How to Be a Genius: Leonardo da Vinci's 5 Rules

Summary

This video explores five key lessons from the life of Leonardo da Vinci, as detailed in Walter Isaacson's biography. It encourages viewers to present themselves based on aspirations rather than past achievements, become T-shaped individuals with diverse skills, admit when wrong, collaborate with others, and beware of perfectionism. The script emphasizes the importance of balancing the pursuit of excellence with the ability to complete projects, suggesting that embracing imperfection can lead to greater personal growth and productivity.

Takeaways

• 🎨 Embrace a wide range of interests and strive for excellence in multiple areas, much like Leonardo da Vinci, to become a 'Renaissance person'.
• 📝 Present yourself based on your aspirations rather than just your past, tailoring your image to reflect what you aim to achieve in the future.
• 🔍 Be a 'T-shaped person', having deep expertise in one area while maintaining a broad set of skills and interests across various disciplines.
• 🧠 Recognize and admit when you are wrong, adjusting your beliefs and theories to align with new information and experiences.
• 🤝 Emphasize collaboration in your work, understanding that great ideas often come from collective effort and recognizing the contributions of others.
• 🚧 Be cautious of perfectionism, which can hinder productivity and reliability; it's important to know when to complete a project and move on.
• 🛠️ Learn and adapt quickly, as da Vinci did, to gain new skills that can be useful in various situations, such as learning a LAMP Stack for a job application.
• 🌐 Draw from a variety of disciplines to enhance your creativity and understanding, applying patterns and insights from one field to another.
• 👀 Observe and question the world around you, filling your mind with curiosity and knowledge, as da Vinci did with his extensive notebooks.
• 🎭 Understand that the path to greatness often involves both individual genius and teamwork, as seen in collaborative art projects and scientific endeavors.
• ⏳ Use constraints to manage perfectionism, setting realistic timeframes and limitations to ensure that you complete your work and continue to grow.

Q & A

What is the main challenge the speaker identifies with having multiple interests?

The main challenge is that jumping between interests too frequently prevents one from putting in the necessary hours to become truly good at any one thing.

Who is considered the 'Original Renaissance person' according to the script?

Leonardo da Vinci is considered the 'Original Renaissance person'.

What is the significance of the book 'Simply Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson'?

The book 'Simply Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson' provides fascinating insights into what made Leonardo da Vinci the man he was, which the speaker wants to share to help others become more productive.

What is the first lesson from Leonardo da Vinci's life that the speaker shares?

The first lesson is to present yourself based on what you would like to become, not just on what you are right now or what you have been in the past.

What does the term 'T-shaped person' refer to in the context of Leonardo da Vinci?

A 'T-shaped person' refers to someone who has a broad set of interests and skills but also has deep expertise in one particular area, much like Leonardo da Vinci who was knowledgeable in various disciplines and had deep expertise in several of them.

What is the importance of being willing to admit when you are wrong, as highlighted in the third lesson?

Admitting when you are wrong is important because it allows for growth and reaching one's highest potential by adjusting beliefs to fit new information.

How does the speaker describe the role of collaboration in achieving greatness?

The speaker describes collaboration as a key to achieving greatness, as it often brings inspiration and the collective effort needed to realize and perfect visions, rather than attributing genius solely to solitary efforts.

What is the danger of perfectionism as discussed in the fifth lesson?

The danger of perfectionism is that it can lead to an inability to finish projects, making one unreliable and potentially causing distress due to the constant pursuit of an unattainable standard.

What is the advice given for dealing with perfectionism in the script?

The advice given is to give perfectionism constraints by setting a timeframe and a set of limitations within which to create the best work possible, rather than aiming for an impossible 'best thing ever'.

What is the promotional offer mentioned in the script for Audible?

The promotional offer is a free 30-day trial of Audible service with a free audiobook download of choice by going to audible.com/Thomas or texting Thomas to 500-500.

How does the speaker suggest one can quickly learn a new skill for a job application, as exemplified in the script?

