The Value of My "Education"

There's a debate going on about whether or not a higher education degree really means anything. You know it's a real issue when middle-class white parents from the mid-west USA are contemplating sending junior to a vocational-type, trade school as opposed to the traditional four-year institution, claiming that - paraphrased from a March 2010 article in the USA Today newspaper - "he learns differently than others."

Me, I think there has long been a question of the true value of an education once you got past the high school years -- maybe even before high school. Sometimes I even think that the University was primarily for those seemingly talentless (by manual labor or productive standards) children of well-to-do folks to at least become proficient in talking about stuff. And, indeed, if you look back in history at the advent of the University, especially in England, this was largely the "occupation" of children of the wealthy: to become well-rounded, educated in the things of the world.

As time has gone by, yes, we have found ways to use this knowledge to inspire those who could actually transform ideas into things we could act upon. And this, in turn, created a new need for others with like knowledge in order to create the things we discovered. As a result, higher education became something that became more of a necessity, more of a tool, than a vanity degree, to groom one to speak eloquently of any and every subject known to man. Now, I realize that mine is a grossly simplified (and, possibly, slightly skewed) editorial on the evolution of the role of higher education, but my point is this: At some point, young people need to understand the changing role of higher education in their lives. With the ease of accessibility to a college education (so far), its importance is not only so that they become knowledgeable in things of the world and can handle themselves in social settings, but also that they become competent in a trade by which they can make their living (or fortune) in the world. But the balance is what is key: the balance between the experience of working with and meeting other people from a very global community, and learning things that one has a natural tendency to do well at (to my mind, one is not rewarded with fortune over things that they are "mediocre" at doing, rather, they usually must be really "good" - if not, exceptional.

When one asks me about my qualifications and degrees (which they equate with preparedness for some task or another), I am pleased to say that I have completed my MBA, simply because I have been exposed and am now immune to the fear and intimidation I might otherwise be susceptible to when faced with various persons who have had more time than I to concentrate on doting on all of the things of the world and perfectly developing my social graces. This is what I came away with. That and some of the tricks of the trade, in terms of finding shortcuts to doing what I might instinctively set out to do (being innately "organized") but would necessarily otherwise have to engage in trial-and-error scenarios to reach the same desired outcome.

For the purpose of promotion, this is where my trade, my raw talent and skills, my personality and work ethic are going to take over. This is where distinction comes between those who have found their true calling in life and those who have simply acquired a vanity degree, fooling themselves into thinking they are in the right line of business for one reason or another. My education, in many instances, can get me in the door, but, quite frankly, at the end of the day, either I am good at what I do, or I stink at it. That part has nothing to do with my educational preparedness. That part lies solely on me...

'Ambition' By Any Other Name...

