wolf's journal

[wolf]

Different people have different thoughts about the lifestyle of a Renaissance Man. And for me that's ok, of course. I have to find my own path, set my own definition, and visualize my own future situation of the Renaissance Man. That's the reason why the path is non-linear with many different options. There are many alternatives, decisions to make, routes to take. For me it's also true exploration of (personally) undiscovered territory. I do know methods, tools, navigating skills and maps, though, thanks to Jacob's "navigational" ERE book.

I find SMART goals in itself not good nor bad. It depends on the usage and purpose. I think I'd like to take a process-oriented approach primarily with elements of a results-oriented approach secondarily. And to be fair, setting an identity is a result. It's a Northstar for me. It guides the way and is helping me to find my way through the undiscovered territory. And there will be no one absolute measure to me what the life of a Renaissance Man must look like. It's an ideal, which I strive forward, but I'll never reach it completely, because everything is changing all the time. Circumstances change. People change. Framework/methods/tools change. Etc.

So I "becoming a Renaissance Man" is more like an incremental approach to me. There will be phases, sprints, moments to decide, but the Northstar stays the same. And if I find something more important, something more meaningful or useful, then I'll have to evaluate, compare and decide. Never say never. Who knows where this path will lead? Important to me is (at the moment) that I start on a path towards meaningful to me, which is kind of an ideal/Northstar. Because as I already said in "dissatisfaction of present situation", I long for an overall framework, for a new mission or project in life. That has to do 1) because the FI-side of the ERE-equation is pretty good progressing and 2) there are changes in my private and work life. Both together have been creating a void over the last months, that I think must be filled with something new. And I can't think of something better than becoming a Renaissance Man. It fits together with what I thought, what I read about, what I can visualize my future to be look like.

To come back to what c_L said. My approach is two-folded: process-oriented primarily, results-oriented (tactical side) secondarily.

[wolf]

Becoming a Renaissance Man #03

Describing the baseline of the models of my Web-of-Goals.

In today‘s journal post I‘d like to ilustrate a rough baseline for the moduls of my Web-of-Goals. With it I‘d like to set a starting point. A baseline will help me with comparisons with changes. So what I already did is to brainstorm topics of the moduls of my Web-of-Goals. I‘ll post those topics in another post, because chronologically and logically those have to tend more towards outcomes and to be defined processes and habits.

So, let‘s start by listing elements of the baseline of each module in my Web-of-Goals. (in no special order)

PHYSIOLOGICAL personal asset
I run, go for long walks in the woods, exercise hiking, exercises with my body weight, do High-Interval-Intensity-Training, ride my bike, stretching, yoga, try to eat almost always a plant-based diet, avoid sweets and snacks, sleep overall pretty good, wash my hands regularly over the day and after I went into a building/apartment/house, etc., know first aid.

As you see, I list (at the moment) only things I do. If I listed also elements which I don‘t do, it would be to open and a never-ending story. Therefore I start only by listing things I do.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
I read regularly books and articles about personal development, ego development, psychology. I do a quarterly review, status and outlook, which I call QURSO. I reflect and measure my personal life satisfaction and contentment. I measure my Mental-Wellbeing-Scale (MWBS). I write a journal, in which I document lessons learned, important events, feelings and thoughts. I review the highlights of each week in retrospect. I do know many personality typing models and use them as good as I can in daily life.

TECHNICAL personal asset
I know a lot about personal computers and other IT stuff. I use linux. I like to write technical documents and system-thinking. I‘m not a nerd, but I comprehend technical stuff easily. Abstracting and analyzing things is always happening in my mind. Work-wise I enjouy working in a technical environment, more than the business side.

LANGUAGE
Although I‘m not a huge fan, others say that I‘m good at presenting, moderating meetings and coordinating by protocols, todo-lists, etc. German is my native language, but I‘d love to read and write and speak and listen in English. In addition to that I do software development and computer programming, which is in my mind another „language“. I value words and the correct meaning of them. Regurarly I like to read high-quality newspaper. I write focus sprints (xx minutes of intensive writing). I do journal reviews. Communicating correctly without misunderstandings is important to me. I‘d like to ask „why“ a lot. I‘d like to ask more than I do like talking. I‘m good at listening.

