The Renaissance Man Project is an original non-fiction book by Nathaniel Kostar, occasionally known as Nate Lost.
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This was where my head was at when I came across a little book tucked away in a bookshelf in our house in Roosevelt, NJ. It was a modest paperback with the sketch of a fancily dressed man on a horse riding out from a castle. It was called The Book of the Courtier, written by Baldesar Castiglione in 1564.
Turns out, The Book of the Courtier was one of the most important books of the Italian Renaissance, but in retrospect, it was some old school Italian Renaissance shit that most 25 years would’ve put right back in the place they picked it up. It wasn’t even really a book, well, not a novel at least. It was a long conversation—princes and rich folks with titles bantering around a table about what makes the perfect courtier.
But as I read, I realized the magnitude of the questions that were being discussed— How should we educate ourselves? What makes a complete person? What qualities make the ideal Renaissance man? Essentially—what makes an optimal human being?—which it seemed was what the courtier was expected to be.
Although some of the suggestions were superficial—"He should also know how to swim, jump, run, throw stones; for, besides their usefulness in war, it is frequently necessary to show one’s prowess in such things, whereby a good name is to be won…”
Or vague—“let him laugh, jest, banter, frolic, and dance, yet in such a manner as o show always that he is genial and discreet; and let him be full of grace in all that he does or says.”
There were other ideas that caught me. For example, the Count claims: “Nay, the practice of arms pertains to both the soul and the body…I blame the French for thinking that letters are detrimental to the profession of arms, and I hold that to no one is learning more suited than to a warrior.”
The warrior-poet. The artist-athlete. This appealed to me. How could it not? I had been as serious of a basketball player as an 18-year-old with limited talent could be, and now I wanted to be a writer.
I finished the book, thought it over, and then read it again. Boiled down to its basics, The Book of the Courtier claimed that a Renaissance Man should possess knowledge in Poetry, Combat, Visual Art, Music, Dance and Philosophy.
I had just graduated from a liberal arts college that prided itself on providing students with a well-rounded education. But combat? Dance? No teacher had ever suggested I learn to dance. And for damn sure no teacher or coach ever recommended I learn to fight.
And then I came across this quote from Leon Battista Alberti, a prominent figure of the Renaissance—"A man can do all things if he will.” It was this belief that man’s potential was unlimited that fueled the Renaissance and was best embodied by figures like Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Galileo. The idea sunk into me.
I had the will to travel, explore, learn new skills, study art, fall in love, write books—but did I have the will to make it happen?
I wanted to push the limits of my own potential, and the philosophies exposed in the Book of the Courtier and by characters of the Renaissance impelled me to do just that.
I decided to turn my life into an experiment. I would travel to six different countries around the world and for one month intensely study one of the arts discussed in The Book of the Courtier, but in a modern sense. In other words, I wasn’t going to blow the money I didn’t have learning how to throw a javelin or sword fight like a real Renaissance Man would. No, I’d study Kung Fu, Muay Thai, or some other martial art that I was interested in and that would be more applicable to life in the 21st century. And I would do this with each of the six arts discussed in the book.
So at 25 years old, instead of looking for a real job, I set out on a project that would take me around the world. A project that drained what little money I had, inflated my debt, and added nothing of significance to my “real-life” resume. A project that sometimes felt futile, unreasonable, even pretentious, but one that I couldn’t abandon.
It was supposed to take 6 months, but it took more like eight years, and will never truly be “finished.”
And it led me here, where I am today, writing this book from our lovely apartment in Mexico City—but I’ll get to that story later.
This is The Renaissance Man Project Welcome. And thank you for reading.
And an enormous THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to my crowdfunding campaign for the Salsa dance month of my project back in 2013! Devin Kostar, Owen Weber, Zabrina Ortiz, Jarret Johnson, Natalie Mercado, Anthony Pingicer, Adam Axel, Rich, Morgan Legaux, Steph, Finnley, Anna, Ron Kostar and Deirdre Sheean, Barrie Roberts, John Cuadrado, Jeff Possiel, Allison, Keen Delacruz, Claire, Amir Whitaker, Nick Kenny, Brandon Verault, Justin Kishbaugh, Joel Chokkattu, Lee Beeacham, Robin and Robert Axel, John Traficonte, Matt Schurin, Judith and Kevin McNally, L-Boogie, and Avery Axel…I’m immensely grateful for your support!
PS- I should probably confess to you now though—I still can’t salsa for shit. It’s just not something that comes to me naturally. And I should probably warn you, dear reader, before you get too far and are disappointed, if you think this is a book about becoming a Renaissance Man, well, then think again. This is a book about trying, failing, learning, searching, and falling in love.
The Renaissance Man Project has been in the works for many years and I'm excited to release pieces of it on Steemit. If you want to support the book please hit me w/ an Upvote & Follow, if you're on Steemit. And if you're not on Steemit, you should consider checking it out, especially if you're a content creator.
You can also support the Renaissance Man Project and The Lost Podcast by visiting my Patreon page
My first album, Love 'n' Travel, is available on Spotify and Bandcamp
Twitter @NateLostWords
Facebook @NateLostArt/
or visit NateLost.com and shoot me a message.
Muchisimas gracias for reading and supporting ART.
MAD Love.
