**How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day by Michael J. Gelb**

The idea of trying to identify the principles guiding the life of one of the greatest geniuses and providing readers with a masterplan, guidance, and highlights is indeed interesting. I enjoyed reading about Leonardo da Vinci, including the salacious details, the fact that he loved flowers, and liked to dress as well as possible, in velvet and some other precious material that I forgot. However, all in all, I was not overly impressed by this book of what seems to be pop-psychology. I'm not entirely sure if that's the correct classification, but it appears to me that its current popularity has more to do with da Vinci than with any new contribution by Mr. Gelb.

Maybe I'm wrong. After all, I'm no Leonardo and couldn't really think like him, even after reading this book, which at times seemed like a guide book for dummies. It asked me to think of my favorite painters, musicians, etc. and then presented Mr. Gelb's preferences. I'm not sure why I should "gain" this knowledge. Here are the principles "discovered" in the book: The Seven Da Vincian Principles - Curiosità, Dimostrazione, Sensazione, Sfumato, Arte/Scienza, Corporalita, and Connessione. Each principle has its own unique meaning and significance. For example, Curiosità represents an insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.

In conclusion, Leonardo's legacy lives on through these principles, which offer valuable insights into how we can strive to think and live like a genius. While the book may not be a revolutionary work of psychology, it does provide an interesting perspective on the mind of one of history's greatest thinkers.

We Arabs still, unfortunately, give some books an importance that they don't deserve.

The positives:

- There is a lot of beautiful information about the personality of Leonardo da Vinci. The book ends with me carrying a mental bag full of information about this phenomenon that I'm not ashamed of.

- If you're interested in drawing and its related arts, you'll benefit, but the benefit will be greater if you join a beautiful art academy to develop your skills.

The negatives:

All that's left of the book aside from what I mentioned above. But I gave it two stars because I got to know da Vinci through it.

Ok, so the reality is that a large majority of the self-help and self-improvement books available in the market are actually complete rubbish. They are充斥着 outrageously obvious or even deluded truisms (or perhaps not-so-truisms at all). However, I have discovered that Michael Gelb's writings are consistently of great value.

Yes, it might seem a bit silly to believe that one can "think like Leonardo." But the truth is, there are indeed some interesting techniques and tricks that you can utilize to make yourself open up your mind just a little bit more. Moreover, by exposing yourself to new experiences, you can learn a plethora of great things about yourself.

This book mainly focuses on self-understanding through self-expanding. It offers valuable insights and practical methods that can help you explore your inner self, break free from the limitations of your current thinking, and embrace new perspectives and possibilities. If you are truly seeking personal growth and self-discovery, then this book is definitely worth a read.

THINK LIKE DA VINCI

This book, 'THINK LIKE DA VINCI' by Michael J. Gelb, is a rather interesting one. It presents a seemingly simple concept, yet it can be a bit complicated. Gelb claims to guide you through 7 Easy Steps to Boosting Your Everyday Genius. However, for an average person like me, these steps are not as straightforward as they might seem. Once you read them, they do appear obvious. But I firmly believe that if one were to practice these steps, it would definitely have a significant impact on their life.

I have given this book a RECOMMENDED READING tag. Although, it would have been nice to have better quality and colour pictures. Leonardo da Vinci, credited as one of the top thinkers and geniuses in the world's documented history, is no stranger to us. We have all read about him in school and in various books, heard him being talked about in seminars, and seen documentaries on his work.

Michael Gelb's proposition is simple. Model yourself on the way the Genius DA VINCI used to think, and surely you would start thinking like him. If only it were that easy. Reading is one thing, debating and discussing another. But it is in practicing and making these ways of thinking a habit that most of us fail and will likely continue to fail. I recommend reading this book. Even if you were to take just a little bit of the advice and gain a little from the process, reading the book would be worthwhile.

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