Leon
I don't know why Investor's Business Daily chose to do an inspirational bio on Alberti, but they did. I still wince when I think about that damn book, which they point to as a shrewd marketing ploy. I also wince when I think about SMLXL.
Leaders & Success: Architect Leon Battista Alberti
Strange dude, that Leon.
Alberti believed that people could achieve whatever they wanted if they only worked at it. That included overcoming personal obstacles. For example, he steeled himself in a number of ways against the physical discomforts in a time that predated central heating by centuries. He trained himself to bear the cold by refusing to wear a hat, for example.
He got over his loathing of honey and garlic by 'looking at and handling the things he loathed to the point that they ceased to offend him,' said biographer Jacob Burckhardt.
'He thus offered an example to show that men can make anything of themselves, if they wish.'
* Ray, 3/26/2004 04:41:37 PM