The speaker suggests that one can quickly learn a new skill, such as setting up a LAMP Stack, within a short period like a weekend, and that this newly acquired skill can help in landing a job.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Embracing the Renaissance Mindset

The first paragraph introduces the concept of having multiple interests and the desire to excel in various fields, like a Renaissance person. It highlights Leonardo da Vinci as a prime example of such a polymath, mentioning his famous works like the Mona Lisa and his lesser-known connection to popular culture as a 'ninja turtle.' The paragraph also references Walter Isaacson's biography, 'Simply Leonardo da Vinci,' as a source of insights into da Vinci's life and work. Five key lessons from da Vinci's life are teased as a preview of what will be discussed in the video.

05:00

📝 Crafting a Forward-Looking Self-Presentation

The second paragraph delves into the first lesson from da Vinci's life: presenting oneself based on aspirations rather than past achievements. It discusses da Vinci's approach to tailoring his resume to highlight his desired role, emphasizing the importance of aligning one's self-presentation with future goals. The summary also touches on the balance between showcasing current interests and not exaggerating capabilities, using the example of a friend who quickly learned a new skill to secure a job. The lesson encourages viewers to be authentic and capable in their self-representation.

10:02

🔍 The T-shaped Personality and Learning Agility

The third paragraph explores the concept of becoming a 'T-shaped person,' drawing from da Vinci's ability to shift focus and excel in multiple disciplines. It details how da Vinci's broad curiosity and constant learning allowed him to make connections between different fields, enhancing his creativity and understanding. The summary explains the importance of having a deep expertise in one area while also possessing a broad range of knowledge, exemplified by da Vinci's studies in anatomy and their influence on his painting of the Mona Lisa.

🔄 Adaptability and Acknowledging Mistakes

The fourth paragraph discusses the importance of knowing when you are wrong and being willing to adjust beliefs based on new information. It contrasts the common mindset of sticking to one's guns with da Vinci's approach to learning and growth. The summary provides the example of da Vinci's theory about the earth's waters and how he was willing to abandon it when it didn't align with facts, emphasizing the value of adaptability and continuous learning.

🤝 The Power of Collaboration

The fifth paragraph emphasizes the power of collaboration, challenging the popular notion of the solitary genius. It uses examples from various fields to illustrate how teamwork can lead to great achievements, including da Vinci's collaborative painting practices. The summary encourages viewers to embrace collaboration, credit others for their contributions, and warns against the pitfalls of focusing too much on personal branding and credit.

⚖️ Balancing Perfectionism with Productivity

The sixth paragraph addresses the double-edged sword of perfectionism, using da Vinci's own struggles with leaving projects unfinished as a cautionary tale. The summary discusses the impact of perfectionism on da Vinci's reliability and legacy, and offers advice on setting constraints to combat it. It concludes with a reminder of the importance of completing projects to gain skills and insights for future endeavors, advocating for a balanced approach to perfection.

📚 Conclusion and Audible Promotion

The final paragraph summarizes the key lessons from da Vinci's life and promotes Walter Isaacson's biography as a resource for further learning. It also introduces an Audible promotion, offering a free trial and audiobook download, and encourages viewers to take advantage of this resource to delve deeper into da Vinci's life. The summary ends with a call to action for viewers to subscribe, engage with the content, and explore additional resources provided by the channel.

Keywords

💡Renaissance person

A 'Renaissance person' refers to an individual who is skilled in a wide range of areas, embodying the spirit of the Renaissance period where polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci excelled in various fields. In the video, the term is used to describe someone who, like Leonardo, has a diverse range of interests and skills, and is not limited to one area of expertise.

💡Mona Lisa

The 'Mona Lisa' is one of the most famous paintings in the world, created by Leonardo da Vinci. It is used in the script as an example of da Vinci's artistic achievements, highlighting his mastery in the field of painting and his contribution to the Renaissance art movement.

💡T-shaped person

A 'T-shaped person' is a concept where an individual has both deep expertise in one area (the vertical bar of the 'T') and a broad set of skills and knowledge across various disciplines (the horizontal bar of the 'T'). The script uses this term to illustrate Leonardo's diverse talents and his ability to integrate knowledge from different fields, which contributed to his innovative thinking.

💡Anatomical studies

Anatomical studies involve the scientific examination of the structure and function of living organisms and their parts. In the context of the video, Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical studies are highlighted as a foundation for his realistic depictions in art, particularly the famous 'Mona Lisa's smile,' showing his deep understanding of human muscles and facial expressions.

