HOW TO LAUNCH YOUR OWN PERSONAL RENAISSANCE AN INTRODUCTION Leonardo da Vinci was both gifted and a gift.

He bequeathed to us thousands of notebooks and illustrations that provide us, collectively, with a mindmap of the incubation and emergence of genius. Genius is intelligence and aptitude. Ingenuity and talent. Creativity and flair. Yes, genius is all these things, but also brilliancy, fire, and inspiration, which ultimately manifests, in practical form, as instinct. Lives become works of art when genius becomes instinctual. Between the lines of da Vinci's scribblings and sketches, you'll find a practical approach to developing genius that can be applied to every life, every task. We have each been gifted with virtually unlimited potential for learning and creativity, yet we utilize only a fraction of our total brain capacity. As the years pass, our neurons increase their capacity to forge increasingly complex connections, yet it seems that we become increasingly more prone to surrendering our minds to the quickest, simplest solution also known as The Easy Way Out. Michael Gelb's 1998 book, How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, encapsulated the seven principles da Vinci lived by. These principles are the foundation of genius, and a mindmap for launching a personal renaissance.

Leonardo da Vinci's 7 Principles of Genius Curiosit. The unrelenting quest for continuous learning. An insatiably curious approach to life. The desire to know, to learn, and to evolve ultimately drives knowledge and wisdom and remarkable discoveries. Dimostrazione. A commitment to testing knowledge through experience, persistence, and the willingness to learn from mistakes. Dimostrazione requires thinking for yourself, liberating your consciousness from old habits

and limiting preconceptions. Sensazione. Sensazione is the continual refinement of the senses especially sight as the means to enliven experience. Honing sensory awareness, da Vinci believed, is crucial to enriching one's life experience. Sfumato. Sfumato means, literally, "going up in smoke," embracing the means in order to enliven experience. The hallmark of the creative mind is Confusion Endurance. Living an enriched life means you'll rub elbows with ambiguity on a daily basis, but will learn to peaceably coexist with the unknown, the paradox, the ambiguous. Arte/Scienza. Developing a balance between science and art, logic, and imagination whole-brain thinking. Whole-brain thinking allows balance and creativity to emerge from uncertainty and the unknown. Corporalita. Corporalita is the balance of body and mind, the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness and poise. Some neuroscientists believe that intelligence is located not only in the brain, but in cells that are distributed throughout the body. Connessione. Systems thinking, the glue that binds all things. A recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all phenomena. Becoming cognizant of and applying patterns, relationships, connections and systems allows you to realize your dreams and aspirations.

How do you launch your own personal renaissance? You begin by asking yourself: What is my greatest aspiration? Perhaps you yearn to invent the next light bulb or perhaps you simply seek to live a balanced, purposeful life that is filled with all the people and things you love. Both are possible, and easier to attain than it may seem to you in this moment. In today's fiercely competitive world, learning faster, thinking creatively, and

the capacity to adapt and transform are priceless skills. People who are successful, accomplished and content have learned how to embrace the unknown, balance analysis with imagination, and apply systematic thought to problem-solving. Perhaps it is not about exploring the old conundrum: What is the meaning of life? Perhaps it is about reflecting upon the question: How can I make my life more meaningful? It's up to you to decide what meaningful means, to design your own personal Renaissance. Pursuing new solutions the da Vinci way is a creative, exhilarating new lens through which to view the world. You'll discover that sharpening your senses and liberating your own unique intelligence harmonizes body and soul. Learn a new language. Explore a new genre of music. Forge a new partnership. Invent a new business model. Just begin. You're not too old. It's not too late. Your capacity to learn can only intensify, once the energy of curiosity is awakened. From Leonardo da Vinci's enlightenment comes ours: Live your life as a work of art. Perhaps Mona Lisa was smiling because she knew the 7 Steps.