Have you heard of Pedigree Pal, the dog food company? Sometimes I think that dogs eat better than some humans I know of! Yes, indeed, Pedigree Pal, for those of distinguished pedigree, of course.

How qualified are you for what you’re doing, and for what you’d like to be doing in life? Do you feel adequate or inadequate? Do you think you’re an all-star performer? Do you think you have bragging rights about whatever it is you have, where you’ve been, what you’ve done, who you know, how high your “Klout” score is, or how well you’re doing on “Pinterest”? Or do you mumble something and change the subject when asked, or when someone else kind of gives you a hint about how great he or she is? Think you’re with the “In” crowd, or wish you were? What’s your pedigree, Pal?

There have been a few articles recently questioning the actual value of a college degree. What do you think? Stop it! There’s nothing wrong with college degrees, it’s just that some people who hold them don’t perform to the degree they should! I’ve said for a while now that while certification is definitely important, qualification is even more important.

Certification is important because you might not want someone like yours truly fiddling with your Vagus nerve so that you won’t feel so bloated every time you go on a gastronomic frenzy. Ben Carson might know where it is, but I wouldn’t. Ben Carson might not want to fiddle with your Vagus nerve, but I bet you he knows where it is!

Qualification, on the other hand, isn’t necessarily certification. Qualification isn’t necessarily a specialization. Qualification implies a depth of character and competence that undergirds and integrates different skills and abilities so that their worth to others goes up. Qualification has the guts to remove things, procedures, processes and people that are more hindrances than assets. Be qualified. If not, then get qualified. Then you won’t have to worry about whether you have a degree. Or pedigree.