💡Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a personality trait characterized by striving for flawlessness and setting excessively high standards for oneself. The video discusses how Leonardo da Vinci's perfectionism both drove his brilliance and hindered his productivity, leaving many projects unfinished and contributing to his complex legacy.

💡Collaboration

Collaboration refers to the process of working together with others towards a common goal. The script emphasizes the importance of collaboration in achieving greatness, using examples from both historical and modern contexts. It contrasts the popular notion of the solitary genius with the reality of teamwork in realizing and perfecting ideas.

💡LAMP Stack

LAMP Stack is a term used in web development that stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. It represents a set of software technologies that work together to power many web servers. The video uses the LAMP Stack as an example of a skill that can be quickly learned and applied to enhance one's professional profile.

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is the desire to learn, experience, or understand new things. In the script, Leonardo da Vinci's relentless curiosity is cited as a key factor in his ability to explore various disciplines and make significant contributions to multiple fields of knowledge.

💡Adaptability

Adaptability is the ability to adjust to new conditions or changes. The video mentions that Leonardo was willing to adjust his beliefs in light of new information, showcasing his adaptability as a strength that allowed him to grow and evolve his understanding.

💡Genius

Genius refers to an exceptional intellectual or creative power, typically used to describe individuals who have made significant contributions to a field. The script discusses the common misconception of genius as a solitary pursuit and emphasizes the collaborative nature of many genius-level achievements.

💡Imperfection

Imperfection acknowledges the reality that no work is flawless and that striving for perfection can sometimes impede progress. The video encourages embracing imperfection and setting constraints to manage perfectionism, allowing for the completion and iteration of projects.

Highlights

The challenge of sticking with a single interest and the pursuit of becoming a Renaissance person like Leonardo da Vinci.

The importance of presenting oneself based on future aspirations rather than past achievements.

Leonardo da Vinci's strategy of custom-tailoring his resume to secure desired positions.

The concept of becoming a T-shaped person with deep expertise in one area and a broad understanding of various disciplines.

The value of shifting focus and not being limited by past identities or existing skills.

The role of curiosity in driving Leonardo da Vinci's relentless pursuit of knowledge across different fields.

The significance of understanding and applying patterns from one discipline to another for creative excellence.

The importance of being open to changing one's beliefs and theories in light of new information.

The need for collaboration in realizing and perfecting creative visions, even for those perceived as geniuses.

The potential downsides of perfectionism and its impact on reliability and the completion of projects.

The historical difficulty in attributing original works to Leonardo da Vinci due to collaborative painting practices.

The benefits of crediting others for their contributions to a project and its positive impact on personal likability.

The idea that finishing a project to the best of one's current ability is better than not finishing it at all.

The suggestion to impose constraints on perfectionism to achieve more tangible results.

The encouragement to embrace imperfection as a means to improve and reach one's highest potential.

A summary of the five key lessons from Leonardo da Vinci's life for personal development and productivity.

A promotional offer for Walter Isaacson's biography of Leonardo da Vinci through Audible, including a free trial and audiobook download.

Transcripts

- I don't know about you but I have always had a problem

sticking with just one interest.

I wanna do everything

and I don't just want to do everything,

I want to get good at everything.

Now normally this is a pretty poor strategy

for building skills.

If you jump between things too frequently,

you never put in the number of hours needed

to get truly good at any one thing.

But given enough time, energy, and let's be honest here,

unhealthy obsession, one can become a Renaissance person.

Now one such Renaissance person,

probably the OG Renaissance person was Leonardo da Vinci.

You might have heard of him before

from this little-known project of his called the Mona Lisa,

or through his much more impressive accomplishment

of being immortalized as a ninja turtle.

More recently though he was also immortalized

in a huge biographical tome

called Simply Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson.

This book gives us some fascinating insights

into what made Leonardo the man that he was.

And today I want to share some of those insights with you

so that you can use them to become more powerful

than you could possibly imagine or you know

at least a little bit more productive in your daily life.

So here are five lessons from the life of da Vinci,

or as my best friend Martin likes to call him.

- My boy, Leo DV.

- Lesson number one, present yourself

based on what you would like to become,

not just on what you are right now

or what you have been in the past.