EMOTIONAL personal asset
Meditating, listening to music, watching good movies and TV series (IMDB>7). Within my journals I reflect feelings, goals, actions and thoughts. Emotional intelligence is important to me, but it‘s less developend than cognitive/mental intelligence. Emotions are my soft spot, because I‘d like to behave rationally (see also System 2 and „Econ“ of „Thinking Fast, and Slow“ by Daniel Kahneman). Most of the time I‘m within my own head and introspective. I‘m an introvert naturally.

SOCIAL personal asset
I am able to SmallTalk, but I don‘t do it proactively. I can work on my own, but I like also to work within teams from time to time. I meet my family regurlarly and phoning my parents. I like to be part of a community which is in line to my own understanding of the world (ERE-Forum with you). Besides my neighbours I don‘t have any other friends/“social contacts“ outside of family and colleagues at work. Socializing comes not naturally to me. If people deserve it (when trust is high and/or I know that people learn and develop) I help them without any second thoughts.

ECONOMICAL personal asset
Well, as you guess, economical topics are one of my special domains in life. I live a pretty efficient life (compared to the average). Saving money is a side-effect of this lifestyle. All money-related things are easy for me. I reduce all kinds of waste in my life and try to help trusted others to do as well. I‘m living in accordance to many things what Jacob wrote in his book about the „Lifestyle of a Renaissance Man“.

ECOLOGICAL personal asset
As I try to life money-wine efficiently I also try to avoid ecological waste. I know (not do) permaculture. And I use the ecology around me (aka nature) to do sports and recreation. But other than that I don‘t have any further connection to ecological topics practically, e.g. I don‘t grow my own vegetables and I don‘t know the names of birds, plants.

POLYMATHS SKILLS
I already live a Renaissance Man lifestyle, but my income source is coupled directly to my salary work. I know about the polymaths skills, such as adaptability, flexibility, creativity, etc, but I don‘t make use of it. Much of my time I work full-time as an employee. I have already read books about polymaths skills, system thinking, etc., but as I already said doing is challenging for me. I love to live in a world of theories.

INTELLECTUAL personal asset
As an INTJ/P I like to read a lot. I collect many data and information. I re-read books. I love mental work which stimulates my mind. I‘m a method-person, who likes to make use of systems and frameworks. INTJ/P!

Well, that‘s it, a kind of baseline of the modules of my Web-of-Goals. Becoming a Renaissance Man is non-linear and I don‘t know what kind of value such a journal post (about baseline) will have in the future. It‘s important to me that I progress my path, and with every journal post I do so. Before I‘m able to come up with new ideas, to-be processes and habits and actions, I have to know where I start. In order to find my way I have to know where I‘m now. Defining my baseline is therefore important.

[Bankai]

Excellent series of posts! Do you believe full time job is compatible with renaissaince man ideals/lifestyle? I find it difficult considering the amount of life-energy full time employment requires. Do you think your unsatisfying progress might be due to this as well?

[wolf]

Thank you Bankai!

Is a full time job compatible with renaissance man ideals/lifestyle? Well, I guess it depends of the job role and job circumstances.
I can imagine myself working full time in a generalist job/role, then yes, I think so. And if I change my employer or the sector I'm working in, in order to learn many different skills, then yes, I think so. If that is realistic? I don't know.
And it also depends what you mean by full time. Here in Germany (and I guess in other European countries as well) it is possible to work full time with only 35 hours per week. If you add flexible hours, working from home and having great independence of how you do things and many vacation days, it could help achieving a (my initial version) of a renaissance man lifestyle.

I share your conserns as well, that full time employment require a great amount of life-energy, if it has a negative effect on yourself. However, with job-crafting, full time work can also have a positive effect on yourself, regarding life-energy. If your motivated and stimulated, than I wouldn't say that it is only absorbing life-energy.

How do you think about it? Do you believe a full time job to be compatible with a renaissance man lifestyle?

[Forskaren]

I see that the full-time work give you a cash flow while decreasing your free time. That combo favor using money to solve problems, while not favoring the broader toolbox of the renaissance man.

[Bankai]

It seems possible for certain people in certain circumstances. Myself, between sleep, work, commuting, maintenance & workout, I maybe have four hours left in the day, and these are the hours with the lowest energy, i.e. before sleep. So, after being up for 12 hours it's not easy to muster energy and motivation for DIY projects/learning etc. Doing anything more than 1-2 hours a day is not sustainable (tried that many times with net negative results).

