T

hroughout history, the great artists, inventors, and visionaries have been celebrated and looked up to as role models. Their achievements and contributions are studied at length, as we try to understand their genius and replicate their success. Unfortunately, the opposite side of their success, also known as their failures, is often ignored.

All of history’s greatest figures achieved success in almost exactly the same way. But rather than celebrating this part of the creative process we ignore it.

Failure is an inherent part of every creative process, yet we often cast it aside and act like it never happens. This disregard for an integral part of the creative process can be harmful. Everyone needs to understand that failure happens. A lot. It’s not always sunshine and happiness. Things can get difficult and dark too. When we don’t acknowledge this, we’re at a lost when we find ourselves facing failure in our own lives.

The truth is, all of the greats have failed, from Steve Jobs to Thomas Edison. It is that same failure that has also played an important role in their successes. In a fantastic two part video essay (found below), Delve explores this distorted view of creativity and success by exploring the great Leonardo da Vinci and how his life wasn’t the rosy picture we all often envision. Cheers!

Part 1

The Long Game Part 1: Why Leonardo DaVinci was no genius from Delve on Vimeo.

Part 2

The Long Game Part 2: the missing chapter from Delve on Vimeo.

Image via flickr