The Renaissance Man

So I was sitting, well laying, in bed last night and could NOT sleep at all.  I for some reason could not get comfortable and had a weight on my chest.  I don't know if this was because of my extremely high wearwolf esk body heat, the fact I had work in less then four hours or something was on my mind.  Obviously it was a combination of all three (especially the first), but for blog purposes I'll share with you what was on my mind...

THE RENAISSANCE MAN

So over 5000 years ago, this term was developed during the Italian Renaissance to define what a man should strive to become.  In Latin the word for renaissance man is "homo universalis" or a person who is well educated or who excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields.  Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most well known Renaissance men of that time period.  As we all know, he is extremely famous for painting and sculpting, but not many know that he also was an architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer.  Not only did he do all these things, but as the definition says, he "excelled" in each of the fields as well.  But looks definitely were not on his side, as seen below.

The Renaissance Man of Today

Now that the definition is clear for all of us, I want to spend a little bit of time on what I feel could help make us (the male population) Renaissance Men in today's society.  Now I do not want to go into specifics of what we need to do (i.e. the list of abilities), but rather I want to go over a list of attributes I believe the RM of today would possess.  Now this list of attributes could go on for days and days, but I would like to narrow them down to four simple things.

THE LIST

• Obtain Attractiveness - I say obtain because lets face it, not every person is blessed with physical beauty at birth and thus has to work on it in order to to get it, hence the use of "obtain".  Now unfortunately we all can not be the Shemar Moores or Ryan Reynolds of the world, but you know what, you can at least do a few things to help your cause:

• Be physically fit.  Women don't necessarily want a man who can throw a football 60 yards or dunk a basketball like Lebron James, they want a man who takes care of his body because no girl wants to be with a lazy, fat, and unhealthy slob.
• Smell good.  I have always said, "women are easily way more attractive then men, so the least we can do is smell good".  Find a cologne that describes your personality and stick to it, once a girl associates you with a certain cologne, every time she smells it on campus, at work or on the street...thats right...she'll think of you.
• Dress to impress.  Be able to dress according to any situation you could find yourself in; anywhere from a tuxedo affair to just going to class.  Make it a point to have a wardrobe of clothing that flatters your physique and personal style for multiple situatons.  Don't ever wear brown shoes with a black suit just because you don't own black shoes, go out and buy a pair.  Don't wear a pair of beaten up old basketball shoes with a pair jeans, purchase a pair of casual dress shoes to enhance the cut of the jeans.  And lastly, don't be someone you're not.  Don't be fake and a sell out by only wearing things that are in style; because remember, at one point Ed Hardy was all the rage, now if you're seen wearing it, it only shows how big of a loser you are.

• Have A Custom Swagger - Just like the Old Spice Guy has a swagger so intense that he can say nothing but gibberish in his commercials and still have anyone watching him become automatically infatuated by what he says; you too can develop a custom swagger of your own.  Now understand that we all cannot be like the Old Spice Guy, but we can create swagger that is unique and one of a kind.  The key is to be yourself and then make your swagger desirable to those who interact with you.
• The perfect example is one of my best buddies Paul Wall.  When he and I first met, needless to say he was a nerd (not the textbook nerd, but the kind you could almost tell he is from Utah kind of nerd (sorry Paul)), but because of his swagger he caused me and hundreds of others who knew, know or will know him, fall in love with his "nerd-ness".  His swagger is one that exemplifies confidence and tact with a bunch of class.  Sadly to say, I cannot put into words what his swagger truly gives the world, just know that he is who he is and his swagger will cause you to like him no matter what.  And that can only be achieved with a "custom swagger".  Here's a little pic for the ladies, if you want to get to "know" Paul Wall, hit me up for his digits and I will gladly hook you up.

• Develop Hobbies - Do you want a woman that only looks good and knows how to talk?  If you answered "yes", then you are a weener (yes it is purposely spelt wrong), but if you answered "no", then congratulations you want the same as women: a partner that has more to offer then a warm body.  So develop hobbies that are both enriching and interesting.  Some of you already have great hobbies: knowing how to play a musical instrument, reading, blogging, playing sports and much more.  But to be a true Renaissance Man you must develop other hobbies that the average male does not possess.
• One such hobby that I love to do and has been proven to be a successful when finding a partner is, being a handyman.  All women enjoy a man who is good with his hands (that's what she said), when it comes to fixing things from cars and broken pipes to craftsmanship and woodwork.  Jeff Transtrum, a great friend of mine is a perfect example of this.  First, he is an amazing accountant, but by developing classy hobbies such as woodwork, he has transformed the definition of an accountant; from boring and bland to colorful and tasty.  He recently made a "door table" from an old door he found on the side of the road.  Needless to say it looks amazing and has a great rustic/vintage look and this hobby definitely helped score him an amazing wife.  So it is obvious to say, you should develop hobbies that are rare and interesting to become a real RM.

• Be Dashing - In Webster's Dictionary the following definition is given: "dashing - (of a man) Attractive in a romantic, adventurous way".  This defines perfectly what every woman wants, a man who is in touch with his emotions (romantic), but also has a wild/"bad boy" side (adventurous).  The prime example of dashing is obviously 007, one must watch a few of these movies to see how James Bond implements romance, friendship, adventure, emotion or laughter to assist him in being dashing with those of the opposite sex. 
• If you still are wondering how to be dashing, just make a constant effort to make every moment you have with a woman, a memorable one.  Now this does not mean one has to become elaborate with all that he does, but rather, he needs to ensure that his actions and words are ones that any woman would want to hear.
• WARNING - if you use this to be "smooth" or "fake", I personally guarantee you will fail in your efforts and will do quite the opposite of being dashing, which is...a D bag jerk (excuse my language).

CONCLUSION

There are many guys who try and be Renaissance Men, but only obtain epic failures.  In order to be a RM and succeed at it, understand that you must make it an individual thing.  Don't go copying other men, what truly made da Vinci a RM of his time, was not that he was like the rest, he rather he was different and original in all the things he did, from his art to his philosophies.  So be daring and creative, show all those around you that you are a Renaissance Man and that you truly do "exemplify a person who excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields, but in a unique and truly original way"!

Because if given the opportunity, every woman would take a Renaissance Man over a Joe Shmoe.


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