I agree that job crafting helps, but only to a point. I also have a quite flexible working arrangement with some work from home & 7 weeks of holiday, but it's insufficient to fully recharge and be able to commit significant time to multiple priorities. Maybe 1-2 on top of daily exercise, but not 6-7 like on your chart.

I'm maybe overly pessimistic, but all the accounts of people following renaissance man ideal I seen were from people who either never had a full time 'job' or have already quit one.

[jacob]

I've always lived <20min from work (Chicago was the one exception. The dog was really limiting in finding something close in the right price range.) So, 8-10 hours work, half an hour commute, 10-15 min HIIT at home, 8 hours of sleep, one meal a day that's cooked in batch, that leaves about 6 hours per day to do other stuff. Not having a TV or not paying attention to it helps a lot.

It's also easy to overestimate all the skills one ought to be able to learn in a year or two ... and underestimate all the skills one can learn in 10-20 years.

I usually have several things going at the same time. This often makes it feel like there's no immediate progress on any on them, but it all adds up. I also note that some on the forum are way more type A than I am in terms of getting things done with long lists and scrums and project planning. I never spent any energy or time on that The renaissance ideal is supposed to be about being a rounded human... not an A++ super-student. At least I think so.

[Bankai]

There's also maintenance of self and surroundings as well as time required by SO (and others) to keep the relationship(s) on track. I suspect six hours of free time is overly optimistic unless someone is a king of efficiency.

[jacob]

I also kept my surroundings simple(*) and found an low-maintenance SO.

However, I do see where you might be coming from. Since we moved into this brick-house of ours, I do find myself spending more time on irrelevant upkeep. In principle I can write this off as learning technical skills, but it's the kind of skills that would be irrelevant if it wasn't for the house, e.g. rooting a bathtub drain, painting windows, or building kitchen cabinets. It's a lot easier to reduce time spent solving problems or dealing with things by avoiding them in the first place.

(*) Deliberate voluntary simplicity helps a lot. Cut out all that is unnecessary. VS is an easier/wiser version of minimalism which risks focusing too much on overoptimizing.

[mooretrees]

It is really fun to read about your journal entries about the Renaissance Man. I like how carefully and methodically you are approaching it, it seems like that is the way to make progress. I am curious to read what you will want to achieve with your web-of-goals. Looking forward to more posts!

[wolf]

Thank you mooretrees! Approaching things carefully and methodically is a feedback I also get often at work. One has to stick to one's strengthes.

Jacob, you mention a good point here. I do indeed follow a deliberate voluntary simplicity and I live in an apartmant, which needs low-maintenance. My surrounding (where I live in) in that kind of sense is pretty simple. That helps me to focus on activities, which are important to me.
After I come home from work I can immediately start with learning, reading, etc. What's also helping is that I can work from home, which improves my time efficiently additionally. By going by bike from and to work I destress, because my way leads through nature. Efficiency and having free time is not any of my concers. Effectivity on the other hand is where I want to improve, therefore my interest in the Renaissance Man skills/ideal/development.

[wolf]

Becoming a Renaissance Man #04

Brainstorming aspects of the moduls of my Web-of-Goals

Before I can think of concrete outcomes and habits, I brainstorm and associate aspects, which are on my mind, when I think of the modules of my Web-of-Goals.

PHYSIOLOGICAL personal asset
health, illness, physical security, medicine, mind and body, stress, resilience, fragality, anti-fragility, relaxation, food, nutrition, sport, fitness, becoming older, regeneration, fast, physical strain, toxic, first aid, water.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Loevinger‘s stages of ego-development, ERE-Wheaton-Levels, human needs, identity, ego, Big5, psychology, „Thinking Fast, and Slo“ by Daniel Kahneman, self-reflection, self realization/actualization, MBTI and other personal typing models, preferences, beliefs, psychological development „The Evolving Self“, dreams, success, progress, different layers of personal development.

TECHNICAL personal asset
physical constructions, complexity, mechanics, electronics, information technology, communication, media, math, networks, innovation, R&D, degrees of freedom, first, second and third order effects, system analiysis, architecture,

LANGUAGE
programming languages, precise way of talking and speaking, focus sprint in writing, comprehensibility, understandability, writing, talking, speaking, argumentation, discussing, presenting, asking, making statements, verbal/nonverbal, English, German, grammar, syntax, meaning of words, dialoge, understand and being understood, structure, making a point.

