Author: Don Packett
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.
The Dos and Don’ts of Handling Courageous Conversations at work or in your personal life that needs to happen that you keep putting off? We all face difficult conversations that need to be handled, but we all dread them. We can call these ‘Courageous Conversations’ because they oftentimes require so much courage to handle. In […]
The Best Employees are the Ones Who Understand the Bigger Picture We often talk about the best leadership qualities, but we should be talking about the best qualities of an employee. The best employees are the ones that know their efforts contribute to something bigger than themselves. They see how their work has an […]
Successful women in leadership roles manage their Personal Branding Benefits on a daily basis; and they started focusing on creating theirs early-on in their careers. Why do they focus on Personal Branding? And why has it become such a hot topic in the workforce today? Smart women in business understand the basic concept that every […]
You CAN Make Meetings Productive with most meetings occurring online, I’m hearing about the frustrations of time wasted during meetings from leaders and teams’ members alike. Meetings are running overtime. The structure is lost. People can’t make it to their meetings on time – even virtually! Some people talk too much while others never utter […]
Rebel technologists thrive when a couple of key environmental factors are in place The first thing is budget. Making sure that you can find the necessary budget to be able to instil these changes is an ideal starting point. If you aren’t working towards some kind of return on investment, somewhere along the line, why should […]
I was concerned about working virtually and leading through adversity so In March 2020, when the world shut down and my live event calendar was wiped clean As my speaking business went online, I wondered if it would survive the transformation. Would I still have an impact? Would I still matter? I’m sure you […]
I may sound arrogant but since everything turned upside down in early 2020 I’ve learnt so much more about who and what I am and WHY I’M BETTER THAN YOU, so I’ve decided to be more honest with myself, as well as with those around me. Everything has changed, there’s no doubt about that, and […]
As a seasoned frontline journalist and broadcaster, Mandy Wiener has a unique perspective on current affairs and A Country Worth Fighting For on how history unfolds in South Africa. Mandy has had a front row seat to the nine wasted years, the anatomy of the state capture project, the evisceration of state owned entities […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
