“Complete the map of the geniotype, Izán, and you will understand that the world is not in what you need, but in what you can offer. And only from self-love can you give something of value to others.” In Why have I come to this world? (Urano publishing house), by Tony Estruch, the reader follows the steps of Izán, a 14-year-old young man who leaves the safety of his home moved by the need to discover his purpose in life. “We all have a natural talent, something we have an innate ability to do. What happens is that this talent is hidden under layers and layers of beliefs in the educational system, the social environment, the family… that convince you that precisely what is part of you innately and naturally is not important. ”explains Estruch. “It seems that the important thing is that you can survive and that, when you enter the labor market, you know how to give a benefit to those who hire you,” he adds.
For this researcher, entrepreneur and trained musician, the search for purpose became a vital requirement when, with barely 30 euros in his pocket and having lost everything, he had to return to his mother's house. And there, drinking from his own failure, he began an 11-year journey that he dedicated to studying the importance of what he would call the geniotype, the neural and innate creative capacities of the brain, which make everyone naturally predisposed to a certain talent that allows people to be happy, giving the best of themselves in the process. “There is a huge dogma that they often talk to me about. And they tell me: “Tony, if I dedicate myself to what makes me happy, my life will go badly.” And I answered them: “Of course, it is much more logical to dedicate yourself to what is not going to make you happy, because that way you will do well…”.
Whether due to fear, low self-esteem or other reasons, the truth is that many let too much time pass without being aware of that talent and without knowing what their purpose in life is: “Recently we were at the University of Valladolid, giving a lecture about 30 teachers. When we asked, “Who here knows his talent?”, only two people raised their hands.” And, as if to reinforce the importance of this point, remember a famous NASA study that, years ago, analyzed the creative genius of people and the extent to which they continued to have it throughout their educational itinerary. After studying and following 1,600 children, the results were surprising: at first, 98% of children between three and five years old fell into the category of creative geniuses, but the percentage plummeted to 30% when they reached age. 10 years old, and only 12% at 15. Comparing it with the adult population, only 2% retained that level of creativity.
Is it possible that this educational system, while educating, has such a negative impact on our curiosity, creativity and ability to imagine? For Estruch, there is no doubt: “That's what I call education. If, etymologically, the word “educate” means “accompanying others to bring out the best in themselves,” in the current system that has been transformed into “accompanying them to be the same as others.” For this reason, from the Geniotipo Foundation, which started in 2023, they try to offer sessions and workshops to schools, companies and organizations to help students and professionals discover their talent, so that phenomena such as school dropouts can be tackled. early or job dissatisfaction, and even promote the development of transformational leadership skills. “My wound is in education. I play seven instruments, but at school I was a disaster, I didn't understand anything, but I wasn't aware of what was happening,” Estruch recalls.
“People, in their element, give the best of themselves and for society,” adds Iban Galletebeitia, coach Geniotipo Foundation staff. For this reason, he maintains, “it is necessary to move towards a system that is capable of accompanying people in the process of identification, development and promotion of the innate creative capacities they possess. Only in this way will we obtain better results than those we have obtained to date.”
Innate creative abilities
For Estruch, one of the problems lies in the fact that at school all students are taught in the same way, without taking into account the particularities of each one: “We have discovered that the brain is divided into three creative axes: the intuitive , the balanced and the pragmatic, but in school only the last two are encouraged. There is no subject that works on intuition, and people who have those abilities automatically appear and do not fit; they are the famous rare animals”. Education, he states, “is designed to be productive, not to be vocational”; and to change it, for example, “the ratios could be improved, so that in each class there were two or three teachers, to take into account the diverse abilities of each child.”
Now, what are those capabilities? According to the theory of geniotype, The innate creative abilities that human beings may have are divided into nine categories, which in turn have been identified with a different geometric figure:
- Infinite. Is he geniotype of those who were born to accompany and educate. Its purpose is to show others new paths and shine their talent, so that they can give the best of themselves.
- Square. His goal is to put the chaos of the world in order. They are organized and good managers.
- Ellipse. He geniotype of the artists and creators of dreams; those whose mission in life is to stimulate the imagination of others.
- Triangle. Possessors of great empathy, which is their best weapon when it comes to helping others. Their talent lies in sales and marketing, being able to offer the same thing from different angles and points of view and believing in the value of what they offer.
- Circle. He geniotype of people whose purpose is to give unconditional love to others, to create something altruistic that helps the world, from any area. They always put others first, even before themselves.
- Rectangle. They represent the value of effort, perseverance and austerity. They are specially trained for detailed and repetitive tasks such as transportation, heavy industry, maintenance, industrial engineering… They are a geniotype quite conformist, and they are not going to want much more than what they already have.
- Pentagon. His talent is focused on solving problems. It is the innate ability characteristic of scientists, inventors, doctors or researchers.
- Luck. Of great inner life. They have the ability to understand the transcendental, the esoteric and the mystical, and make it very everyday. They are often perceived as “weirdos”, and are very sensitive and intuitive: psychiatrists, criminologists, forensics, palliative care specialists…
- Estrella. The innate genius. In some way, it includes the rest of geniotypes, because you can shine in any facet and inspire others.
Normally, Estruch indicates, a person has between two and three of these abilities, and the combination of all of them will give rise to their innate talent, to that thing for which they have a natural facility. But this varies: you can have one, two or even all of them, although it is not the most normal. To date, they have genotyped to more than 35,000 people on its website www.conocetugeniotipo.com.
How does identifying your natural talent impact you?
Knowing what your innate abilities are and, therefore, your natural talent is, for Estruch, a process of vital importance that, above all, will lead to health and well-being, a very relevant factor if we take into account that 42% of the population experiences stress or anxiety regularly, according to the Spanish Society for the Study of Anxiety and Stress (SEAS). Or that 85% of workers worldwide feel unmotivated and poorly engaged in their work, according to Gallup.
“When you are in favor of your talent, the brain generates hormones such as endorphins or oxytocin (the so-called happiness hormones). But when we do something that goes against your talent, there comes a time when you can't do it anymore and your brain generates cortisol (the main stress hormone).” Therefore, when you are doing an activity that you are passionate about, “you even lose track of time,” reflects Estruch: the past or the future does not matter; nor is there depression or anxiety, because we are absorbed in the present.
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