The Genius - Leonardo Da Vinci

Went for the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition at Science Center today. The organizer has really done a wonderful job. I was standing in awe of the presence of Leonardo's magnificent creations which lead me to contemplate on the capability of human's mind. It is fascinating that our brain has the ability to display such creativity. Walking around, looking at the arts and inventions which transcends time, filled my heart with gratitude for being given the chance to witness their beauty. He was truly a Genius.

Here are some of the lessons which I had learn from the Genius.

1. One can start from nothing to become a genius. Obstacles will form the greatest strength of a person. Leonardo was born an illegitimate. Being born as a bastard, he was not given any formal education at all. However, it was because of this deficiency, he studied English instead of Greek and French which were popular at that time. This was which started his interest to question conformities. It was also believe that it was the main reason why he wrote in opposite direction as he was not corrected by any educators.

2. Trust your judgement rather than following traditions or what others said. If Leonardo had followed the traditions of using egg yolk (a tradition for painting at that time) and not risked using oil paint, his angel in Baptism of Christ would not have surpassed his teacher nor left such a legacy.

3. You can still create great value to people no matter how messed up you may be. Like everyone else, Leonardo had his own fair share of contradicting values. He hated killing but created plans for war machines of mass destruction. He was also human. You need not be perfect to be genius.

4. Great work take time to complete. His greatest arts all took time to create. If he had rushed, I am sure that it would not have been such beauty. Details are all that matters.
   

5. There is no such things as learning too much things. Jack of all trades is a myth. I believe that Leonardo's involvement in several fields was what constituted hugely to his intelligence and creativity. He was able to see connections and stuffs where others weren't able to see.

6. Just being creative is not good enough. Delivery is just as important. I realized that even though he was great in creating value, his delivery really sucked. He served a lord whom did not appreciate his talents nor did he know how to bring his creations to serve the masses. As a result, he lived most of his life fairly broke and his creations were only treasured few hundred years later (most creations were lost in between). One has to know how to deliver the values he/she create to the masses. Or else, it will be useless.

7. Only actions can bring result. If he had procrastinated to do any of his work, we will not see any of them today. As he commented in his notebook “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do”.

Thank you Leonardo