My Life Goal

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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? 


7 comments:

  1. @Michael, your goal is just the same as mine...I can completely relate to all the sub-goals. I've always been a polyglot(English, yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and a bit of french and mandarin), a polymath(I'm probably overspread cos I read more than I can eat and sleep combined) and a poly-interest man.Thanks for the eye-opener.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Chinedu,

      Cool to see that I'm not alone. I thoroughly relate with the reading more than eat and sleep combined!

      Thanks for dropping by my little corner.

      Delete
  2. Michael, please I'd like to ask a personal question.I just need a certain amount of clarity right now in my life and could do with some help.why did you choose to be an excel consultant? and how is it working out for you? Career-wise, satisfaction-wise and career-wise? Thanks in advance

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    Replies
    1. I think the career chose me. I stumbled into it. In 2011, I got an MIS and Business Analyst job role with a sister company of Airtel (Comviva) and little did I know that I would be using Excel 7 to 10 hours a day.

      Slowly, people began to notice my Excel skills and side jobs started rolling in. Finally, I got too many project and training requests that I decided to quit my job and start a full-time business in Excel consulting.

      It has been a very rewarding one. Last year, I averaged N1 million per month. I get to work on only the projects I love and I am doing the work I enjoy doing.

      Delete
  3. I'm learning to speak french, swim. Trying to apply for M.Sc Finance (Nigeria and UK - spreading risk). I want to learn to roller skate. My swimming is coming along well and I am so excited. #Je_suis_Joie

    ReplyDelete

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