How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

Name: How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci
Author: Michael Gelb

Michael Gelb

Think like Leonardo da Vinci by sharpening your curiosity, observation, and creativity through practical exercises for everyday life.

21 min7 Chapters

Listen to the intro

1:13

Business & Career

Personal Growth & Self-Help

Education & Creativity

Biography & Memoir

Outline

What's it about?

How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (1998) turns the habits of one of history’s greatest minds into practical lessons for everyday life. Michael Gelb presents seven principles drawn from Leonardo’s life and notebooks, including endless curiosity, learning from experience, sharpening the senses, embracing uncertainty, balancing art and science, caring for the body, and seeing connections. Exercises help readers apply each principle to boost creativity.

Key ideas

Gelb draws seven principles from Leonardo's life and notebooks and turns them into practical habits for everyday life.
Endless curiosity and learning from experience sit at the base of Leonardo's way of thinking.
Sharpening the senses and embracing uncertainty are treated as skills you can build, not traits you are born with.
Leonardo balanced art and science, and the book encourages readers to draw on both sides of the mind.
Caring for the body and seeing connections between things complete the seven principles, each supported by exercises.

About the author

Michael Gelb is an American author, speaker, and consultant known for his work on creativity, innovation, and leadership. He has led training programmes for major companies around the world, helping people apply the thinking of great innovators to their work. His books include How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, Discover Your Genius, and Innovate Like Edison.

Questions people ask

What is How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci about?

The book presents seven principles drawn from Leonardo's life and notebooks, such as curiosity, learning from experience and seeing connections. Michael Gelb pairs each one with exercises that help readers boost their creativity.

Who is this book for?

It suits anyone who wants to build creativity, curiosity and observation into daily life, whether for work, study or personal growth. The exercises are written for everyday use, so no artistic background is needed.