...Is still the same. The other day I was talking with a friend of mine about some of our aspirations, and so forth, for our lives and realized that I no longer had the same annoying knot in my stomach that I used to have when rehearsing all of the different things I wanted to do by age 35. (Maybe because somehow Time has passed me by, and with it went, age 35!) No longer do I suffer from constant tension in the neck from holding myself so tense, wanting to attack every single thing in my life as though it all required the same level of intensity, the same measurement of attention to be paid to it. Fighting every obstacle, opposing every person, place, or thing that chanced to cross my path to accomplishing my intended goal. Even as I write this, admittedly I will say that this is, definitely, not a place that I easily came to. However, it is a place that one can come to only after they have completely and totally burned themselves out. And this, I submit, can sometimes be a "good" thing. The way I figure it is like this: If I were asked to advise a young, energetic upstart on how to make all of their greatest dreams and aspirations come true, I would not tell them to aim high and work some organized plan of action beginning here-and-now to "make it happen, like some fanatical football coach might do. That can be overwhelming to some folks -- especially if he or she is not exactly the most organized, or focused, of individuals. I would simply say, "Pace yourself." And may he or she hear and seek to truly understand exactly what is meant by that. Some of my wisest mentors spoke these very words to me, and it is only now that I am beginning to understand the wisdom of this saying. Ambition is funny: it drives people to do something at the expense of something else. It brings one to the place of always being ready to "compromise" in order to gain something else perceived to be of greater value to the person. You can either burn hard-and-fast or slow-and-longer. Either way you get somewhere. Usually, though, burning hard-and-fast gets you far short of where you intend to go and at too great of a sacrifice (relationships, health, sanity). On the other hand, slow-and-longer buys you a little time to take bite-sized portions of your cake (yes you can have your cake and eat it too!) while steadily approaching your set goals. I think planning in this way is a modified way of showing ambition. It's like firefighting: sure you can be available to put out fires whenever they may happen to break out in the forest, but controlled burning is a technique that has changed the way firefighters approach emergencies forever. Controlled burns, as a concept, gives you just what everyone wants: a little more "control" over the range of disaster that can be created as pertains to your life. No less purposeful; no less ambitious. Just with a more ergonomic feel about it. Embracing the idea of impending chaos -- not self-sabotage. Rather, unexpected acts-of-God that can often lead to clarity of plans, even redirection of plans. Sometimes being purposeful and having ambition is most effectively accomplished by waiting to see and understand exactly what is going on in one's life and taking stock of where he or she stands in relation to his or her self. The value of self-inventory can't be ignored: this is what keeps you more focused on the person, than the process (which sometimes can be convoluted, confusing and not much fun to go through). In the end, it balls down to this: our real ambition is to know and experience true happiness. Its what we all aspire towards.

Who needs a plan, anyway???

They say, It's all in the details! And supposedly that means that if you are careful in crafting a thing, it can become anything you plan and intend for it to be. That is a sterile definition of what being "successful" is supposed to be all about.

Now, the truth is that I, of all people, am a "planner." In fact, I LOVE plans! The notion of being able to wield some semblance of control over things that pertain to me truly does appeal to me -- especially in light of the multitude of other things that I can never seem to get to "act right"(for instance, death, taxes, unexpected visits from relatives, presidents you didn't vote for, etc). And, I do think it's fantastic to have a plan. But my experience has been that the actual act of planning works best when it pertains to inanimate things and objects. That's not to say that one shouldn't establish some sort of goals and targets to shoot for, but I truly believe that the thing to remember is to not take life personally. Things like life, employees, co-workers, friends that you don't quite know why you call "friends"...well, let's just say I have learned to not take myself -- nor my own plans -- too seriously.

And, truth be told, I don't think we're supposed to take ourselves so seriously that we believe that everything that happens to us is a direct reflection of our worth as human beings. Otherwise the garbage guy would think that just because he deals with garbage all day, that he is only worthy of dealing with "trash" in his everyday life. The disgruntled secretary who wishes she could get more pay but never had the chance to prepare herself educationally for anything other than secretarial, is no less important an individual than the president of an organization if she is fulfilling her role to her potential.

In short, things that we can't change, like our heritage, our skin color, our height, our genetic disposition and upbringing and set of experiences that make us who we are, we can't take responsibility for. But to the extent that a person has some input for the direction in which his or her life will go once presented with a choice to do one thing or another (what we might call an "opportunity"), I think a person's intention does count for something. I don't have any theories to back this precept but I suspect this is why we who work hard to do right do eventually reap what we've sown - be it further on down life's road or in the present and in the NOW. Not that everything happening to us is always "good" -- but who is it [living] among us that gets "good" things happening to them all of the time? No one. But going through the motions of pretending that we're going somewhere, that what we're doing will - in the end - amount to something of value, for our good, for the good of our family and loved ones, this helps prevent us from drifting.

I won't pretend that what we're aiming towards is usually the final destination. But I say it's great to practice, so that whenever the true purpose of our lives does come to us, as we are transitioning between "plans," we are rehearsed in doing what is necessary to move through the steps that are necessary to get us closer to achieving our goals. So to answer the drifters who might argue, If it's gonna change, why bother planning? Why not free-fall, I simply would respond that the experience prepares you for when the real thing comes along. So aim for something -- even if you're not sure what you're shooting for is "you." Practice really does make perfect.