EMOTIONAL personal asset
art, history, music, awareness, consciousness, integrity, authenticity, goals and actions, outcome and process, degree of personal influence, Emotional Intelligence, relationships, being human, interdependence vs. Independence/dependence, beauty, empathy

SOCIAL personal asset
family, friends, social network, trust, small talk, socialize, make new contacts, grow relationships, helping, team work, civic activism, solidarity, community, communication, collaboration, democracy/meritocracy

ECONOMICAL personal asset
finances, budgeting, calculating, ROI, inflation/deflation, purchasing power, trade, competition, cash flow, price and value, investment, cost-utility analysis, income, expenses, savings, GDP, real/net/gross returns, asset allocation, wealth, capital, net asset, equity, business, money.

ECOLOGICAL personal asset
sustainability, self-supporting, permaculture, theory of evolution, weather, climate, plants, animals, nature, suvival of the fittest, ecology, universe, earth, elements, loops/circulation/cycles, climate zones, interdependencies, feedback loops

POLYMATHS SKILLS
adaptibility, flexibility, multi-stage life, Renaissance Lifestyle of ERE, asking why, curiosity, many areas of interest, role models, multidimensional, nonlinear, creativity, doubt, challenge status quo, lifelong learning, diversity, explore, find out, knowledge on several subjects, universal education, theory AND real life adaptation, intrinsic motivation, creating something new

INTELLECTUAL personal asset
multiple intelligencies, IQ, brain development, global awareness, critical thinking, analyzing and solving complex problems, cognitive and mental abilities, rational thinking, visual thinking, capacity of reaction, ingenuity, methods, frameworks, models of thinking.

---

I avoided to look up the words on wikipedia.., because I wanted to see what I can brainstorm by myself. I did it in German and translated it into English. There are many more aspects for sure, but that‘s what I came up with. If you do have remarks, feedback, etc. about what is missing/important/…, please share.

I‘m still figuring out my path to become a Renaissance Man. Unluckily there is no blueprint. It is non-linear and I have to find it for myself. But I guess, that‘s beneficial too, because then I have to compute everything and have to be creative.

[wolf]

Becoming a Renaissance Man #05

Reviewing and rethinking my investment strategy in regards to economical personal asset of my Web-of-Goal.

Due to the ongoing debate about indexing, I'm reviewing and rethinking my investment strategy. Two things started that process:

• that thread: Why Index Funds Are Like Subprime CDOs

• and that documentary: BlackRock - Investors that Rule the World

Investing is of course part of my ECONOMICAL modul of my Web-of-Goals, so I'd like to combine it with "Becoming a Renaissance Man".

So far, I thought I would be good with a portfolio, completely with ETF Index funds. And I worked many hours to create a perfect (of course in my subjective opinion) portfolio, in regards to asset allocation, ETFs, region allocation, etc. But from the beginning I saw the dominance of BlackRock ETFs in my portfolio. It is (too) easy to create a portfolio with ETFs indexes. And I thought I was successful, because of the diversification it provided. Currently I‘m invested with about 50% of my available money. I‘m invested in government and corporate bonds of emerging and developed markets. Those provide a small source of passive income. And I‘m glad that I did started with investing two years ago. Since then I waited for the market to come back, in order to start investing in equity index funds. (Un)luckily I didn‘t start to invest. I don‘t know if its good or bad. Maybe it was bad, because I missed possible gains. Or maybe it was good, because I would have made a huge mistake, investing my money all in ETF index funds. I don‘t know, I‘m figuring it out at the moment.

So there I am. 50% of my money sits in bank accounts and waits to be invested. My original plan was to start investing latest in November this year with DCA in equity indexes. As you can imagine, I‘m not so sure of that anymore. That leads me to reviewing investment strategy.