Many of us know da Vinci as the mastermind

behind the Mona Lisa or his painting The Last Supper

but there were actually periods in Leonardo's life

where he didn't even want to look at a paintbrush.

During one of these episodes when he was looking

for a new patron in Milan, he drafted a letter

describing his various talents

mostly in engineering and military endeavors.

The letter he drafted lists 10 specific areas

in which he might be of service

before mentioning painting at all

of which he writes, likewise in painting,

I can do everything possible.

Basically this is an early example

of a custom-tailored resume which Leonardo wrote

to get the job that he wanted.

So here's what you can take with this,

when you're presenting yourself to others

whether it be in the form of a resume or even a Twitter bio,

don't talk about things that you don't want

to be known about or that you don't want to be doing

in the near future.

Instead work to highlight your current interests,

if you have to pad things out with your past experience,

you might need to do that

but don't put them first and foremost.

But on the other hand, don't list things

that you can't actually do yet

just because you want to do them.

You actually do have to be able to deliver to some degree.

As it turns out, Leonardo actually hadn't done

many of the things that he listed in his letter.

A lot of them were just ambitions or ideas

but because he had this genius ability to innovate

usually things worked out pretty well for him

but today things are a lot more competitive

and people don't want to waste time

with somebody who really doesn't have experience.

So make sure that you can back up what you're talking about,

make sure you have at least some of the skills

and experience that you want to present to the world.

Now that isn't to say that you need years of experience

in a particular discipline before you can present it

because many things can actually be learned

in a very short period of time.

For example, one of our friends was applying for a job

a few years ago in which having experience

with a LAMP Stack which is a web hosting stack

consisting of Apache, MySQL, and PHP all running on Linux

would have been very beneficial

so in just one weekend, he taught himself how to set this up

because it's a pretty easy skill to learn actually

and that experience actually helped him to land the job.

Lesson number two, become a T-shaped person

and luckily I've got a head start on this

because my name starts with T, for the rest of you guys,

you may have to put a little bit more work into this

but it's worth it.

Leonardo's willingness to shift his focus

to entirely new things is part of what made him great.

He didn't get caught up in past identities,

and he didn't limit himself based

on what he was already good at.

Instead, he relentlessly followed his curiosity

wherever it led him and he filled notebook after notebook

with constant observations and questions and thoughts.

And due to this constant practice,

he not only made himself familiar

with many different disciplines

but he became quite knowledgeable in several of them,

human anatomy, optics, military engineering,

hydrodynamics, and theatrical productions

just to name a few.

Oh yes and painting as well.

And it was partially due to this variety

that he was able to excel in so many talents.

His creativity and understanding was bolstered heavily

by his ability to see and apply patterns

from one discipline to another.

For just one example,

let's take a look at the Mona Lisa's smile.

The greatness of this smile in the painting

was not an accident,

it was informed by obsessive anatomical studies

and a desire to understand each of the muscles

that control facial expressions.

Without this extra layer of learning to pull from,

the greatness of the painting overall would have suffered.

Lesson number three, know when you are wrong.

Leonardo thought deeply and critically

about almost everything which means that he was bound

to be wrong at one point or another.

Now in some circles the practice of sticking to your guns

is seen as a good thing and people who change their mind

from one position to another

are often labeled flip-floppers but this kind of a mindset

can really keep you from growing

and reaching your highest potential.

An important part of what made Leonardo who he was

was his willingness to adjust his beliefs

to fit new information, not the other way around.

And he did this even with beliefs and theories

that he held dear.

For instance, he really liked finding comparisons

between the human body and the earth

and one theory that he held for a while

was that the earth's waters might circulate

similarly to that of the human body's blood vessels

but as meaningful as this analogy was to him,

as beautiful as it seemed,

once he realized that it did not fit the facts,

he dropped it and went looking for a new theory that did.

So follow in Leonardo's footsteps in this area.

Don't hold yourself to your past beliefs

if they do not fit the facts.

Use the facts to find a more accurate theory to live by.

Lesson number four is to collaborate with others.

Popular culture often sees genius as a lonely trait

but genius doesn't always hide out in solitude

just waiting for inspiration to strike.

