Qualifications Don’t Mean Shit

But You Still Need the Authority They Bring

Accreditation.
If you don’t have the qualifications, nobody takes you seriously.
And even then, it’s tricky.

You know that family member? The one who gives the best advice, always knows what to say? Makes everyone around them better just by being there?
That person who really should be a psychiatrist but never went to school? Them.

Maybe they should at least volunteer in the community, do some good.
Hard to do when you’ve got bills to pay, family to take care of, a job to get to — and maybe even a criminal record standing in the way.

How about people like me? Dumb people who just know shit.
And the shit they know is real. You can hardly argue with it.
Yeah, but no PhD for you — you didn’t cite your work.

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I used to hate academia.
Now, as I get older, I’m drawn to it.
So much so I’d like to go back to school — maybe get Dr. in front of my name.
Wow, that would be cool.

But a PhD is five years of full-time study.
And I don’t even have a master’s degree.
On top of that, I’m a middle-aged dude with what might be limited time left — and a shit-ton left to do.

How can I possibly ever get a PhD?
And who am I, Oprah?
Nobody’s just going to give me one.

So here I am — stuck.
Wanting to join in at the big kids’ table.
Be taken seriously in the work I do.

Who knows, maybe I think too highly of myself — like I could hack the work it takes in the first place?

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But there is so much more I feel I have to offer the world.
I mean, I’ve developed a skill recently — or realized it.

The skill is simple:
I always know pretty much what to say in every situation.

Argument with my wife?
I got the words.

Loser on the internet?
I’m too sharp for you — why do I even bother?

I could probably negotiate a hostage situation in under ten minutes.
But I’m not qualified to do anything.

Nobody’s gonna give me one.
The skill was only recently developed, honed, realized.
Craft.

And for once, I’d like to be taken seriously.
That’s all I need.
If I can be taken seriously, then hold on — the ride’s about to get going.

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But here’s the truth:
some of the smartest people in the world are stuck behind the wall of not having a piece of paper that says they’re allowed to be smart.
And some of the dumbest people alive wear that paper like armor.

We built a world where authority is mistaken for intelligence,
and where intelligence is punished for lack of authority.

So yeah — qualifications don’t mean shit.
Not really.

But truth?
Truth is earned.
Through experience, time, failure, compassion, and the willingness to learn.

And that, my friends,
can’t be graded.

Don’t believe me?
Fact Check Me.