“People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” Leonardo da Vinci 1452.
This explains a lot about why Leonardo is still being talked about, why we still look up to him and why exhibitions and his drawings can be admired and gawped at. The process of going out and happening to things ie. Being proactive is not altogether easy.
First, you have to see the ‘something’. Glimpse an opportunity, perceive a need, understand that something is not right, or could be improved upon.
Then you have to think through what is needed to make the thing happen or to be remodelled. All this without allowing apathy and procrastination to wash over and seduce you. Apathy and procrastination are very seductive.
Then you have to summon the wherewithal, actually, go and do it and maintain the energy and verve through to its completion. Whew!
But there is something else that is necessary to be a ‘Leonardo’ and to happen to things. A vital part is realising and admitting that sometimes, maybe often, you were wrong. That the problem is insurmountable, or the way you were tackling was not the best or most fruitful way.
The ability to make this admission is a very precious commodity and perhaps is the most important skill of all.
About one of his inventions, Leonardo wrote something like: ‘If the results are not as anticipated and the outcome is flawed then the concept should be disregarded swiftly and permanently.’ All of the above is not an easy checklist. There are few public, high-profile ‘Leonardos’.
But my guess is that there are many ‘Leonardos’ “happening to things’; quietly, selflessly, unobtrusively, but nevertheless effectively. We could always use more of them. Go out and happen to things.