Last Friday’s post discussed the difference between Individual Contributor and Leader. I wanted to re-iterate that there is nothing wrong with being an individual contributor by writing a post about an individual who has greatly influenced how I live my life: Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo Da Vinci was the most productive human being who ever lived. Leonardo Da Vinci was a man whom history could not label as an Artist, nor Engineer, Architect nor Scientist, Anatomist nor Inventor. In fact he was all of these things and more. History in its attempts to categorize people and events so we can quickly reference them in books and study them in context of our lives falls short with Da Vinci. History’s only recourse is to allow his life to create its own category, one that has yet to be re-used by another in antiquity. Da Vinci embodies the Renaissance Man because he did not allow the definition himself to be boxed into how he earned a living.
He contributed to the fields of anatomy, geometry, hydraulics, flight, architecture, botany, geology and physics. His notebooks contain the concept for automation.
Like da Vinci, we all should be committed to a life of learning and growing. I strive to not just be an engineer or a teacher, project manager or church leader. I want to continue to grow and become a successful author, community leader and entrepreneur.
I recommend Michael Gelb’s book, “How to think like Leonardo da Vinci” to learn more about how this genius lived and thought. Make a commitment to be a leader who lives a productive life.