Inspiration often comes from working with others

and even when genius comes up with an idea on its own,

a team is often needed to realize and perfect that vision.

For example, Terry Pratchett came together with Neil Gaiman

to write Good Omens.

All the engineers and technicians at NASA

put their collective heads together to get us to space

and of course where would Lil Jon be

without The East Side Boyz?

In da Vinci's time, paintings were often done

collaboratively in studio and because of this

determining whether or not a work is an original Leonardo

is difficult because many of his works weren't done alone.

Even if the original vision was his,

the work itself was often done by a team

both early in his career in his mentor Verrochio's studio

and then later on in his own studio.

Now this might seem crazy to think about at first

but given the time it's really not that different

than multiple people working together today

to create an animated character in a movie or a video game.

Most 3D characters are created by multiple artists,

some work on textures, others work on rigging,

and still others study reference material

to make sure the animation itself is realistic.

And even putting painting aside,

many of the other great ideas da Vinci had

were inspired by his conversations and his work with others.

Others whose names have been forgotten

but whose contributions live on.

As the Jesuit priest Father Strickland once said,

"A man may do an immense deal of good

"if he does not care who gets the credit for it."

Today we seem to have this particularly strong fixation

with building a personal brand both online and offline.

We wanna make sure that our work has our name on it

but if you can get away from this temptation a bit,

if you can embrace collaboration

and be quick to credit people

for their ideas and contributions,

you're gonna get a lot farther

because your work will be better.

Also, somewhat ironically, people will tend to like you more

if you're quick to credit others

because well you won't look selfish.

That brings us to lesson number five

which is to be wary of perfectionism.

Looking at Leonardo's accomplishments in retrospect

can make him look almost superhuman in his brilliance

but while he was still alive,

it wasn't the only thing he was known for.

The same perfectionism that drove him to new heights

also kept him from being very reliable to others.

He rarely finished anything including some large projects

that he had been paid to do and had agreed to finish.

After procrastinating in what could have been

one of his greatest achievements,

a mural commemorating The Battle of Anghiari,

eventually getting a new contract with a later deadline,

failing that deadline as well,

and then eventually just abandoning

the entire project altogether,

he never again received a public commission.

And not only did this trait make it difficult

for Leonardo to find work

compared to his more flexible peers,

it also didn't seem to sit well with Leonardo himself

as he obsessed with leaving a legacy while simultaneously

leaving project after project unfinished,

he repeatedly scrawled in his notebooks.

Tell me if anything was ever done.

Tell me, tell me, tell me if I ever did a thing.

Tell me if anything was ever made.

Hundreds of years later, Leonardo may now be more respected

for his unwillingness to produce work

that was just good enough

and you may well respect him for that yourself

but it's also important to know when to just be done.

It is okay to simply finish something

to the best of your ability right now and move forward

and it's far better than just not finishing it at all.

And this is especially true

because regardless of what you view as perfection right now,

what you're gonna be able to produce in the future

will be far better.

Every single time you finish a project,

you gain new skills, you gain new insight,

and you become more capable

of creating better and better work.

Now perfectionism is a big problem

so let me imperfectly solve it here with just one quick tip.

Give your perfectionism constraints,

don't say I'm going to set out to make the best thing ever

as that's impossible, you could always put more time

and energy and effort into it,

instead say I'm gonna make the best thing

that I can reasonably make within this timeframe

and this set of constraints.

In the long term, just remember that trying new things

and making mistakes is a large part

of how we improve ourselves.

Much like Frieza, you have to lose a few times

in order to reach your final form.

And the faster and more often you can embrace imperfection,

the faster and closer you'll get

to your highest potential in any area.

Your version of perfect.

So to quickly summarize,

first present yourself based on what you want to become.

Second, become a T-shaped person.

Third, know when you're wrong.

Fourth, collaborate with other people,

and fifth, be wary of perfectionism.

Now in the intro for this video

I mentioned that all the lessons we just talked about

were inspired by Walter Isaacson's

biography of Leonardo da Vinci

which was simply titled Leonardo da Vinci

and if you'd like to experience this book for yourself

and also start learning a bit more about his life,

you can actually start listening to it today for free

on Audible by going over to audible.com/Thomas

or by texting Thomas to 500-500 on your phone

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