, let us know in the comments.
If you liked the video I suggest you to have a look at the video "The 9 Intelligence Types"
that you can find on this channel.
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haven’t done so already and wish you a wonderful rest of the day!