How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci - Softcover

Gelb, Michael J

3.83

6,246 ratings by Goodreads

9780722537183: How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0722537182 ISBN 13: 9780722537183

Publisher: Delacorte Press, 1998

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the author's description of the boundless of the human mind.

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Review:

Here's a personal growth guidebook that's won the admiration and recommendation of Ted Hughes, Poet Laureate of England. He calls this "a brilliant, practical guide to awakening and training our vast, unused resources of intelligence and ability." Author Michael Gelb, founder of High Performance Learning and consultant for companies including AT&T and National Public Radio, says that we all can unlock the "da Vincian" genius inside us. Gelb says there are seven critical principles that need to be followed for success, whether you're learning a new language, studying to be a gourmet chef, or just hoping to be more effective on the job:

Curiosita: An insatiably curious approach to life.
Dimonstratzione: A commitment to test knowledge through experience.
Sensazione: The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to clarify experience.
Sfumato: A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
Arte/Scienza: The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination ("whole-brain thinking").
Corporalita: The cultivation of ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
Connessione: A recognition and appreciation for the connectedness of all things and phenomena; "systems thinking."

Gelb discusses each of these principles in relation to what da Vinci accomplished, thereby giving this book a built-in history lesson. The illustrations from the master's work and time add a nice warmth to the work. As the president of NPR said after working with Gelb, this is a program recommended for "anyone who wants to experience a personal and professional Renaissance."

From the Inside Flap:

You don't have to be a genius to think like one. Each of us uses only a fraction of our brain power, explains Michael J. Gelb, who has helped thousands of men and women learn to put more of their minds to work-and play-than they ever thought possible. Now the acclaimed author of Lessons from the Art of Juggling and Thinking for a Change reveals how any one of us can fulfill our own untapped potential by following the example of the greatest genius of all time, Leonardo da Vinci. Drawing on Leonardo's notebooks, inventions, and legendary works of art, Gelb introduces the Seven Da Vincian Principles-seven essential elements of genius, named in Da Vinci's native Italian, that any of us can develop on our own. From the notebooks' celebration of an insatiably curious approach to life (curiosita) to the willingness to embrace uncertainty and paradox (sfumato) embodied in Mona Lisa's smile, these principles will seem at once intuitively familiar and surprisingly powerful. Offering an abundance of interactive, entertaining exercises to help you master each principle, Gelb also helps you see how you can use them at work, home, and everywhere else.

Following Leonardo's lead, you'll learn powerful new strategies for tackling challenges both timely and timeless, including problem solving; creative thinking; self-expression; enjoying the world around you; goal setting and life balancing; and harmonizing body and mind.

"I wish to work miracles," wrote the young Leonardo. As you apply these principles to liberate your own unique intelligence, you may feel his miraculous touch enriching your life across the centuries, as you let his ageless example guide you toward becoming more of who you truly are.

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