Leonardo da Vinci – the original Renaissance man – sculptor, painter, scientist, engineer, architect, costume designer and more!
So how did he create such groundbreaking sculptures and paintings? AND engineering marvels that were way ahead of his time?
Lucky for us, Leonardo left very detailed notebooks. Mr. Gelb, the author, studied those notebooks and other da Vinci materials, then distilled the research into seven steps. Yep, seven steps we can take to think like Leonardo.
I included this book in my Creativity series because, while Mr. Gelb doesn’t frame these steps as creativity tools, they absolutely mirror the creative process as I’ve experienced it and from what I’ve gleaned from creativity research as well.
While I list the seven steps below, you’ll definitely want to get the book for the amazing exercises and journal prompts, as well as the overview of the Renaissance and da Vinci’s life. T
The Seven Steps to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci
1 Curiosita
An insatiable curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.
2 Dimonstrazione
A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
3 Sensazione
The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, to enliven our experiences.
4 Sfumato
This literally translates to ‘going up in smoke’ and in this context is asking us to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty.
5 Arte/Scienza
Balancing art and science, logic and intuition, whole brain thinking
6 Corporalita
Cultivating grace, fitness, amberdexterity and poise. One example of how Leonardo did this was his mirror writing. He basically wrote backwards in his notebooks!
7 Connessione
Appreciating the interconnectedness of all things. This is systems thinking.
Every time I get back into this book, I always leave with something new, but I’d have to say my top takeaway is how Leonardo loved to learn, AND that he did so with doing, testing, experimenting. His curiosity overrode any fear of failure and I strive to follow that example.
