“The Locks of Intellectual Development”

Have you ever been confused about whether you were being educated or trained?  What is the difference between a teacher and a trainer?  Do our colleges and universities deliver training or educations?  Can the company I work for provide education, training or both?  When should I pursue training verses an education?  These can be tough questions, especially for people in the corporate world or people who are self-employed.  To help you with these questions, let’s shed some light on the differences and what each delivers to the individual. 

Everyone that lives on planet Earth grows old and most of us grow intellectually during the aging process; even when a formal education system is not present.  Our intellectual growth is commonly referred to as Intellectual Development and it is made up of three universal components or “Locks” that apply to each of us; Motivation, Education and Training.  Even though two of the three can be viewed as very similar each is different, unique and depends on one to unlock the other.  Let’s examine each separately to determine the role that each plays in our learning process.

The first lock that must be opened when we desire to learn something new is motivation.  Motivation is defined as the reason or incentive to do something.  Without motivation most people would not progress through difficult situations or environments.  It is that personal motivation that gives each individual the initiative to persevere when the level of difficulty begins to mount.  When motivation is applied to intellectual development, be it positive or negative in nature, it fuels the power needed to drive the student forward.  In other words, it could be the fear of failing a training evaluation that will surely result in being terminated from your job, it could be the wish to better understand what a co-worker is going through or the personal drive to finish a course with a great score resulting with a position on the Dean’s list that moves the student across the finish line.  Motivation comes in many forms but always will be present in one of three forms, either driving us to avoid pain, to increase our pleasure or for the benefit of those whom we love.  Each are equally as motivating to the individual person who seeks the education and training they are after.

The next important lock is education.  It is defined as a process of acquiring knowledge or abilities gained through personal direction or indirect means such as books or electronic transmissions.  Our education begins in our mother’s arms.  At the earliest of ages we begin to receive the transfer of knowledge through the lessons of our parents, guardians and siblings.  As we age, we continue this journey through the school systems.  Once we move through the school programs, most adults enroll in the School of Hard Knocks.  This school can be the most difficult of educational programs because the lessons usually come at a price far greater than an exam score.  Some of these adults may believe that they have finished with their “formal” education and if by formal they mean a structured education, they may be correct, but formal or not they never quit gathering knowledge.  As a matter of fact, anyone desiring to continue to grow, progress or move up the corporate ladder of success must adopt an open mind set toward education.  With so much in our world changing so rapidly, one’s education can become out dated very fast in this rapid paced society in which we live.  That is how people quickly become irrelevant in their current position.

The final lock to the intellectual development puzzle is training.  This component is defined as the process of learning how to apply the education, skills, and abilities toward a job, task or duty.  Said in another way, training is the process we go through in order to use our education effectively.  To do so, the important three aspect of effective training must be followed.  First, the one being trained must be shown how and what to do by someone already proficient in the job or skill.  Next, they must commonly be observed doing the tasks on their own.  Finally, a system of monitoring is established to insure appropriate habits are instilled in the one we trained. 

If done properly, our intellectual development flows in a full circle when we begin to train those who are being trained with the same expectations that demonstrate their ability to perform the desired tasks using the education you both share while doing so with the proper joint attitude of enthusiasm created through our individual internal motivations.

If this is my last post, I want all to know there was only one purpose for all that I have written; to have made a positive difference in the lives of others.

Anthony “Tony” Boquet

Author of “The Bloodline of Wisdom, The Awakening of a Modern Solutionary”

First drafted April, 15, 2013