HIGH-IMPACT MENTORING FOR THOSE SEEKING ABUNDANCE

Juan Carlos Erdozain Rivera, MBA
7 days ago
8 min read

By Juan Carlos Erdozáin Rivera

inGenius: High-Performance Mentoring

In the business world, we've been taught that success is a matter of accumulation: more data, more degrees, more assets. But I've spent my life watching how that accumulation becomes a silent poison. I've seen companies die of thirst for knowledge and executives paralyzed by fear despite their brilliance. After decades navigating the halls of giants like DuPont, Shell, and Crayola , and educational institutions like Ibero and La Salle , I've come to understand that the real tragedy isn't ignorance, but paralysis .

THE ART OF UNBLOCKING - MENTORING - STAGNANT ABUNDANCE

The Deception of the Goddesses and the Pond of the Ego

To understand this, we must look back to a truth that Deepak Chopra rescued from the Vedas. He speaks of two forces: Saraswati , the goddess of knowledge, and Lakshmi , the goddess of abundance. The promise seems simple: "Seek the first, and the second will follow." But there is a trap that fools fall into.

Many seek Saraswati only to lock her away. They acquire knowledge solely to feed their ego, to feel superior. At that moment, knowledge ceases to be life. It becomes stagnant water , a putrid pond that, instead of quenching thirst, breeds harmful fungi: pride, rigidity, and decay. The true Lakshmi—who is abundance of money, yes, but also of love and peace—would never enter stagnant water.

The key is not choosing one goddess over the other; the crux of the matter is Reconciliation . Knowledge must be processed, it must flow. Only when water flows and becomes a river does it generate life within it and verdure along its banks.

THE BIRTH OF A METHOD: BREAKING THE CHAINS OF "I CAN'T"

My vocation as a mentor wasn't born in an office, but in an act of rebellion against limitation. At 24, at the request of my "friends from the neighborhood," I agreed to teach physics and math to their girlfriends. Were they stupid? No, they were people with undiscovered potential, what I call inGenius, meaning "Unleashing the Genius Within."

The drama wasn't in the quadratic equations; the drama was in the lump in their throats. Their minds were screaming, "I'm not capable."

It was then that I understood my job wasn't to inject formulas, but to be a mental locksmith, to unleash the genius they carried within... "inGenius." By unlocking that limiting thought, they didn't just learn physics; they learned how to learn . The water began to flow.

AWAKENING GENIUSES: THE DAY MY STUDENTS UNLOCKED THEIR POTENTIAL

That spark, that idea that arose when I supported my friends' girlfriends, became a wildfire when, at the Guadalupe Insurgentes Institute , I took on a group of 13-year-old girls who were self-imposed limitations in their school learning. In many cases, they were at the bottom of the class, labeled as stuck. I designed a disruptive program: "The Grand Prize of 64,000 cents." It wasn't just a game; it was a surgical intervention in their self-concept. Those girls, once listless, were transformed into outstanding students at the school. That story of empowerment gave me definitive proof: the potential is there, it's just waiting to be unlocked.

Around 1980, while I was working as a mathematics teacher at Instituto Guadalupe Insurgentes, I was concerned about the latent potential of my first-year high school students.

I often wondered why, despite their obvious ability, so many failed to achieve excellence. The answer crystallized into an innovative initiative for its time, inspired by the then-famous television program , El Gran Premio de los 64,000 pesos (The 64,000 Pesos Grand Prize). That competition, masterfully hosted by Pedro Ferriz Santa Cruz and broadcast by Televisa, was not just a contest; it was a catalyst that challenged the intellect and ignited a genuine passion for knowledge.

Under the institutional protection of the school's nuns and the enthusiastic support of Father Arturo Kageyama—who, with his dual role as physics teacher and charismatic master of ceremonies, provided the necessary rigor and spark— "The Grand Prize of 64,000 Cents" came to life. The competition, true to the rigor of the television format, challenged the students with complex questions on topics they themselves chose, transforming the classroom into a sanctuary of specialized knowledge.

The mechanics were electrifyingly simple: the contestant selected her area of expertise and faced five rounds of increasing difficulty... until reaching the glory of 64,000 cents .

The transformation of the environment was radical. Those young women who had previously retreated into shyness or disinterest emerged with renewed vigor. Studying ceased to be a burden and became a collective passion; they organized after-school review sessions and collaborated with a dedication that surpassed any academic expectations. The school was no longer just a building but a stage for personal growth, where concentration and mastery of knowledge astonished everyone.

The initial success of the 64,000 cents prize motivated me to create a second, bolder edition: 'The Grand Prize of 313,000 Cents,' this time inspired by the program ' Las 13 preguntas del 13' (The 13 Questions of Channel 13 ), also hosted by Pedro Ferriz Santa Cruz. With the approval of Mother Lidia María, the covered patio was transformed into a real television studio; with Javier Contreras as master of ceremonies and Mónica Tame Said providing the musical accompaniment, the atmosphere of suspense was complete.

