Hi friend,
I'm curious to hear your perspective on this:
What "qualifies" someone to speak on a topic as an "authority" or "expert"?
Last week, I posed this question on Instagram, and it struck a chord.
I want to take this conversation to a whole new level:
What "qualifies" someone to have the audacity to invent an entire field of study?
Your response to these questions influences the opportunities (or lack thereof) you perceive around you.
Consider this—every discipline that exists today, from psychology to marine biology, was pioneered by someone who didn’t wait for someone else's permission to have a direct experience with life.
3 Pioneers Who Didn't Wait for Permission
- William James is credited as the "father of American psychology"—who deemed him "qualified?"
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the father of Flow—who said he was "authorized" to birth an entire field of study?
- James Fadiman is known as the grandfather of microdosing—who gave him permission to become an expert on the topic?
These pioneers didn’t wait for an institution to give them a piece of paper that granted them approval.
The departments didn't even exist. They had the courage to create it.
Of course, you could argue they all had teachers. But who "authorized" their teachers to teach them? And their teachers before them?
It all starts with someone curious enough to have a direct experience with life itself.
Every graduate degree, every field of study, every domain and discipline was initially invented by someone...
And YOU are someone, too.
(Every time I say this to my students, I watch their minds go...🤯)
Our Hidden Blindspot: The Gatekeeping of Education
We don't consider asking ourselves these questions because we've been conditioned to believe that institutions are the only valid "gatekeepers" of knowledge.
But it's imperative to remember:
Today's standardized education system was invented during the Second Industrial Revolution.
It was designed to solve a very different economic problem, preparing people to become efficient factory workers who could excel in the emerging industrial economy.
Now, we sit at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and autonomous work is being replaced by robots. (Just in case you happen to be living under a rock.)
(Alarmingly, about 53% of participants surveyed in my recent "Rise of the Meaning Economy" webinar had no idea we've transitioned beyond the Third Industrial Revolution into the "Intelligence Age." If you fall into that 53% and you haven't watched that webinar, click here.)
The 3 Misguided Measures of Authority
Due to deeply ingrained cultural conditioning, we now have a society that mistakenly equates authority with three criteria unrelated to true expertise, leading to widespread dysfunction.
Criteria #1 = Money
Just because you spent 100k on a degree or $1k on a coaching certificate (look I have the receipt to prove it) doesn't make you "qualified."
Spending $5,000 on a 3-week training in Peru doesn't automatically qualify you to become a self-proclaimed shaman.
Criteria #2 = Followers
This is a more recent phenomenon. Having 500k followers on TikTiok doesn't automatically "qualify" you to teach on a subject. It does, however, mean that you've mastered the art of going viral.
Criteria #3 = Paper Certificate
Students often ask me if I will give them a certificate after they complete my trainings.
And trust me, I get it.
But the paper itself doesn't mean you embody what was taught.
And this is where we start to wade into very nuanced waters.
Getting a PhD in astrophysics or neuroscience means something...
A degree is significant.
I also recently went back to graduate school, so I'm not "anti" formalized training, per se.
That being said, the primary reason I chose to pursue a Master of Science was because the Dean of a very specialized program allowed me to curate my own curriculum at the intersection of psychedelics and creative cognition–a field that doesn't exist (yet), but one I’m actively helping to create.
Regardless, my perspective on the "paper" topic hasn't changed...
I'm not "anti" education, I'm just "pro" embodied knowledge.
If you truly want a degree, that's great. But perhaps reconsider if your only reason is feeling you "should" or "have to" to be successful in today's world.
I was successful before my degree and honestly, I didn't need it in order to do the work I'm doing today. All of that information is abundantly available for free. That's what my degree really taught me.
I firmly believe that embodied knowledge is the only true standard for defining yourself as an authority.
If you've learned how to successfully solve a problem and can help someone else solve that same problem...you are an authority.
If you've walking through fires and you know how to help someone else navigate their own hardships in a way that supports, heals, and transforms their lives for the better...you are qualified.
I don't care how someone gained their knowledge; what matters is that they have the skills, wisdom, and ability to contribute to meaningful change.
Of course, this is domain-specific—if you want to operate on someone's brain, you'll need a degree.
But most of you reading this aren't aiming to become lawyers or doctors.
The point is, formal education isn't the only path to success, credibility, expertise, or authority.
In fact, it's a route that's becoming increasingly outdated because those institutions are too slow and too rigid to keep up with the pace of change.
Remember the three fine gentlemen above?
What did they all have in common?
They saw a gap, had the audacity to ask powerful questions, and followed sparks of inspiration. They decided to document their findings, codify their process, and share it with the world.
Ironically, this is the blueprint for success in today's new economy, and these "old" ways are making a comeback.
This process also happens to have a name.
It's called: the creative process.
Thankfully, anyone can learn the creative process.
However, mastering it requires significant unlearning.
You’ll need to shed the baggage of what you once believed to be true and clear the dust from your perceptual lens that may be clouding your vision.
Honestly, it's easier said than done. But this is what fostering Transilience is all about—just take one small step at a time.
(As a brief aside...After 25 years of studying and teaching the wisdom and science of transformation, I’ve yet to encounter a more potent catalyst for the deep, lasting change needed to thrive in today’s world than the mindful use of sacred plant medicines. PS: new dates for Transilience facilitator training coming soon.)
Question the Default
You can foster transilience and improve your creative thinking skills by training your mind to question the default.
Keep in mind, we are all products of the standardized education system that taught us what to think, not how to think.
As Adam Grant says:
"The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists."
Originality is what defines success in a world driven by AI, and it's the epitome of what creativity is all about.
Creativity is the defeat of habit by originality. ~Arthur Koestler
Why Not Me? Says Who?
If you don't believe you have the "authority" to invent a field of study, create a unique body of work, or trademark your own framework, I invite you to ask yourself...
Why not me?
Start to question the beliefs you default to.
If someone else can do it, that's living proof that you can, too.
Whenever someone expresses a pervasive cultural belief to me, I love to respond with:
Says...who?
- You can't do that. Says who?
- That's not allowed. Says who?
- This is just the way it's done. Says who?
(Of course, within reason—always apply the wisdom "do no harm.")
These questions are "pattern disruptors," and it's always amusing to watch people scrunch up their faces in confusion.
Like...what just happened?
I broke the mold. That's what just happened.
10 Questions to Disrupt Status Quo Thinking.
Here are 10 more "disruptive" questions to play with:
- Who decided that?
- Why not try?
- What’s stopping you?
- Why can’t it be done?
- What if you could, though?
- Is that a legitimate rule or just your belief?
- Who says it has to be that way?
- Who’s in charge of your decisions. You or them?
- Who benefits from that belief? You or them?
- Why not try something different and see what happens?
We go to school to acquire knowledge, but knowledge is simply the process of overcoming ignorance.
We only remain ignorant by failing to ask the right questions.
It's time to believe in yourself and remember what you're truly capable of.
We all have the birthright to be pioneers and wayfinders—it's part of the human experience. Every moment, we are stepping into the unknown; we just tend to forget that.
In next week's Transilience email, you'll discover a powerful framework to apply these insights, allowing you to flourish in the new economy as the true "authority" of your lived experience.
