Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452. He  was an Italian Renaissance architect, musician, anatomist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, geometer, and painter. A "Renaissance man", Leonardo demonstrated a universal genius. He is well known for his paintings, such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa which are two of the most recognizable pieces of art since his time. He is known for designing many inventions that couldn’t be made because the technology was not available. He persevered anyway and kept his ideas even though only a few of his designs were constructed during his life. Leonardo also helped advance the study of anatomy, astronomy, and civil engineering.

Leonardo da Vinci serves as our patron icon for World Creativity and Innovation Week because his example reminds us we can achieve genius in our everyday life by following his principles. He didn’t stay with the status quo, instead he nurtured and used his curiosity, mixed logic with emotion, and embraced ambiguity.

One way to unleash your creative genius is to apply one or more of the principles Leonardo used to engage new thinking. These may seem obvious to you, and they are. Your challenge is to remember them and make use of them everyday.  When you do, you will be amazed at your new discoveries and inspirations.

Seven Principles of Leonardo da Vinci

Curiosita  is an insatiable curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning. Here are some ways to apply Curiosita

• Ask questions about your day-to-day activities; why do you do certain things the way you do them?  In what other ways might you accomplish the same end that take less time, use fewer resources, etc.?
• Cultivate an open mind.  Rather than judge a new idea as immediately good or bad, wait. With an unbiased mind, do your best to appreciate the knowledge, mindfulness, structure and effort put into it.  Engage your curiosity to learn its story.  Then ask, how might you improve it?
• Choose to learn something new. Then do it, maybe with a friend, colleague or family member.

Dimostrazione is a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.

• Wisdom comes from experience.  By all means provide safe new trials from which to learn from so that over time your insight and personal knowledge will increase.
• Make a list of what you believe to be true, then ask yourself, how do you know these are true? Ask your friends if they believe them too.  Keep the conversation light with an intention to uncover other points of view.
• Choose some role models of people who made mistakes and learned from them to eventually succeed.  Ask your parents, friends, teachers, colleagues about the most beneficial mistake they have ever made.

Sensazione  is the continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as a means to enliven experience.

• In a journal, write a detailed description of your breakfast – include the sights, sounds, smells, textures, tastes and how you feel; then choose another everyday activity and do the same.  Really pay attention.
• Identify all the colours of green you see in the budding trees in spring.
• Pay attention to your breath.  Breathe for 5 minutes only focusing on the sensation of inhaling and exhaling and whatever else happens in your body.

Sfumato is a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.

• How can two things, seemingly opposite, relate to each other? In what ways is joy connected to fear?
• Everyone you know was once a stranger to you; everything you’ve learned was once new.  When you are in a safe situation that you don’t have an answer for, relax, observe, and allow your curiosity to discover your next best move.
• Uncertainty can mean that you don’t know an answer.  Imagine a scenario where you don’t know the right thing to do. Now, imagine that you do.  What would it be?

Arte/Scienza is the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination. Some people call it "Whole-brain" thinking.

• Keep your imagination open while you figure out how to overcome a hurdle to your success.  Integrate your flight-of-fancy into real world practicalities.
• Take a look at the art in seeds under the microscope.  Appreciate the art in the science.
• Keep four points of view in mind and use them all:  logic, emotion, imagination, practicality (mostly we use only one or two on a regular basis).

Corporalita is the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.

• Strengthen the connection you have between your body and mind - Make your mind up to keep your body fit.
• Engage in stretching your mind and body everyday, together.
• Stretch even further by doing everyday simple activities with your non-dominant hand. Try brushing your teeth or handwriting a letter to yourself using your other hand.

Connessione is the recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Some people call it Systems thinking.

• Keep in mind that decisions you make today have an influence on how your future will unfold.
• Remember a time when someone said ‘yes’ to you and how you felt and were able to move forward.
• Remember a time when someone said ‘no’ to you and how you felt and were able to move forward in a different direction.

These 7 Da Vinci Principles are drawn from the Random House (1998) release "How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day" by Michael J. Gelb (www.michaelgelb.com) and are used here with the permission of the author