Why You Shouldn't Stay Focused
Career Lessons from Leonardo Da Vinci
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Read time - Less than 5 minutes
Leonardo Da Vinci was famous for being a polymath, which led to multiple modern inventions, or famous paintings like Mona Lisa.
You can be like him.
Before you say: "I'm not Da Vinci! I can't do this!”, keep reading and you’ll realise Da Vinci isn’t a superhuman.
In today’s issue, I will discuss Da Vinci’s approach to curiosity and the career lessons we can learn from him.
Let’s go back to our early years…
When we enter tertiary schools, we choose a major and specialise.
We spend years in that major hoping to find a job in that industry.
But after graduation, we realised that's not what we wanted to do.
I once visited a "Da Vinci experience" and learned many of his stories, specifically:
The lack of focus.
His ideas heavily influenced many of our modern inventions.
Da Vinci did all these using 2 simple approaches:
1) He expanded on his core skill
Da Vinci had one skill that contributed to multiple talents: Art
Had he not been a great artist, he wouldn't have been able to draw the details of a human body or the physics of military vehicles.
His work ranges from:
Mechanical engineering
Maritime technology
Biology
Military warfare
Aerospace & Aviation
Bring this wisdom back to yourself: How can you combine your core skill (your major) with other interests and passions?
2) He did not limit himself
Although Da Vinci was a great artist, he did not only stick to being a painter.
Instead, he tried so many experiments that modern people would insult him as: “Lacking focus”.
Yet, it was this way of working that allowed him to explore curiosities without limits.
I once helped a client who took up a major in IT, and today he's working as a railway engineer.
How is it possible when these two industries are so far apart?
Well, it was due to his interest in hands-on mechanical assembly, as well as his understanding of electronic systems studied in IT.
This combination gave him more career opportunities.
Conclusion
So don't be afraid to try new things out, you might discover something you didn't know it'll fit you.
And follow Da Vinci’s methods to build yourself a career:
Expand on your core skill into other areas
Don’t limit yourself to only one field
See you next week.
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