Students like Alejandra Tame Said (specializing in The Crusades ), Gisell ( William Shakespeare ), and Elizabeth Meneses ( The Bees ) shone for their mastery of the subject matter under pressure. The impact transcended Colegio Guadalupe Insurgentes: the innovation was such that executives from Canal 11 (IPN) attended in person, impressed by the magnitude of this educational project.

On the day of the competition, the atmosphere vibrated with the intensity of a stadium during a sporting final. Each question suspended in the air generated palpable tension, broken only by the explosive joy of correct answers and the unconditional support among classmates. The results were revealing: the vast majority won the top prize, but even those who didn't reach the summit returned to their desks with the satisfaction of having broadened their own horizons.

Without fully planning it, I had created an environment where play and competition—intrinsic human impulses—became the driving force for self-improvement. I witnessed a profound metamorphosis: "I'm not good" was transformed into a resounding "I can do it!" That experience of success wasn't a memory exercise, but a trial by fire in a real context of pressure and emotion, just as life itself demands.

INGENIUS: MENTORING AS A TRANSFORMATIVE POWER

From that need to flow, my methodology, inGenius, was born. While conventional coaching remains on the surface of the immediate goal, inGenius delves into the depths of wisdom. It is pure mentoring: the use of accumulated experience to guide the other person toward their own center .

When I entered the corporate world in marketing departments for influential companies like DuPont, Shell Oil, and Crayola , paradoxically, my methodology gave me a unique competitive advantage. My clients asked me questions that ranged from the technical (where coaching would fit in, focusing on specific goals through questions without giving advice) to the developmental (where mentoring comes in, a long-term relationship based on the expert's experience and wisdom to guide and advise).

I discovered that the key to business success wasn't pushing sales, but rather being a mentor to my clients. My visits transformed: I dedicated 90% of my time to mentoring—unblocking doubts, sharing experiences, and processing knowledge with them—and only 10% was spent formally discussing the sale. The result? Their trust in me as a guide and expert translated into better and larger orders. I was applying the flow of Saraswati (processed knowledge) to naturally attract Lakshmi (abundance).

In this process, the discovery and application of the principles in Ernest Wood's book "Mental Concentration" to the practice of helping others through mentoring, which I learned empirically in my youth , was fundamental. I understood that the ability to deeply focus the mind was key to processing knowledge and eliminating the mental noise that generates limiting thoughts. I integrated this discipline of concentration into my interactions with clients, allowing us to address complex problems with a clarity that a simple sales transaction could never achieve.

REFLECTION AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Today, the conflicts that are bleeding the world dry—political, religious, military—are merely vast pools of stagnant water. Overflowing egos of leaders who cannot reconcile, who cling to their dams of rigid beliefs. Peace and progress are born of the flow, not the dam.

REMEMBER

The River (knowledge in action), when knowledge flows, generates life within it (fish/personal results) and life around it (moss, plants/social impact). It is an ecosystem of progress.

The Stagnant Pool (stored knowledge): when knowledge becomes trapped within an individual solely to feed their ego, the water stagnates. It becomes a putrid place, full of harmful fungi and devoid of life.

For you, who seek to innovate and grow, the inGenius path requires three acts of courage:

Drain the pond
Identify that "mushroom thought" that tells you today that you can't or that you already know everything / Identify a technical or experiential knowledge that you have stored away and are not using.
Activate the Flow
Don't keep what you know to yourself. Process it and apply it. Innovation comes from action, not contemplation. / Find out who could benefit from that knowledge today.
Steel Action and Concentration
Use Wood's method. Focus your mind so that the beam of your wisdom doesn't scatter, but cuts through the market's resistance. Put what you know into action without expecting anything in return. Watch how, by releasing Saraswati, Lakshmi's prosperity begins to manifest in your environment in unexpected ways.

CONCLUSION

SET THE COURSE AND ILLUMINATE THE PATH

1️⃣ The work of the modern Business Consultant and Advisor cannot be limited to simply delivering data. It must evolve into a Mentorship that recognizes that the biggest obstacle to innovation and abundance is not a lack of information, but the mental barriers of ego and fear.

2️⃣ My journey, from educational institutions to corporate giants, is a testament to the fact that when knowledge is processed with wisdom, concentrated with discipline, and applied with the aim of unlocking human potential, stagnant water disappears; this is called Innovation.

A powerful channel is created where Sarasvati (processed knowledge) and Lakshmi (abundance) walk hand in hand, driving not only better businesses, but a better quality of life for all.

3️⃣ True success is not about chasing abundance, but about building the bridge that allows knowledge to flow towards it.

Remember, we all have an inner genius waiting to be awakened. Dare to unlock your potential!

Sincerely,