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When people hear the term renaissance man the first person they usually think of is Leonardo da Vinci. In this post, we will be looking at Leonardo’s accomplishments and we will look at what traits he had that let him become so famous for his work. Then I will show how we can apply some of his traits into our own lives to try to achieve some of the same results Leonardo achieved.

Leonardo’s A ccomplishments

Leonardo da Vinci was mainly known for his artwork. But he accomplished much more than that. He was also an expert mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and writer. He mastered anything that he found interesting.

He invented the first armored tank 400 years before it was ever created. He also made many discoveries but never ended up publishing them. Once his notebooks were found it was reveiled that he actually made many discoveries that other people get credit for and he did it hundreds of years before them.

His Personality Traits

Leonardo da Vinci had many factors that led to his genius mind. Some of these factors were external and impossible to recreate, but I am going to focus on his personality traits to see if we can recreate some of them in our own lives.

Trait #1: Self-education

Leonardo wasn’t born a genius but he became one due to his intense curiosity. Curiosity alone isn’t enough to become a genius, there are many curious people in the world. Leonardo stands out because when he was curious about something he sought out the answers to his questions.

He wasn’t content with not knowing something and he always made it a point to find answers to the questions he had about the world. For most people today, education stops after they finish either high school or college and most of that education is only the given coursework.

Self-education is probably Leonardo’s greatest trait and if you had to choose only one trait from this list to apply to your life it should be this one. Leonardo would be extremely jealous of all of the information we have at our fingertips today. We need to take advantage of this fact and use it to learn new things.

Here is an awesome list of free resources you can use to learn almost anything. Its called the no excuses list www.noexcuselist.com

Whenever you have a question about something or see a cool skill you’ve always wanted to learn don’t think to yourself “I wish I knew how to do that”. Instead, go out of your way to actually learn it. It is actually much easier to learn new skills than most people think in fact you can achieve very impressive results in only 20 hours according to Josh Kaufman, author of The First 20 Hours.

Trait #2: He Worked Well With Others

Many of the paintings made by Leonardo were actually collaborative works that many people helped create. Experts are able to distinguish Leonardo’s contributions to the work because he was left-handed and his strokes went the opposite direction than right-handed people. But there are many parts of his painting that were created by right-handed people.

So if someone as skilled as Leonardo da Vinci is able to let people work on his world-famous art with him then it shouldn’t be hard for you to ask for help when you get stuck on things either. Most people would be happy to help and it is actually proven to build stronger relationships with the person you are receiving the help from.

Trait #3: Combining Multiple Fields of Study

Leonardo saw art and science as the same things and in his mind, they were. He used his knowledge of physics to create amazing inventions for engineering, architecture, and military weapons. He used his artistic abilities to convey his inventions to people, without his drawings most of his inventions would sound too complex to become reality and no one would buy into them.

Since he knew so much across so many disciplines it was easy for him to make new discoveries by combining ideas from all of them. People say that innovation occurs in the intersection of 2 or more fields and Leonardo is proof of that. Try to combine the knowledge you have from multiple fields and you shouldn’t be afraid to learn new things.

Trait #4: Leaving Projects Unfinished

Leonardo da Vinci left many projects unfinished. Many of these projects were paid for already by kings. He was known to leave entire cities and never return because he didn’t finish a piece of art. This could be seen as a bad trait and to many of his customers, it definitely was. I actually see this as an important part of who he was and without it, he might not have become so good at everything.

He left the projects that were no longer interesting to him. This freed up his time so he can learn more about the things that he was truly interested in. Many people waste their time doing things that they don’t enjoy and because of this lack of interest, they don’t perform as they would have if it was something they were interested in.

If you no longer feel passionate or interested in something try to find something to replace it that you are passionate about. I find that I get the most motivation and do my best work when it is for something I am passionate about.

Trait #5: Perfectionism

Leonardo was a huge perfectionist. He was constantly dissatisfied with his current skills due to his perfectionism. He always thought he could be doing better or doing more. This caused him to work harder and learn more. It’s hard to say whether or not Leonardo would have accomplished more or less without this trait. It’s very possible he would have been better off without it.

This trait is part of what caused him to become obsessed with improvement.

He worked on the Mona Lisa for over 10 years and never considered it to be complete. He was rarely happy with his current state and without this trait, he would have led a much happier life. I have felt this feeling before and I made a post and a video to help others that feel this way too. You can read it here: Fighting Perfectionism.

Trait# 6: Procrastination

Procrastination is one of Leonardo’s worst traits and it shows that he was human too. He was often disappointed in himself for not having the will to work on things and felt he wasted his time too often. Self-motivation is one of the hardest skills to master and very few people are truly able to master it.

If we can learn to fight procrastination in our own lives we can achieve great things. I think building strong habits is a great way to combat procrastination. I am currently reading the book Atomic Habits and highly recommend it. The book teaches you the importance of small habits and how to make habits that stick.

Is What Leonardo Did Achievable Today?

Yes and no, There is so much information in today’s world that you can’t possibly learn everything. But that was also true when Leonardo was alive. He didn’t know everything. He was always looking to improve his skills and his knowledge. This we can do.

My first advice would be to find something you find truly interesting and dive in. Then when you are content with your level of expertise in that field move on to the next one. Don’t forget to bring your knowledge from the previous field with you. Innovations occur most often when you combine knowledge from two separate fields. That is why being a renaissance man can be so valuable in our modern world.

Don’t limit yourself to one field of study. Today’s world is centered around specialization which is what makes being a renaissance man more valuable than ever. You will be able to stand out and combine ideas from multiple specialties.

Try to actively be more curious about things and seek out answers to questions you have instead of accepting things as facts. There have been many times in my life that I wanted to learn something and I am grateful for the times I actually followed through to actually learn it.

Some of the information in this post came from the book Leonardo da Vinci By Walter Isaacson. This was a great book and I recommend it to anyone that is interested in learning more about him.