The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook: Your Personal Companion to How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci [Hardcover]

Michael J. Gelb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1999

In the bestselling tradition of The Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal, The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude and The Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Workbook comes The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook--the companion volume to Michael Gelb's 1998 Delacorte hardcover bestseller.

Created to structure and motivate the reader's development of the seven da Vincian principles introduced in How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook represents the natural extension of Gelb's da Vinci line. As any modern da Vinci student knows, Leonardo's notebook both served as the incubator and repository of his unique genius and provides the foundation of any modern-day student's attempt to emulate that genius on his own. From the very first exercise in the original How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, Gelb encourages readers to keep their own personal notebooks in which to hone their da Vincian skills; now he provides that notebook for them, with the added bonus of tips on exercises they'll recognize and new suggestions and assignments that will build on the work they've already done.

Designed to echo the inviting look of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, and structured to help readers focus on each of the seven genius principles, The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook is a companion volume that truly complements and enhances the reader's experience of the original book on which it's based.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Leonardo da Vinci is the perfect antidote to a dumbed-down world. Perfect for anyone with similar aspirations for self-actualization, the exercises in The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook are designed to provide a lifetime of cerebral expansion, using the seven parameters laid out in How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: curiosity; developing knowledge though experience; sensual refinement; a willingness to embrace ambiguity and paradox; linking the scientific and creative sides of the brain; physical poise and fitness; and understanding the connectedness of all life.

For example, to develop curiosity, one of the exercises has you ask people you respect to assess your strengths and weaknesses and to offer ways in which you could improve. Uncomfortable? Probably, for both parties. But if you're not curious about how others perceive you, you've closed off entire corridors leading toward self-knowledge and self-improvement. In the section on knowledge and experience, Gelb has you write down each new word you come across, along with its definition, and practice using it as often as you can. Da Vinci, he says, recorded 9,000 words this way. As Gelb notes in his introduction, this isn't a book that can be fully used up in a week or even a year; it could take 10 years to perform all these exercises. It would take months just to listen to the 10 greatest pieces of classical music he lists in the section on sensual refinement, and then listen to them played by different orchestras and conductors to distinguish subtle differences in interpretation. And, certainly, the simmeringly sensual recipes listed in that same section could lead to some very cozy evenings over the course of a lifetime. --Lou Schuler

From the Inside Flap

In the bestselling tradition of The Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal, The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude and The Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Workbook comes The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook--the companion volume to Michael Gelb's 1998 Delacorte hardcover bestseller.

Created to structure and motivate the reader's development of the seven da Vincian principles introduced in How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook represents the natural extension of Gelb's da Vinci line. As any modern da Vinci student knows, Leonardo's notebook both served as the incubator and repository of his unique genius and provides the foundation of any modern-day student's attempt to emulate that genius on his own. From the very first exercise in the original How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, Gelb encourages readers to keep their own personal notebooks in which to hone their da Vincian skills; now he provides that notebook for them, with the added bonus of tips on exercises they'll recognize and new suggestions and assignments that will build on the work they've already done.

Designed to echo the inviting look of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, and structured to help readers focus on each of the seven genius principles, The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook is a companion volume that truly complements and enhances the reader's experience of the original book on which it's based.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dell (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440508827
• ISBN-13: 978-0440508823
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 1 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

http://michaelgelb.com/

Michael J. Gelb, is the world's leading authority on the application of genius thinking to personal and organizational development. He is a pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, accelerated learning, and innovative leadership. Gelb leads seminars for organizations such as DuPont, Merck, Microsoft, Nike, Raytheon and YPO. He brings more than 30 years of experience as a professional speaker, seminar leader and organizational consultant to his diverse, international clientele.

Michael Gelb is the author of 12 books on creativity and innovation including the international best seller How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day. (1998) How to Think Like Leonardo has been translated into 25 languages and has appeared on the Washington Post, Amazon.com, and the New York Times best seller lists.

In 2007 Gelb released Innovate Like Edison: The Five Step System for Breakthrough Business Success, co-authored with Sarah Miller Caldicott, the great grand niece of Thomas Edison. As Professor Vijay Govindarajan, author of Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators noted, "This book is a must have for anyone who wants to turn creative ideas into profitable reality."

In 1999, Michael Gelb won the Brain Trust Charity's "Brain of the Year" award; others honorees include Prof. Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Garry Kasparov and Gene Rodenberry. In 2003, Michael was awarded a Batten Fellowship by the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business. Michael co-directs the acclaimed Leading Innovation Seminar at Darden with Professor James Clawson. Michael Gelb also serves as the Director of Creativity and Innovation Leadership for the Conscious Capitalism Institute.

A former professional juggler who once performed with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, Gelb introduced the idea of teaching juggling as a means to promote accelerated learning and team-building. He is the author of The 5 Keys to High Performance: Juggling Your Way to Success. A fourth degree black belt in the Japanese martial art of Aikido, Gelb is co-author with International Grandmaster Raymond Keene, of Samurai Chess: Mastering Strategic Thinking Through the Martial Art of the Mind. Michael Gelb is also a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, (the method taught at The Julliard School for cultivating commanding stage presence), and the author of the classic work: Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique. Michael's 1988 release Present Yourself! Captivate Your Audience with Great Presentation Skills guides readers to develop the communication strategies they need to generate support for their innovative ideas.

Michael has also created many best selling audio programs, include: Mind Mapping: How to Liberate Your Natural Genius, Work Like Da Vinci: Gaining the Creative Advantage in Your Business and Career and The Spirit of Leonardo.

Michael Gelb's passion for applying genius thinking to personal and organizational development is also expressed in his Harper Collins release (2002) Discover Your Genius: How To Think Like History's Ten Most Revolutionary Minds.

His most recent book, Wine Drinking For Inspired Thinking: Uncork Your Creative Juices, offers a unique, original and very enjoyable approach to team building.

His next book, to be published in January 2012 by New World Library, is Brain Power: Improve Your Mind As You Age.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to par with its predecessor, January 26, 2001

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook: Your Personal Companion to How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I loved Gelb's book by the same title (not the workbook). I was mildly dissapointed. My advice, skip the workbook and read How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci again!

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refining senses in a cluttered, rushed world., November 20, 2002

By 

Marilyn Dalrymple "MaLing" (Lancaster, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook: Your Personal Companion to How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (Hardcover)

Part of this book is for journaling and we've all heard how helpful journaling can be in different areas of our lives. That, however is not what I consider the value of this book.

Flip it over and you have the workbook part of the book. In this section the reader is made to sit down and think. Unlike journaling, where your mind takes you where it wants to go, the workbook gives us assignments.

For instance: Learning from Mistakes and Adversity (who doesn't want to do this?). This section encourages us to explore our attitudes toward mistakes by contemplating questions given. Following the instructions are two pages of questions that the reader must answer. In a word - it makes us think.

The work book also encourages readers to refine our senses. How often do we even consider doing this during the day when we have responsibilities piled upon us, clocks ticking the seconds away, and all the world'sgeneral confusion spinning around us? Not often!

I found this book enlightening, encouraging and helpful.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Faced Paced World, April 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook: Your Personal Companion to How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (Hardcover)

The world is moving at a fast pace and I find that people are just thinking and not thinking about what they are thinking. This book gives you a chance to return to basic principles of continuous learning and self improvement. It makes you ask the questions - How do I lead? Who is my mentor. Where am I going? What will I leave behind? Am I making a difference or just going through the motions. At some point in everybody's life (just about) these questions pop up. This book presents the information in a creative, easy, and fun way. You also have a chance to learn more about Leonardo da Vinvi (a plus in it's self).