I came up with some ideas, but nothing is set. I thought of:
- Dogs of the DOW / DAX / NASDAQ100 / FTSE100 / NIKKEI225
- Rebuilding the index Global Titans 50
- Rebuilding part of MSCI World
- partly investing in indexes, which covers Small Caps, REITs, Emerging Markets
- Using factor ETFs in order to select companies, that are worth investing in
- researching Dividend Income/Growth strategy

There are advantages and disadvantages, as always. I also have to consider local (German) tax policies, such as tax on dividend income of foreign companies („Quellensteuer“). In addition to that, it is important to consider my situation, such as SWR, retirement income, knowledge about investing, availability of data and information of equities.

Another point is to consider the total expenses rate of the investment strategy. A portfolio, consisting only with ETFs, would be about 0,5% annually. That‘s something, but it would be not too high. On the other side, if I‘m able to reduce that TER by investing by myself it could save some money. But of course there is the risk of earning lower than the average when investing by myself.

And there is the following factor, to be considered Sleeping well at night.

Well, that‘s it for the moment. Of course it is to be continued. I‘m going to do more research.

[wolf]

Becoming a Renaissance Man #06

Where to start and how to continue?

During the last few weeks I committed myself to the path of becoming a Renaissance Man. I started with a big momentum, have been highly motivated, and created a plan to start with.

Now, after writing about the barriers of changes, the status quo, the modules of my web-of-goals and the habits I currently do, it is time to be creative.

Parallel to my thought process I read „Ultralearning“ by Scott Young, „Atomic Habits“ by James Clear and „Chop Wood, Carry Water“ by Joshua Medcalf. In addition to that I also re-read the chapters about the lifestyle of a renaissance man in the ERE book. All those booked helped me to create ideas, think about areas of improvement and issues in my current lifestyle.

I don‘t measure any progress. Nor have I installed a controlling process. Basically it is a process-oriented approach and only if I define concrete milestones or actions I am going to use a controlling process for that specific milestone/goal. Primarily I want to focus on habits and processes.
Controlling a nonlinear approach is very difficult. Therefore I don‘t have any expectations in mind. It is just moving forward, progressing and doing my best I can. What I do have in mind, is, if I use time, energy in order to work towards that identity of a Renaissance Man.

Writing is one of my favourite habits. Everyday in the morning I write approximately one page about selected topics. I would call this a strength of mine. I‘m interested in it, it motivates me and I have the feeling, that it creates ideas and connections between different topics.

So I started a new daily habit. I write exactly one page about „becoming a renaissance man“ each day. I hope to build a solid mental/cognitive foundation to create ideas and connect topics. I would relate that habit to my intellectual module of my web-of-goals.

I was writing yesterday and an I had another idea. I has been always very interested in English. Some years ago I wrote my private journal completely in English. As you know, I also defined a language module in my web-of-goals. Therefore I was thinking to start writing completely in English in my private life (not at work). It‘s challenging, because I‘m used to write everything in German, but it could be beneficial to my language literacy skills.

[Vaikeasti]

Thank you so much for this journal. It is so well written, thought and organized.

I think that different languages can give you insights to different frames of mind. Learning the way a language works can help you see things differently.
For example I know some english, swedish and finnish. By comparing the similar words and thinking about the etymology of them in these languages I have had many insights and chuckles. Even the differences of what is a closed compound (which is yhdyssana or "unitedword" in finnish) and what is not is thought provoking.
And I find that it is easier to me to express myself in english than in my native finnish. Like writing fiction or brainstorming happy thoughts.
But writing official text is easier in my own language.

You really are an inspiration.

[Nuuka]

One approach to planning is “scenario-based” design. It is used when (due to complexity) it is not possible to define systemic (all encompassing) decription.

In scenario-based design, small stories are used to describe sequences of events and actions by involved phenomena and actors. You can think them as short stories, short cartoons or short video clips. These scenarios are used to illustrate parts of the future.

Could you develop some scenarios how your Renessaince Man acts in certain situations? For example:
- Renessaince Man’s father or mother dies (family values)
- Renessaince Man finds a wallet with credit cards and cash on the street (honesty)
- Renessaince Man is in office party and department secretary is a bit drunk and starts to flirt (respect for others)
- Renessaince Man has committed to something but finds out that he is no more able to honour his commitment (integrity)

Can you come up with scenario where your 2019 Wolf and 2019 Renessaince Man would behave differently?

[wolf]

Thanks Vaikeasti for the kind feedback! I think too, that in some cases I prefer to write in English. I guess English is sometimes "easier" than German. In addition to that, the English focuses more on the doing, the verb. Whereas German focuses more on the noun. But I like doing more. It sounds more lively. Is that the same (verb vs. noun) in Finnish?

