Merit is superior and the Romans agree. Taking a walk down the road of history. History is often about perspective, the view used to examine the snapshot of time. The observing is often set with a predisposition of a desired outcome. Knowing that lets us dive into several historical examples of how merit is superior to credentials.

The 80/20 rule or the Pareto Distribution is a good rule of thumb. Swirl in a big mix of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the world of merit begins to rise above credentialing. Simply put 20% of the people in the world are striving for growth regardless of the environment.

Let’s look at Roman rulers, Vespasian, the father of the Titus and Marcus Aurelius, and his son Commodus. Looking for a fun movie with Marcus Aurelius, albeit a small role, Gladiator is your choice. You will also get a good dose of the insanity that was the megalomaniac Commodus.

We all remember seeing the movies where the protagonist gets a calling out with the statement, “You’ve changed, man.” The secret to this is the promotion of the environment. They know inside the new environment is allowing them to act the way they have always desired to act. The environment didn’t change them, they are who they are. This is an internal example of the title, Merit is superior and the romans agree.

The implication is the person who is of merit treats the environment differently. These folks are aware of the world around them and treat it differently than somebody with only credentialing. Of course, this is a broad statement yet to carry the majority of the argument.

The choices are ones we make on a yearly, monthly, daily basis. The merit of being, “Born to the purple,” as Commodus is quoted as saying, and how you choose to use it.

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KRIS WILDER

Kris Wilder is a martial artist based in Eastern Washington. He has authored many martial art books, including the classic, The Way of Kata. Making no apologies for his obsession of Football he can be found telling any who will listen about the nuances of the Canadian Football League.

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