Leonardo Lessons

The life of Leonardo da Vinci offers a wealth of life lessons. Here are some, most of which are taken verbatim from Walter Isaacson's biography:

• Be curious. Being relentlessly curious about everything around us is something each of us can push ourselves to do, every waking hour, just as he did.
• Retain a childlike sense of wonder. Never cease to stand like awed children before the world in which we are born.
• See things unseen. Look for the message beyond the obvious, behind the curtain of what's visible. What is seen is temporary, what is not seen is eternal.
• Get distracted. Leonardo's willingness to pursue whatever shiny subject caught his eye made his mind richer and filled with more connections.
• Respect facts. Let's be fearless about changing our minds based on new information.
• Procrastinate. "While painting The Last Supper, Leonardo would sometimes stare at the work for an hour, finally make one small stroke, and then leave. He said that creativity requires time for ideas to marinate and intuitions to gel. 'Men of lofty genius sometimes accomplish the most when they work least,' he explained, 'for their minds are occupied with their ideas and the perfection of their conceptions, to which they afterwards give form.'"
• Think visually. Solve problems with the mind's eye.
• Indulge fantasy. The ability to make connections across disciplines--arts and sciences, humanities and technology--is the key to innovation, imagination, and genius.
• Create for yourself, not just for patrons. I used to censor myself with concerns about what you, the reader, would think about my essays, what you wanted. When I began writing for myself about those things I enjoyed or intrigued me, I became more creative and liked what I wrote more. I hope you did, too.
• Collaborate. Genius starts with individual brilliance. It requires singular vision. But executing it often entails working with others. Innovation is a team sport. Creativity is a collaborative endeavor. 
• Take notes, on paper. Leonardo wrote 7,200 pages of notes and scribbles that, miraculously, survive today. I have been a note keeper most of my adult life but my scribbles have not survived. If I saw, heard or read something interesting I would jot it down of a piece of paper. Then, later, I couldn't find the paper. Or I would put the material in a notebook, perhaps filling 15-20 pages and misplace the notebook. Last year I began keeping notes in a 9.75 inch x 7.5 inch Composition Book that I take with me wherever I go (if I don't forget it which, sadly, I often do). I have stuff in it like unusual sir names; the reason James Earl Rudder didn't win the Medal of Honor for his heroic acts at Pointe du Hoc during WW II; notes on M-theory; Shakespeare lines and quotes from others; theology notes. It is a treasure trove, for me anyway. You might like keeping your own notebook of interesting and random ideas.