Thanks Nuuka for the idea! It has helped me right now. I just did my focus sprint, which is writing one page on my computer. I wrote about the scenario, when/if a Renaissance Man works full-time and if that is compatible. That was the topic of today, dedicated to you

[Jin+Guice]

Thanks for your thoughtful writing wolf. I'm at a similar point to you in my progression towards being a renaissance man and also in my thoughts on investment. You're writing and thinking is much clearer than my own thoughts and it's very helpful for me personally to read about someone else attempting the same journey.

[wolf]

Regarding my investment strategy and portfolio asset allocation:

I started with a passive investment strategy based on 100% index funds [of which iShares had 70%. (crazy in retrospective!)]

After much reviewing and redesigning I created a active/passive investment strategy.
It consists of 50% passive index funds (ishares has 30% of the total portfolio) and 50% actively managed stocks.

The underlying asset allocation is roughly the same with large/small caps of developed/emerging markets, and real estates.

[wolf]

Becoming a Renaissance Man #07

Okay, I warn you upfront. It‘s maybe a bit too abstract and too odd for you, but it‘s a small part of my (INTJ/P) thinking. It happened in my daily focus sprint, of which I already did eight. In the context of form and function I had this idea to think of a object-oriented class of the Renaissance Man. Who don‘t know what I mean, it‘s computer programming paradim (Wikipedia)

What would a Renaissance Man look like if I had to design it as a class (in the computer programming context). The class of a Renaissance Man would have methods and attributes. I would organize all methods within modules. The same would be the case for all attributes. Well, let‘s try and brainstorm some modules of my web-of-goals.

INTELLECTUAL Module
methods: reading, listening, studying, learning, researching, designing, analyzing, brainstorming, speaking, writing, journaling, reviewing, master different kind of approaches
attributes: books read, IQ, degrees of multiple intelligences, books to be read in the expected years of a lifetime, number of subjects studied, degree of global awareness, degree of solving complex problems, degree of thinking critically, grades, scores

ECONOMICAL Module
methods: earning money, spending money, saving money, investing money, managing money, managing wealth, managing portfolio and investment strategy, controlling, making own taxes, cost-utility-analysis, usage rate, total expense rate of ownership, rent vs. Buy analysis
attributes: effectiveness, efficiency, Spending rate, Saving rate, Investment rate, Total Net Worth, WR, Tax Rate, number of years saved expressed in expenses,

Module with POLYMATHS SKILLS
methods: skill of flexibility, be creative, be flexible, be adaptable, master trait, using pareto principle, using S-curve learning, learning and studying, ultralearning, dive into subjects, intrinsic motivation, designing slack into web-of-goals, using nonlinear thinking
attributes: nonlinearity, margin of safety, degree of flexibility, creativity, adaptability, number of ultralearning techniques, degree of curiosity

SOCIAL Module
methods: small talking, bonding, getting to know people, discussing, collaborating, working together, helping, asking for help, give a gift, donate, deepen relationship, making arrangements, doing the first step, creating social networks, creating intrapersonal relationships, be empathetic, having an interest in the needs and wants of others, spot group dynamics
attributes: number of deep relationships, number of small talks, number of persons one trusts, number of introductions to others, Emotional Intelligence score, number of conflicts,

EMOTIONAL Module
methods: relaxing, define goals, derive actions from goals, distingish between feeling and thinking, feel the mood of oneself, know oneself, reflect own thoughts and feelings, define values, know basic needs, brainstorm what you want out of life, balance goals, think/speak/feel/do with integrity, be authentic
attributes: number of intrapersonal conflicts, degree of self control, number of revised decisions

Although I didn‘t brainstorm the other modules, this exercise taught me a good lessons. It was good to change perspective and view „things“ as methods (doing) and attributes (statics). I can relate methods to skills, habits, knowing of something, doing, etc. And I can relate attributes to key figures, scores, degree of something, measurements, etc. That differentiation helps me, well, to differentiate within the modules of my web-of-goals.

I hope I didn‘t confuse you very much. If so, I‘m sorry. But sometimes I‘d also like to post some draft/result of the ongoing (thinking) process. And apologies for any typos above.