Finding Relevance

Speaking of relevance...

Admittedly, one of the hardest things for one to do in the process of self-assessment (which we all undergo at some time or another, whether intentionally or not) is to determine or, rather, measure, one's relevance: in personal relationships; during uncertain times in the economy, in our positions on the job; for those running businesses, in his or her respective industry; as well as, in life, in general.

Is it our competitive nature? Or competition alone, that makes us force a measure - against some invisible, elusive "standard" - the very worth of who we are at the core of our being? I'm not sure but I would suggest that the minute we start assigning value to perceived "relevance," we close our eyes to opportunity. Opportunity, one could argue, is far more precious a commodity than what proves to be "in" during a particular period. After all, what is "in" at one point in time in history, usually gives way - after a brief run - to what is the "future" of what will be "in."

What spurred this line of conversation? The question of the relevance of poetry. And of literature, written communication about what it means to be Human. And of standing up for something you believe when everyone else around you seems to say you're nuts for continuing to stand. THIS is the question of relevance in its purest form: Do you ever do a thing because it is fashionable (to WHOM??? The general public? WHO IS the "general public?")? Or do you do it because it is relevant to you? For you?

Then the next question is, if, in fact, it is because something is deemed relevant (or, "the point") to you, is it really important enough for you to offer or "try to impose" (as some might view it) that view on others? When contemplating starting this blog, I had to undergo some serious introspection, to understand exactly why I felt so strongly that the world needed to have yet another voice on the web. Do we not have enough media bombarding us 24-7? Aren't there journalists just about for every type of news or information we would care to know about? From tv, to radio, to magazines and newspapers, nearly every sector of anything we could possibly do, it seems, has a scribe, faithfully chronicling the latest news on that subject. And we feed off of it. With this in mind, I had to ask myself the serious question: Why should I do this blog thing? What is it that I hope to gain from doing this? What possible benefit could I derive from blabbing on about random topics to an audience that could very well be, either, virtual strangers (literally), or non-existent?

The answer, it turns out, was one that I found struck at the nerve of my perception of self-worth. I was compelled to do this for all of the times I sat quietly in my seat while a heated debate raged in the classroom, and I knew I had an opinion but I was too timid to say so in public, competing against all of the other voices that may have been louder or more influential than mine. It may sound like a tremendously romantic notion but it really was not. This would be my redemption for not being "shy," as in, afraid to speak in public, but for knowing that my views may not be popularly "spoken aloud" and choosing instead to remain silent. Classic passivity. I knew what I had to say would only fuel the debate, and each time I asked myself would it be worth it, I would counter that question with what would the relevance be of doing so? But, in fact, what made my view any less important to be heard than anyone else's? Absolutely nothing! No less relevant than some of the legislation that gets voted upon on a daily basis by the U.S. Congress (have you listened to some of their legislative proposals lately?)!

So, this is for all of those other "me" individuals out there. My platform is that poetry IS relevant. It's a form of expression that has been underutilized (although those in the rap world have proven the extent of its influence - hands-down - and, arguably, proven the lucrative nature of the written/spoken word, especially when set to beats and rhythms (if that's not poetry, I don't know what else is!) among the youngest of our world citizens. Heck, I've heard a recent NPR report stating that even al-Quaeda uses rap to motivate its proselytes.) And if you agree, fine. And if you don't, fine.

AND, while I'm at it, my platform is that people should do what is necessary to find ways to communicate how they really feel about issues -- even if the most desirable place for them to do so might be in on a blog, in a virtual environment. The point is that in order for there to be REAL conversation going on, there must be an open and honest exchange between individuals, as well as a desire to discover Truths and realities that will help us solve some of the problems that plague our lives. But it starts with open and honest conversation. There is never a time when Communication is ever NOT relevant. It is as essential as the air we breathe...