Author: James R. Elliot
I’ve always been a fan of the multitude of skills that Leonardo da Vinci brought to the world to REACH PERFECTION. A painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect (thanks Wikipedia), his art – in whichever format it was created – is well-known across the planet, throughout history. Stories shared through time explain his commitment to […]
I’ve always been a fan of the multitude of skills that Leonardo da Vinci brought to the world to REACH PERFECTION. A painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect (thanks Wikipedia), his art – in whichever format it was created – is well-known across the planet, throughout history.
Stories shared through time explain his commitment to his work and how hard to continue to push towards greatness. Which is why I was quite perplexed when I saw this quote the other day, allegedly his last words:
“I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.”
Now, I’m not sure about you, but if I had achieved what he achieved over time, through multiple disciplines, I’d be giving myself a big fat pat on the back on my deathbed just looking back at what I had contributed to the world.
His comment has been widely discussed over time, so I’m not going to argue whether it was shared exactly as stated, but I’d imagine someone like Leonardo da Vinci probably did, in his own creative way, feel that his skills should have continued to grow and improve to make an even bigger mark on the world. You don’t get to a position like he did, creating masterpieces, without pushing yourself and expecting more from yourself to achieve perfection.
So, it left me with one question: Am I pushing hard enough to achieve perfection? Am I giving my all, giving absolutely everything, in the pursuit for perfection? I mean, I have the words “Don’t hold back” tattooed on my arm, so clearly, I’m committed to doing whatever it takes to achieve greatness, to achieve perfection, right?
As much as I’d love to say “Yes, I’m killing myself day in and day out to be the best version of myself I can be”, and make Leo-D proud, I can’t. It’s not the case. What I am doing, though, is ensuring that finding the balance between focusing on growing and sharing my ‘skills’ (the work stuff) as much as I can and ensuring a healthy life (the personal and family stuff), I am indeed driving towards being the best version of myself.
Too often you hear of people who stretched too hard, too far, in their pursuit to build their business or profile and leaving the other elements of their lives in their wake. It’s a choice, I accept that, but I’m not on a journey to break the rest of my priorities to focus on one.
My journey is one of balance, of alignment, and staying true to myself.
What’s yours?
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Facebook
Author Profile
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
Extreme explorer, Cipla Foundation trustee and ambassador, David Grier, the First person to run The Great Wall of China in both directions and fellow extreme athlete, Andrew Stuart have passed the half-way mark of their gruelling 70-day, 4200 kilometre journey across the Great Wall of China. This challenge is a feat that Grier already […]
A couple of weeks ago I was in Orlando for a talk and I knew the THE 3 C’S OF ELITE TALENT DEVELOPMENT. The night before I was sitting at the hotel restaurant grabbing some dinner. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that there was a basketball game on the tv at […]
There’s one thing between you and the results you want – Discover what discomfort is stopping you to be it a higher functioning team, more leadership, more money or just more joy and happiness – you know what it is? That’s right, discomfort. If you’ve read anything about the upcoming book (or listened to me, […]
Think Yourself Thin reaches no.1 Best Seller rank on Amazon VANCOUVER, July 19, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ – Nathalie Plamondon-Thomas, inspirational speaker and Life Coach, tops Amazon.com bestseller lists with her new book Think Yourself Thin. In Think Yourself Thin, Nathalie combines her experience in life coaching, fitness, nutrition and Neuro-Linguistic Programming into a system that shows you how to reprogram […]
Here are six ways to create psychological safety to re-engage and reassure today’s anxious, disengaged and lonely workforce. Teams can be lonely places. People can feel vulnerable and exposed if they believe their teammates don’t support their ideas or appreciate their work. These interpersonal struggles intensify for remote workers who lack the support of a nodding […]
Now that we are in the midst of the world’s largest remote work does not work experiment, it’s worth asking: what does it take to run a good virtual meeting? It is all too easy to just focus on what can be controlled and configured: security, bandwidth, platforms or devices. However, when it comes to […]
Is email is killing your company your primary method for communicating with your colleagues? Then you have picked up a dangerous habit that is killing your company. Here’s why. 1. Email exacerbates knowledge hoarding What is your companies most important asset? Knowledge! It might not be booked to the balance sheet but your value is […]
I want you to think about investing in yourself as you become more resilient. The work that feeds your mind, body and soul. Self-investment is the first step in your resilience journey I want you to think about investing in yourself as your most important work. The work that feeds your mind, body and […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
