I’ve been granted the God-like power to issue commandments. And similar to normal deities, these commandments are nothing more than strong suggestions carrying a special weight of importance. If my commandment is too obvious — Thou shall not kill — I’ve squandered an incredible opportunity. Even if I declare something less obvious — Thou shall sleep eight hours per night — I’m not helping much since lack of information isn’t the reason you’re sleep deprived. So it is, really, with most matters: the challenge comes not in the form of missing information, but rather the difficulty of actually following through on what you already know you should do. Plus, I’m God-like (at least in this respect), so I ought to find something peculiarly wise.

THOU SHALL NOT DEMEAN THYSELF

FOR HAVING ATTENDED xxxxxxxxx

You run in circles that value intelligence, not the there-are-seven-kinds-of-intelligence, but the raw mental horsepower that everyone first considers upon hearing the word “intelligent.” And it would seem that you believe yourself, at least a little bit, less capable than others in intelligence. Perhaps you weren’t always erudite. Perhaps school didn’t snuggly mesh with you and all your glory. Perhaps a less conventional career path hammered home the point that being smart didn’t belong on your list of pride points. Whatever the case, if you go long enough with intelligence excluded from your identity, unconscious mental rhythms may take over that produce apologies (of a sort) for doing that which may be construed as smart. Oh sure, you’ll still be excellent in all the ways “intelligent” people are. Hell, you’ll even outperform them. You’ll start businesses. You’ll give 10/10 presentations. You’ll deliver again and again rightfully earning praise and respect. Yet, it will still feel uncomfortable to try and claim worth in the area of intelligence; being seen as a fraud would be awful, so it’s safer to stay in a defensive crouch and persist in the belief that traditional academic credentials override all else.

Fuck that shit. Smart people went to all sorts of schools. How do I know this? Because you went to xxxxxxxxx and you are smart! Might people lower expectations for you due to your unimpressive degree? Yes … and this is an edge. It’s like those inner-city xxxxxxxxx basketball teams underestimating xxxxxxxxx: they realize their flawed judgment down 10 in the third quarter when it’s already too late. They will lose and you will win. But for that to reliably happen, you’ve got to not believe what society would have you believe. And so please note that this commandment is less about what you say to others and more about the mental story you tell yourself. You have many great reasons to STAND AND FEEL YOUR WORTH, and your intelligence is one of those reasons.