Who are you hanging out with nowadays?

​One of my favorite questions to ask friends, family members or colleagues  has nothing to do with business or work: “What do you read nowadays?”

I genuinely think the simple act of reading can have substantial advantages,  from improving mental health and well-being to expanding one's capacities to empathy, understanding and critical thinking.

In recent months, I have developed a passion for reading biographies and autobiographies.  These stories of other people's lives have served as the right antidote for pride and ego for me.  

We - humans - are naturally attracted to human narratives.  Between showing us what's possible and how past breakthroughs have happened, biographies can help us see the human story - in a way that other types of books often don't.  

I am a firm believer that our ability for growth and excellence is exemplified by the people we surround ourselves with.  So if we can't hang out with Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Ben Franklin and so many others, why not surround ourselves with their stories?  

In the past few weeks, I was hanging out with Leonardo Da Vinci.   It was merely a fascinating experience,  "in his art and his life, in his birthplace and now even in his death, there is a veil of mystery...  As he knows, the outlines of reality are inevitably blurry, leaving a hint of uncertainty that we should embrace. "

Leonardo was a ruthless perfectionist.  He worked on the Mona Lisa for over sixteen years, And it was in his bedroom when he died.  

I also learned a great lesson from Leonardo.  He was more interested in seeking knowledge than in publishing it.  He really "wanted to accumulate knowledge for its own sake, and for his joy, rather than out of a desire to make a public name for himself as a scholar or to be part of the progress of history."   

Leonardo left us on May 2nd, 1519.  He was passionately curious, about everything.  It was immensely fun and entertaining hanging out with him.  

Who are you hanging out with nowadays?