Life Musings

I'd like to quote an inspiring section from the book, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb.

"When Leonardo was working on The Last Supper, he spent many days on the scaffold, painting from dawn to dusk; then, without warning, he would take a break. The prior of Santa Maria delle Grazie who contracted for his servics was not amused. As Vasari noted, 'The prior of the church entreated Leonardo with tiresome persistence to complete the wor, since it seemed strange to him to see how Leonardo sometimes passed half a day at a time lost in thought, and he would have preferred Leonardo, just like the labourers hoeing in the garden, never to have laid down his brush.' Vasari explains that the prior complained to the duke, who questioned Leonardo about his working habits. He tells us that Leonardo persuaded the duke that 'the greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more when they work less.'

"Although your boss may not accept the idea that 'the greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more when they work less,' the art of incubation is, nevertheless, essential to actualizing your creative potential. Almost everyone has experienced 'sleeping on a problem' and awakening with a solution. But incubation is most effective when you alternate, as Leonardo did, between periods of intense, focused work and rest. Without periods of intense, focused work, there is nothing to be incubated."