Journaling Tips from Leonardo Da Vinci

From a very young age, I have been an avid proponent of writing in a journal. People often ask me the best approach to successful journaling. Upon scavenging my bookshelves, I found The How to Think like Leonardo Da Vinci Workbook by Michael Gelb. Through seven Da Vinci principles, Gelb creates the perfect exercises to self-assessment, reflect and journal.

Da Vinci's Seven Principles

Curiosità - an "insatiably curious approach to life and unrelenting quest for continuous learning".

Dimostrazione - is "a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistake".

Sensazione is "the continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience".

Cryptic is "a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty".

Arte/scienza is "the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination".

Corporalità is "the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise".

Connessione is "a recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena".

Gelb does a masterful job to help expand the creative juices and think like Leonardo Da Vinci.

Pay Attention to Signs

There are signs every where. Below you will find three signs that I am noticing in my travels that are serving and saving me in countless ways. I'd like to suggest that we pay attention to these road signs in our lives as well as on the road.



What happens when we come across a speed bump? We slow down. If we don't, we hit the bump and it will slow us down. Why not notice when a "speed bump" sign shows up in life? Every move too fast in a sale or relationship and someone says, "Slow Down"? When we pay attention and take time to listen and learn more, the outcome is so much more successful. Plus there's a lot less damage.







What happens when you see a road closed ahead sign. I recently watched someone stop briefly at a road closed sign and then plow down the road anyway. Minutes later they we backing out of the area. No surprise there. When a road is closed it's closed. Not taking the road is the best solution - no matter how much we want to go down that road.




This is my favorite sign. All too often we want to take a direct route to get results and this sign shows up. Believe me, we need to pay attention when a detour sign shows up. This saves us time, money and relationships in the long run. As much as we don't like change, it's amazing what happens when you have to take a detour.


Three Signs to help us on our journey to success- Speed Bump, Road Closed and Detour - Never deviate from your desired results, just slow down, stop or take another route and life will be much more enjoyable.

Understanding Motivation

Understanding that our motivations cause us to act or not act is a major key to personal and professional success. To further drive home this point, let's start with some basic definitions for motivation.

1. wordnetweb.princeton.edu -"the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior."
2. en.wikipedia.org - "the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic."

If our motivators help or hinder us in achieving our goals, I'd like to offer some tips that can be considered to ensure that we achieve the positive results and goals that we desire.

Tip #1 - Set aside time for reflection and review of your motivators. Identify interests, fulfilled and unfulfilled dreams and goals and create a motivation journal.

Tip #2 -Focus on the positive goals or change that you want. The more positive and attractive the thoughts and images, the more likely you will be motivated to achieve the goal.

Tip #3 - Research individuals who have been successful. Read biographies, view movies and videos, interview successful people in your community.

Tip #4 - Find an accountability buddy or buddies. An accountability buddy is a person who will support, listen and provide honest feedback to help you discover what is hindering or supporting your growth.

Tip #5 - Measure your progress. Create a system that tracks your success, your challenges, your opportunities to change and grow.

Tip #6 - Be adventurous. Get out of your comfort zone, attend diverse social, community and employment opportunities.

Tip #7 - Have fun. Understanding one's motivation is a large part of our life and work journey and so we might as well enjoy the ride.

"The only lifelong, reliable motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you've just done something as well as you can do it."

Lloyd Dobens

Feasibility - Look Before Leaping

A feasibility study can mitigate risks if conducted as one of the first steps before leaping into a venture, a relationship, a project, a job or a change.

Why would an individual or company research feasibility?

The following simple definitions are a great start for building the case for investing time, money, resources and talent...

• "The quality of being doable" (wordnetweb.princeton.edu)

• "Doable, possible, achievable, workable" (en.wiktionary.org/wiki)

• "A determination that a process, design, procedure, or plan can be successfully accomplished in the required time frame."thequalityportal.com/glossary/f.htm

What are the elements for a successful feasibility study?

There are six basic elements for determine feasibility...

1. Identify Market/Customer Needs.
   

• What are the past, present and future needs of the market or client base?
  
• What are the services or products they have used, are currently using or would like to use?

2. Identify the Present Benefits and Results.

• What are the benefits that the products or services will bring?
• What results will the market or client base receive from this product or service?

3. Identify the Future Benefits and Results.

• What are the future needs of this endeavor to ensure sustained success?
• What will it take to ensure that these needs are met?
  

4. Identify the Resources, Costs, Investments.

• What will it cost to deliver the product or service?
• What resources are available to support this endeavor?
• What are the other investments that are required to make this effort possible?

5. Identify the Alternative Source of Supply or Service, A.K.A. competitive analysis.

• What sources are currently providing this product or service?
• How customer friendly are these current competitors?
• What are the current challenges that the alternative sources of supply are encountering?
  

6. Identify the Strategy and Financial Plan.

• What is the purpose of this endeavor?
• What is the vision and mission of this venture?
• What are the values required to support this product or service?
  
• What are the financial projections for a successful venture?

A feasibility study is not an exercise to delay to the start of a project or change. It is an investment in time, money, and resources to ensure that thoughtful business and life decisions are made. The ultimate benefits and results - leaping into deep water and finding that when you leap you can and will swim and sustain success.