The Fountain:
The Four Realms of the Renaissance Man
The Renaissance Man . . . is not a man.
Nor a woman . . .
Nor a horse—but an ideal.
It's a rich expression of human will, a thirst for excellence in all things, and a spirit never content with a narrow life.
It speaks to us because we're a society of specialization: our job title lingers above us for years, sometimes decades, as the ultimate arbiter for who we are:
Market research analyst.
Product manager.
Software engineer.
A few words to box us up and keep the gears of industry moving.
It can get restrictive, but it keeps the fridge full and the bills paid - and that's fine - I refuse to sound like an entitled brat who expects a job market that doesn't exist, one where we can frolic around as poets, artists, and whatever job we feel like doing that day.
But still, it smothers the ideal of the Renaissance Man.
In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith spoke on how the division of labour made production more efficient: one job is split up into many smaller jobs, each more specialized than the first, and that makes the whole process faster, cheaper, and easier, like his example of the pin factory:
“One man draws out the wire, another straights it, a third cuts it, a fourth points it, a fifth grinds it at the top for receiving the head...”
Are we content with making pins all our life?
No, not even—are we happy as a mere step in the pin-making process?
The Renaissance Man says no. This ideal calls us to flourish in all areas of life: to create beautiful art, to discover athletic prowess, to reflect on the great mysteries of the world, following each discovery with the same passion and curiosity of a child.
But we're not swimming in money like the Medici's—we have work, responsibilities, and a wallet that loses weight faster than we'd like.
So . . .
How can you do everything, when you can't do everything?
How can you become a Renaissance Man in a busy 2025?
First, buy my course, then put your life-savings in $RENAISSANCE.
It's simpler than any fake influencer bullshit, nor any crazy schedules or "mindsets." Instead of piling more and more onto your plate, I like to focus on sizing down - doing few things but doing them well - while still having balance and variety.
I use the four 'realms' of character to guide me.
These realms refer to a part of your character, and the hobbies or interests that nurture them. Cover all four, and you find balance—you cut through the confusion, overwhelm, and decision fatigue that come with this lifestyle.
There's something . . .
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. . . physical . . .
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ . . . social . . .
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. . . creative . . .
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. . . and intellectual.
Physical
Theodore Roosevelt, the renaissance-cowboy-president, had debilitating asthma in his youth, many decades before he stood at America's helm.
It crushed his spirits, scared his parents, and forced him into a constant search for clean outdoor air, just to give his poor lungs a break. At one point, his father told him:
"Theodore, you have the mind but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. You must make your body. It is hard drudgery to make one's body, but I know you will do it."
And so he swam, climbed, lifted, and boxed—his rich intellectual life now married to a robust body, one to carry him to the end.
The body is the soul's vessel - to divorce them from one another is naïve and destructive - so we must strengthen it for the tribulations ahead, for there is no second chance.
Besides that, a strong body is freedom. It's the chance to play football with your mates without ending up a breathless sac. It's the liberty to rearrange your parent's living room without also rearranging your vertebrae in the process. It's the gift of holding onto your mobility (and memory) well into your old age, long enough to be able to play with your grandkids.
It's an utterly perfect freedom, one that money can never buy.
We're not just fleeing rot and stagnation either—there's an immediate positive, even if a brutal set of split squats tells you otherwise. Training brings people together, it clears your mind of the day's stressful miasma, and it's deeply rewarding to look in the mirror and be proud of what you have sculpted.
It's cliché at this point, but Socrates said it best:
"No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable."
Social
Lone wolves are as good as dead.
No matter how much we pad the pain with ideas like monk-mode or grinding in silence, we're not meant to be alone—hard work is great, but not when it cuts you out of public life.
The Renaissance itself was made possible by connection: urbanization mixed great minds together, movement and trade opened the artist's eyes to what lied beyond, and the rivalry between city-states made culture bloom faster than ever.
These same qualities - the ones to kindle Milan, Florence, and Venice - can help us thrive just the same.
Good company teaches you how to live—ten experiences are more valuable than one.
Good company is healthy competition—when people you respect do well for themselves, you're inspired to follow suit and not get left behind in the dust.
Good company is where honour comes from—your morals and values are rooted in the collective. Rather than sink into a cesspit of bad habits, goaded on by bad people, friends should lift you the other way, towards virtue and wise decisions.
And finally - prepare for a shocker - a strong social life makes you happier.
When interests bring you closer to others, you can bond over your obsession, meet like-minded people, and keep the ache of loneliness away.
The internet became the default meeting place for hobbies, but it's not enough for true connection—we need that public forum, that 'third space,' where everyone can share in the same joy without a shred of reservation.
Creative
Everyone is an artist, but few pick up the pen to realize it.
We're all children of a consumer society. We consume with voracious hunger, gorging on reels and burning through Youtube videos. Shows with multi-million dollar budgets produced across several years are swallowed up in a few hours of bingeing - gone - just like that.
Our attention is insatiable.
We become 'spectators' to life, like grey, ghostly masses who exist only to watch, listen, and comment on things. Soon, our entire character revolves around what we like to consume, and nothing more. The internet is full. We stay empty.
The solution to this spiritual dereliction is in creative interests—anything that breaks the endless loop of consumption and lets you contribute to the world.
It's a chance to slow down and create peace amidst the noise, to explore your soul through art, and to make something you can be proud of - a little slice of your humanity made tangible - as Da Vinci suggests:
“The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands.”
Beyond the beauty in art, there's practical value too.
You build new skills that stick with you for life and bury yourself in the rich culture which surrounds your craft of choice—programming, sketching, pottery, music, writing - hell - even pulling a creamy shot of espresso. It all adds colour to life.
Intellectual
The Renaissance Man will never find comfort in ignorance - eyes covered, ears muffled, imagination closed - for the mind must be trained, exactly like the body.
I made consumption sound scary a few lines ago, but it's neither good or evil—it's what you consume that matters. Will it be mindless slop? Or will it be books full of wisdom? Or maybe some insightful articles, videos, or podcasts? The choice is yours.
The intellectual realm keeps you sharp, astute, and in touch with life's great questions. It's the small daily effort to learn something new—we have entire libraries at the end of a quick Google search, and yet, most are happy to glide through life without a crumb of contemplation.
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” - Eric Hoffer
Truly, you are equipped.
Critical thinking hardens you against BS.
Emotional intelligence tames your social life.
Wisdom steers your action to what is prudent, rational, and righteous.
The insights you pick up are the raw materials for creation—they are stones of a grand cathedral - insignificant on their own - but majestic in their unity, slowly building up to your self-education.
And if we shed the high-and-mighty for a moment - we work in a knowledge economy - people pay you to know stuff, so if you're not happy being just a scholar . . . you can be a scholar with a Miami penthouse.
Putting it into action
I hate sweeping generalizations. The four realms are a template - not a rule - so how you cultivate each area is entirely your call.
Even the balance between them is up to you—maybe a busy social life matters much more than anything else, so naturally, the other realms stay a little lighter.
What's important to note is that most interests fit into more than one realm:
Kickboxing keeps you fit and dangerous, but also puts you in the heart of a community.
Writing is as creative as you want to it be, but it's also a mode of learning.
Sailing is hard physical labour, but with plenty of technical background to get busy with.
Being rigid and choosing one interest per realm may be tough—the point is to make sure you do something for each quarter, enough to find that harmony you crave.
Interests change, evolve, and move - they're as dynamic as you - and systems like this are only good when they amplify your creative life, not restrict it. Use it, but never be used by it.
Good luck with everything you choose. It's a rich journey.
Yours,
Odysseas