What was Leonardo really searching for?

Leonardo da Vinci didn’t just paint the Mona Lisa; he reinvented what it means to be a multi-disciplinary creator. In this episode, I break down his creative process from having read Walter Isaacson’s Leonardo da Vinci and Robert Greene’s Mastery. We'll explore how his curiosity, “distractions,” and obsessive observation forged the ultimate Renaissance mind, and how you can apply the same principles to your own work.

In this episode, I dissect what I learned about Leonardo Da Vinci from:
1. ⁠Leonardo Da Vinci⁠, by Walter Isaacson⁠ (https://amzn.to/3TWDxqh)
2. Mastery⁠, by Robert Greene (https://amzn.to/48Cd31K)

Bonus PDF: https://makelikethegreats.com/bonus

Timestamps
00:00:00 Leonardo Da Vinci gets Distracted
00:07:23 Da Vinci’s Childhood (Drawing)
00:13:21 The Apprenticeship (Verrochio's Workshop)
00:25:53 Doing Things His Own Way (Leaving Florence)
00:34:12 The Da Vinci Notebooks
00:42:33 Leonardo’s (Job Application) Letter
00:49:49 Creating The World's First Satellite Map
00:54:48 Expressing the Inner-World, Outwardly
01:06:29 The Virtruvian Man
01:19:28 The 30 Year Painting (Saint Jerome In The Wilderness)
01:25:40 Being Expansive

Art mentioned
⁠Benjamin Franklin: An American Life⁠, Walter Isaacson — Book⁠
Einstein⁠, Walter Isaacson — Book⁠
Steve Jobs⁠, Walter Isaacson— Book
⁠Elon Musk⁠, Walter Isaacson — Book⁠
Mona Lisa⁠, Da Vinci — Painting ⁠
The Last Supper⁠, Da Vinci — Painting
⁠Assassin's Creed 2⁠ — Video Game⁠
Drapery Drawing from Verrocchio's Workshop⁠⁠
Relevance Realisation⁠, John Vervake — Cognitive Science Problem⁠
The Baptism of Christ⁠, by Verrocchio & Da Vinci — Painting
⁠The Flying Man⁠ — Model in Rome Airport⁠
Map of Imola⁠, Da Vinci — Map⁠
The Grotesques⁠, Da Vinci — Sketches⁠
The Vitruvian Man⁠, Da Vinci — Drawing
⁠Memento⁠, Christopher Nolan — Film⁠
Saint Jerome In The Wilderness⁠, Da Vinci — Painting

To learn from artists not covered in the podcast:
Twitter⁠:   / makegreats  
LinkedIn⁠:   / make-greats  
Instagram:   / makegreats  
TikTok:   / makegreats  

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This episode was originally released on December 27th, 2023