Learning & Development Reality Check
by Enrique Montiel

There are fundamentally two things that human beings do throughout their lives. They learn and they reinforce - that is, they reinforce what they learn. Albert Einstein said he never let his schooling interfere with his learning education. Orison Swett Marden knew that "Deep within man dwell slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action."

I don't believe in talent in the traditional sense. My experience has consistently reinforced that talents are developed. They are learned and nurtured. Of course some people do come with genetic advantages. But most often than not those genetic advantages are insignificant to success. Everywhere in life exist examples proving there is nothing that can stop the power of the human soul on fire. And interestingly, the people who intensely struggle for their success seem to always appreciate what they've created a heck of a lot more than those who easily slid on by.

What human beings are capable of is absolutely phenomenal. What they will do is usually very different than what they can do. Why is that? In my years of research and working with people from all walks of life, the one definitive answer that comes up time and again is: Expectancy. People always rise to the level of their Expectancy whether it comes from within them or from significant people in their lives. In sports we have a saying that athletes rise to the level of their competition. In learning we know this process as the Pygmalion Effect.

The Pygmalion Effect is the phenomenon of taking a struggling student and placing him or her in an environment where excelling is the only acceptable option and as a result they do perform. Or, taking someone who has always seemed to excel and placing them in an environment where they are expected to fail and they do. What drives and reinforces these behavioral changes is a certainty Expectancy Standard. The certainty that they can and will excel or the certainty that they are hopeless; the genesis to learned helplessness.

When people are not excelling at the level they could be it is at the very root a result of low Expectancy Standards. Raising this one single distinction is the most significant factor in creating dramatic life lasting positive effects that cascade throughout a person's life.

Today, in our culture we are caught up in a horrible trap. It is the trap of farming out disempowering labels with complete disregard to the consequences of how they truly affect and shape our lives. But what disempowering labels really are is ignorance defined as having a need to do or change something, having the ability to do it and not following through. I decided years ago to fight to win a crusade over this degrading and humiliating mindset that manufactures the walking dead.

Dysfunction and success are both learned behaviors. Everything we are we learned and reinforce to be this way. We learn to walk, to think, to speak, to read, to drive, to fear and believe the way we do. And how we get there is through the four stages of learning I speak about in my seminars. These four specific distinctions are an incredible tool that can be used to empower any person to quickly unlearn and re-learn anything if the Expectancy Standard demands it!

When I was a child the "Educational Experts" labeled me a slow learner and locked me into the "Slow Track". I was never made aware that I was below any standard and that something worthwhile to strive for existed. As a result of this lack of basic information my initial experience in formal education was mostly a boring waste of twelve years. All because no one took into account that at that early age I was in the process of learning and mastering two distinct languages. However, I did have two professors that knew different. They challenged me and everyone in the classroom. And every one of us rose to the level of our expectancy before they were both dismissed for expecting more from us than anyone ever would.

We must be mindful of the gates of our mind and pay close attention to our environment, to the people around us, to the words we use and our internal self talk - so that we stop incarcerating ourselves and others with ignorantly convenient labels that rape us from creating the kind of magnificent lives we all desire and deserve. -Enrique Montiel

Enrique Montiel is a researcher and developer of life enhancement systems. He is the inventor of LBD, EBD, and CBD technologies which he promotes in his private practice and through his company, Life Enhancement Systems. Enrique is also a published writer, accomplished independent filmmaker and Olympic hopeful.

Enrique Montiel is a San Diego, California native residing in Colorado Springs, Colorado where he is currently conducting peak performance and achievement research as well as speaking and facilitating his personal and professional development programs throughout the United States. He can be reached at enrique@enriquemontiel.com, 719 227-7177, www.enriquemontiel.com

BACK TO ARTICLES