My Life Goal

image: stevelummer.com

I have one life goal - To become a Renaissance man

A Renaissance man is one who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences. (TheFreeDictionary.com)

I have my own definition, one I can easily attach a goal to.

I consider a Renaissance man as -

1. A polyglot,

2. A poet, artist or musician,

3. A sportsman,

4. A programmer,

5. A financial analyst,

6. An entrepreneur, and

7. Having a good working knowledge of history and current affairs.

For 10 years now, I have been working hard at ticking each quality in that definition. And I'll be sharing my progress so far.

BECOMING A POLYGLOT

Being a Nigerian, English is my second language. My native language is Yoruba. So I grew up as bilingual and have gone through the pain of learning a foreign language before, a valuable head start.

I plan learning French, Spanish and German. And since 2009, I have been learning French actively. I listen to French music almost daily. I have French pen pals. I have gone for a French immersion programme in a French speaking country. I have taken paid classes at Alliance Francaise and Centre Culturel Francais, Nigeria. I subscribed to popular French news sites and I read French novels.

My French is still far from fluent, but I'm not in a hurry. I'll keep giving it time and consistent efforts. And as soon as I can swap out BBC news with TV5 and RFI, I'll move on to Spanish. And reusing the same strategy, I'll finally move on to German.

BECOMING A POET, ARTIST OR MUSICIAN

I plan giving all the three a try.

Since 2004 when I penned my first poem, I have written over 30. I have had one published in a National Newspaper and another one in an International Family Magazine. I now write daily and I'm in the middle of my first novel.

Between years 2003 and 2006, I tried learning to play the Piano, Flute, Trumpet, Guitar and Drum sets. Then I discovered that I am tone deaf. But in 2010, I began working on awakening the music conscious part of my brain. I started using my left limbs more. I began writing with my left hand. And for over 2 years now, I have been brushing my teeth daily with my left hand. I now do it as well as with my right hand. I'm already noticing pleasant changes and soon, I will try learning a musical instrument again.

Someday, I'll try painting too.

BECOMING A SPORTSMAN

Growing up in Nigeria, I had access to only Football and Table tennis, and I wasn't good at any of the two.

Now I'm recreating myself. I hired a private swimming instructor and for some months I swam weekly. I intend to resume the weekly regimen soon.

I do push-ups 3 to 7 times weekly, and since 2011. I walk for 45 mins every day. And being originally lean and tall, I now have a swimmer's build.

BECOMING A PROGRAMMER

I have programmed extensively in C and VB.Net before. I once built a home automation device using PIC C to program a Microcontroller. And I have built several interactive programs using VB.Net.

Now that I work part-time as an MS Excel Consultant, I write lots of VBA codes.

This is the only quality, I can tick as achieved.

BECOMING A FINANCIAL ANALYST

This is included in my definition because being financially literate and having a practical knowledge of data analysis have become life skills.

I have more finance books than any other book category. I have taken a couple of finance courses on Coursera. I manage my investments and do my stock analysis.

BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR

[classified gist, will share later]

BECOMING KNOWLEDGEABLE IN HISTORY AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

I read lots of classics. I read for more hours than I sleep.

I read almost anything, from product manuals to French classics.

I have a very good memory and an intellect that earns me frequent commendations.

So that's my progress report.

It's a life goal and I’m taking my time to enjoy the journey.

Wanna share yours?