How to think like Da Vinvi

Renaissance Man

Renaissance man is a phase that has typically been used to describe a person with a multi-faceted

set of skills and talents, such as being a musician, a scientist, a philosopher, an inventor, an artist, etc.  Of course, this could easily describe Leonardo Da Vinci who possessed these skills and talents over 5 centuries ago.

Is it possible, if we are willing to apply ourselves, to think like a genius? 

Yes, it is . . .  and, there are 7 steps that we can apply each day.

Seven Steps to Genius Every Day

1. Approaching life with insatiable curiosity  and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.
2. Committing to test knowledge through experience, persistence and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
3. Continually refining the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.
4. Embracing ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty.
5. Balancing science and art, logic and imagination - ‘whole-brain thinking’.
6. Cultivating grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
7. Recognizing and appreciating the interconnectedness of all things – ‘systems thinking’.

Believe it or not, merging the senses is a foundation of scientific and artistic geniuses. You can heighten all your abilities by cultivating your sensory awareness’s.  A simple way to begin is to describe one sense in terms of one or more of the other senses.  For example,

• Listen to your favorite piece of music. As you listen, experiment with expressing your impressions by drawing shapes and colors.
• If you were to sculpt a particular piece of music, what materials would you use? What shapes would you make? Which colors? How would the music smell?
• Look at a reproduction of your favorite painting. Vocalize the sounds inspired by the colors, shapes, and textures on the canvas.
• Make a list of great artists and composers. Imagine transposing them based on their work, not their personalities.
• Imagine a question you have answered in terms of how it smells and tastes like, or how might it feel or how it might be mind mapped?

Click to enlarge

Mind mapping is a simple technique to visually link your brainstorming ideas around a key word or phrase.  It is also an excellent opportunity to transcend a normal thought process into a creative and artistic self-expression.