Finding Your Inner Power

5 Ways to Improve the World, Without Finishing Them

He died before he could finish many of his projects due to an obsession with "getting it right". But Leonardo Da Vinci, the famous Italian painter and inventor who lived over 500 years ago, was okay with never seeing things "done".

Constant improvement was, in his mind, more important than finality.

And it's perhaps how we too should lead our lives in a world where nothing is certain and everything needs to be improved.

From these 5 quotes derived from Da Vinci's writings, we learn how to advance ourselves and the world, like a master.

1. "Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams?”?

Historians believe that Da Vinci's paintings and works were inspired by his early life exploring caves as a boy. This led to many dreams filled with intricate detail. Our imaginations are the key to progress. In every aspect of life. As children, we're told not to day-dream. But that's exactly what we must do.

2. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”?

Da Vinci would break down complex tasks into simple steps. What he could easily understand became his starting point followed by long periods of contemplation and experimentation that added "next steps". It's likely the process he used to invent the first pair of scissors. Start with any entry point, then build.

3. "People of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They go out and happen to things.”?

One of the amazing things about Da Vinci is that he was curious about everything. Every single thing. It's partly why it took him so long to get anything finished. His most famous painting, Mona Lisa, took an incredible 4 years, and after all that time - it was still not completed. To Da Vinci, it was more important to do things - and do them right - than it was to finish them. The message for us today is to act. Not "think about" doing something, but to actually start it.

4. "I have been impressed with the urgency of doing.”??

In addition to "happening to things" Da Vinci did them with a great sense of urgency. He believed that then, and only then, will anything happen. That's certainly true in my life. I have projects that have been "in the works" for decades. Why for so long? No urgency. If we're going to help make this a better world, the best time is now.

5. "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.”?

Da Vinci believed that if you live your life to the fullest, then you'll die happy. Death, in that remarkable sense, carries no dread. Let's live. Not exist.

Leonardo Da Vinci left a legacy of starting things.?

It would be for future generations, many years after his death, to carry his work to completion.

In 1494, Da Vinci created a concept design of a "flying machine".?

Powered, not by an engine, but by two people pushing blades, his creation would ultimately turn into the modern day helicopter.

Leonardo Da Vinci, the "Renaissance Man", praised in his day as the ultimate genius and creator, lives on to remind us all, there is work to do.?

Even if we don't get it done.