Qualified?

In life, you are most qualified to help the person that you use to be.

Ed Mylett

I heard a story inside of a podcast recently that struck a chord inside of me. Jim Kwik is one of the worlds greatest speakers and thinkers. He has dedicated his life to researching how the brain operates. His mission is to give people the tools to change their life through a better understanding of the way their brain works.

You might be thinking. Wow, this guy must be pretty smart. You are right! He is. But that has not always been his story.

He had an accident when he was a young child that caused him to have chronic pain, migrains, loss of balance and effected his rate of learning so much so that he was placed in special needs classes.

Jim recounts a moment in his life when some classmates were making fun of him and the teacher in the class spoke up and said "don't make fun of the boy with a broken a brain".

This label would follow him and filter his thoughts and ideas for years of his life. He felt unqualified for anything. Fast forward to what we know now about Jim....

What a story right?

There are a lot of lightbulb moments that led Jim down the path to become who he is now. Are we not the same? Have there not been a million small decisions that we have made, that became habits and mindsets we adopted? Are there not a long list of I wish I would have's and other peoples I told you so's that ring in our mind every step we take?

We all have opportunities. We all have risks. We all have moments when we chose to not show up and moments we won. We have also gave power to those moments for better or worse.

The quote I opened this letter with, is something I hold dear to me. I have often felt unqualified most of my life. Unqualified for the work I long to do. Unqualified for the family I want to raise. Unqualified for the community I wish to to propel. Unqualified for the friends i serve. Unqualfified for the future I see so clearly in my head.

But...

That is fear.

It is fear of my own mispalced expectations that the world desires me at all. It is the misplaced expectation that I matter more than I do and am thought of as equal or more than other peoples own dreams and desires. It is misplaced expectation of performance over personhood and the belief that the negative outcome I have dreamt up weighs more than the possibility of a future I am striving to build.

That is hard. It is hard to recognize the areas where fear is actually running the show but the truth is that you and I had a 400 trillion to 1 odd that we would be here in the first place. We are breathing air, experiencing life, our life, at every moment and it is a gift. Whatever the condition. It is a gift. It is our repsponsiibility to use it accordingly.

It is good to have goals. it is good to have hopes, dreams and aspirations. When these dreams come from a position of "how can I help", they will always be welcomed by the world. Much of what we have to offer is a direct decendent upon the struggle we have endured. It is persepctive and the gift of experience is just that. You have a gift worth giving that only you can give.

It is your experience and perspective that qualifies you for this. it is your journey and willingness to learn, be uncomforable and show up for the dream that gives hope to those around you that you will do the work that is worth doing.

You are qualified. Stop ending that with a question mark...

Qualified? or Qualified.

Which are you? Either is true.

Peace.

Zack Schuyler (Qualified.)

VP - Student Experience