the traditional and untraditional

Why is traditional, educated, intellectual intelligence regarded with more esteem, value, importance, and respect, than other strengths, such as emotional capacity and skills, connection and relativity, mechanical knowledge and ability, craftsmanship, passion, curiosity, lifelong learning, and the likes?

Is it because the former is easier to quantify and specifically measure?

Emotional work, competency, intelligence, and ability is often far more abstract and less specific. It grows over time, through life lived. One does not become a doctor or flight test engineer over time, through lived experiential learning, like one can become a compassionate, strong, kind leader and human connector through skills and observance built naturally, with attentiveness over time. There are certain roles in our society that require specific amounts of schooling and certification and the right types of courses and qualifications… and justly so! We often need our architects and doctors and lawyers and pilots to have an in-depth, professional knowledge of many specifics and sciences, commonly beyond what one can collect naturally, no matter how much they care or practice. In those paths, traditional education plays an important role.

But some skills can be learned on the job, in your day-to-day life, through your own yearning and curiosity and deep intent. Some people have a proclivity and passion towards other people or towards collective vision and unity or towards the mechanical working and strategic puzzling of the world and its moving parts. There are these other roles in society that can be practiced and built over time, brick by brick, but are harder to quantify. They don’t all require the same structured, scientific, formally educated approach.

This doesn’t mean they’re less valuable. The world and its joint connectivity and emotionally well-being would crumble greatly in a reality with no kind, skillful, generous, in-tune leaders and noticers. And we can’t go on — even the doctors and other such formally educated, pen-and-paper smart folks — without the proper workings of the physical and mechanical world we all live in and rely on operating well.

In either of these examples — emotional and mechanical — the repurcussions of neglect and failings in these areas would be vast and across everything. Everything is connected. Everything matters.

We need the strong assets among us who add the layers of deep emotional care and competent support, and the ones who master the crafty and well-maintained physical and operational well-being.

Each individual’s role is vital. Know your gifts. Know yourself. Recognize the unique additions you bring to whoever you are near, to your family and your community and your work, and do not downplay them. Do not sell yourself short. Remember you are needed here. Be the best at what you do and what you love that you possibly can. Remember curiosity, a drive to keep learning, passion, and generous intent will take you far. Never stop contributing. Believe in the work you do. Believe in the collective betterness of each of us bringing what we have and who we are, to make a stronger, more vibrant whole. We flourish together. Do not think yourself less worthy, commendable, or intelligent only because you are different.

You do not have to be strictly measurable and identifiable to be vastly useful and beloved and to make a difference. We are glad you are here.

My professional career and interests and passions have centered primarily around what resume builders call “customer facing roles,” and my heart underneath it has been a deep care for other people, longing to draw out the best in others, yearning for community for myself and to offer to those around me, believing in potential and humankind, believing in the vitality of connection and relationship, and wanting, always, to let others know they are needed and they are welcome and they belong. We belong, together.

This is not something I have a degree in; it isn’t something I’ve needed a degree in. I now work at a remarkable, world-renowned, excellent company, full of many outstanding, highly intelligent and accomplished individuals, and many extremely well-educated and degreed professionals. That’s fantastic! It’s inspiring and commendable, especially when it’s done for the right reasons and for a love and genuine pursuit of authentic passion and potential. This is humanity’s vision and limitless capacity. How terrific.

It’s easy to feel insecure in the face of greatness. What I want to remind you — and myself — of today is this: greatness is built in time, and greatness does not have a single definition. There is greatness within you. You may already be living out far more greatness than you realize. You can carry out small acts, on an ordinary day, in your slice of the world, with tremendous care and attention, love and quality, and that’s greatness. Each of us is unique, which is not something that can be adequately represented on paper.

You aren’t here to exist as a walking resume. When we each learn how to harness the power of our own proclivities and deep, pulling curiosities, we will find a stronger, more meaningful, more effective, more delightful existence and collaboration, together.

Only YOU have precisely and uniquely what is within you, your own specific history and influences and perspective and loves. We need it.

The world needs the highly educated and the weird and the delighted and wonder-filled and the problem solvers and strategizers and maintainers and connectors and builders and crafters and artists and lovers…

We need it all. We need each other.