Think Like Da Vinci: 7 Easy Steps to Boosting Your Everyday Genius. Michael Gelb

I am skilled at identifying and solving problems.

       My friends would describe me as open-minded and curious.

       When I hear or read a new word or phrase, I look it up and make a note of it.

       I know a lot about other cultures and am always learning more.

       I know or am involved in learning a language other than my native one.

       I solicit feedback from my friends, relations, and colleagues.

       I love learning.

      Eighteen sheets of Leonardo’s notebooks were purchased by Bill Gates for 30.8 million dollars in November 1994.

      CURIOSITÀ:

      APPLICATION AND EXERCISES

      KEEP A JOURNAL OR “NOTEBOOK”

      Leonardo da Vinci carried a notebook with him at all times so that he could jot down ideas, impressions, and observations as they occurred. His notebooks (seven thousand pages exist; most scholars estimate that this is about one half of the amount he left to Francesco Melzi in his will) contained jokes and fables, the observations and thoughts of scholars he admired, personal financial records, letters, reflections on domestic problems, philosophical musings and prophecies, plans for inventions, and treatises on anatomy, botany, geology, flight, water, and painting.

      “This is to be a collection without order, taken from many papers, which I have copied here, hoping afterwards to arrange them according to the subjects of which they treat; and I believe that I shall have to repeat the same thing several times; for which, O reader, blame me not … ”

      – FROM THE FRONT PAGE OF ONE OF LEONARDO’S MANUSCRIPTS ON PHYSICS

      Notes on different subjects are frequently scribbled on the same page, and many observations appear more than once, in different sections. And, of course, the pages are filled with glorious sketches, doodles, and illustrations. Although he expressed an intention to organize and publish them someday, he never got around to it. He was too busy searching for truth and beauty. For Da Vinci, the process of recording questions, observations, and ideas was of great importance.

      You can, like Leonardo, facilitate Curiosità by keeping a notebook or journal. Get a bound notebook or journal filled with blank pages. You can use anything from the eighty-nine-cent K mart version to a fancy one with an inspiring image on the front cover. The important thing is to carry it with you everywhere and write in it regularly. Supplement your notebook with scrapbooks or files on diverse areas of interest. Cut out and collect newspaper and magazine articles, or download information from the Internet, on any subject you fancy – science, art, music, food, health …

      As Leonardo did, use your notebook to record your questions, observations, insights, jokes, dreams, and musings (mirror writing is optional).

      Busy lives and job responsibilities tend to drive us toward hard conclusions and measurable results, but the exploratory, free-flowing, unfinished, nonjudgmental practice of keeping a Da Vincian notebook encourages freedom of thought and expansion of perspective. In the manner of the maestro, don’t worry about order and logical flow, just record.

      Try the following Curiosità exercises in your notebook:

      A Hundred Questions

      In your notebook, make a list of a hundred questions that are important to you. Your list can include any kind of question as long as it’s something you deem significant: anything from “How can I save more money?” or “How can I have more fun?” to “What is the meaning and purpose of my existence?” and “How can I best serve the Creator?”

      “Feathers shall raise men even as they do birds, toward heaven; that is by letters written with their quills.”

      – LEONARDO DA VINCI

      Do the entire list in one sitting. Write quickly; don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or repeating the same question in different words (recurring questions will alert you to emerging themes). Why a hundred questions? The first twenty or so will be “off the top of your head.” In the next thirty or forty themes often begin to emerge. And, in the latter part of the second half of the list you are likely to discover unexpected but profound material.

      When you have finished, read through your list and highlight the themes that emerge. Consider the emerging themes without judging them. Are most of your questions about relationships? Business? Fun? Money? The meaning of life?

      Top Ten Questions

      Review your list of a hundred questions. Choose the ten that seem most significant. Then rank them in importance from one to ten. (Of course, you can add new questions or change the order at any time.) Do not attempt to answer them right now; you’ve done enough just putting them in writing in a place where you can easily find them.

      Ten Power Questions

      The following questions are drawn from different people’s “top ten.” These questions are powerful catalysts to personal growth and fulfillment. Copy them in your notebook for contemplation:

      

When am I most naturally myself? What people, places, and activities allow me to feel most fully myself?

      

What is one thing I could stop doing, or start doing, or do differently, starting today that would most improve the quality of my life?

      

What is my greatest talent?

      

How can I get paid for doing what I love?

      

Who are my most inspiring role models?

      

How can I best be of service to others?

      

What is my heart’s deepest desire?

      

How am I perceived by: my closest friend, my worst enemy, my boss, my children, my co-workers, etc.?

      

What are the blessings of my life?

      

What legacy would I like to leave?

      How Does a Bird Fly?

      Choose one of the following topics inspired by Da Vinci’s passionate questioning: a bird in flight, flowing water, the human body, a landscape, reflected light, a knot or braid. And in your journal, ask at least