PPB January 2016

66 / 124

64 • PPB • JANUARY 2016 GROW
MY DEFINITION OF
“ROCKING THE BOAT” is to
do things differently to the point
of causing society to take note of
a change in direction. It’s believ-
ing in yourself and jumping into
the sea of opportunity.
In my book, Moving Up, I
said, “I’m tired of watching life
pass by the millions of talented
employees and future business
owners who—for whatever rea-
son—don’t connect their passion
with their success. Life happens
to all of us and it can be over-
whelming, depressing and make
our dreams and aspirations seem
small … and don’t you believe it
for a second.”
1 Believe in yourself.
Believing in yourself is all
about being sure that you
are going to do whatever you
want even if others stand against
you. Usually, when you decide to
take a big challenge or to do
something that people failed to
do, you will find that not every-
one will support your vision. But
don’t take it personally. You’ll
waste energy when you focus on
what others think about you.
2 “Everything is going fine
here. Don’t rock the
boat.” How often has
this been said? I literally feel like
pulling my hair out when I hear
someone say, “But it’s always been
done that way.” So what? For
years we rode in carriages pulled
by horses until Karl Benz from
Germany invented the automo-
bile. And we beat our clothes on
a rock before Alva Fisher invent-
ed the washing machine in 1908.
If you try to do or say something
that causes problems, especially if
you try to change a situation
which most people do not want
to change you are considered a
“boat rocker.”
Mark Twain said, “Twenty
years from now you will be more
disappointed by the things you
didn’t do than by the ones you
did do.”
3 Be bold and self-confi-
dent. I believe your great-
est opportunity for
achieving your professional or
personal goals is to be bold and
self-confident. Go ahead and
compete for a position above your
level (that’s rocking the boat).
You must work harder than any-
one else, set yourself apart, and be
connected and engaged.
When you empower yourself
to work toward your goals, be
proactive and overcome your self-
imposed limitations, you can
begin to develop yourself both
personally and professionally.
4 If we fail to learn we fail
to grow. Since 1979, I
have spent much time and
money learning about customer
service, the customer experience
and everything related to cus-
tomer service. The result has led
me to position myself as the lead-
ing service strategist and expert
in the world. I believe that learn-
ing is the fundamental activity in
a successful and purposeful life.
Life gives us endless opportuni-
ties to learn, and the more diffi-
cult the situation, the more we
are likely to learn and take that
inevitable leap to be able to rock
the boat with confidence, which
is our investment in our success.
5 Gravitate toward suc-
cessful people. To
achieve your goals you
need to gravitate toward success-
ful people with a positive atti-
tude. When the mentors, co-
workers and friends you associate
with have a positive attitude, it
rubs off on you. It makes you
want to work harder to become
as successful as they are. You
begin to look at the bright side of
every situation and try to find
ways (rock the boat) to solve
problems and improve outcomes.
6 Add value to other
people’s lives. T. Harv
Eker, speaker, business-
man and author of Quotes from
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,
explains this one best:
“Your life is not just about
you. It’s also about contributing
to others. It’s about living true to
your mission and reason for being
here on this earth at this time. It’s
about adding your piece of the
puzzle to the world. If you want
to be rich in the truest sense of
the word, it can’t only be about
you. It has to include adding
value to other people’s lives.”
The only thing keeping you
from being exceptional is your
own determination. Others may
tell you that you can’t possibly do
it. You may even hear yourself say
that you don’t deserve it. When
that happens, stand up and start
rocking the boat, and watch
things begin to happen.
John Tschohl is an international
service strategist and speaker. He is
founder and president of the Service
Quality Institute in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Described by Time and
Entrepreneur magazines as a cus-
tomer service guru, he has written
several books on customer service
including Moving Up. The Service
Quality Institute (www.customer-
) has developed more
than 26 customer service training
programs that have been distributed
and presented throughout the world.
Tschohol’s free monthly strategic
newsletter is available online. Find
him on Facebook, LinkedIn and
Twitter.
Know How To Rock the Boat
Six Credos To Create The Business You Want
By John Tschohl
15
TOUGH
QUESTIONS