Now don't get me wrong. I spent many, many years training Customer Service Reps. (CSR's). I'm all for making sure customers receive best possible service. What I'm not for is pre-scripted list of questions CSR's are required to ask, regardless of whether they are applicable to situation at hand. I've seen some checklists with as many as 25 pre-scripted "call quality" standards that CSR's are required to use. If they don't, and someone happens to monitor call, they get marked down. Ludicrous I say!

Let me give you a few highlights from a recent call I made to my well-known auto club:

CSR: What is year, make and model of your vehicle? Me: 2000, GMC, Yukon, Denali CSR: There is no 2000, GMC, Yukon, Denali (obviously it couldn't be found in her list of computer options so she needed to tell me I was wrong) Me: Yes there is, I drive it every day CSR: What's wrong with your vehicle? Me: I don't know. It won't start. CSR: Does it need to be towed or jumped? Me: I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with it. CSR: Well do you think it needs to be towed or jumped? Me: I have no clue. CSR: Where is your vehicle? Me: In my garage. CSR: Can you push it out of garage into driveway or street? Me: No. It's a full size SUV. I can't push it anywhere. CSR: Is there another way you can get it out of garage? Me: No. It won't start.

Eventually, after I'd jumped through enough hoops, call finally ended.

Chances are it wasn't CSR's idea to get her laughs for day by asking me stupid questions. Instead, her own company sabotaged her ability to quickly and efficiently take care of her customer, by requiring she use a scripted questioning process.

So happily I moved down path of life, and took a banking position. Followed by an accounting position. Followed by an auditing position. And then I began taking a serious look at my life. Was this really what school had taught me? Wasn’t there more to life than simply holding a job? How was I supposed to find my true calling?

I began sitting at my desk contemplating my future. Surely there were others out there like me that began to question their fate. That suddenly decided that their lives simply weren’t working for them anymore, and that a big change was necessary. Or was I alone in this quest?

The funny thing about a quest is once you set your mind to something, it’s easy to find your answers. And easiest way to find answers is in writing. Books and magazines became my best friends. I began to read everything and anything; from self-help to business help. I began to get a new type of education. An education from listening to what others had to say about success, life, and general pursuit of happiness. And I discovered importance of a great education, not just an institutionalized education.

A great education begins with desire to learn. As long as that desire exists inside of you, you can literally conquer anything.

Education is one of my favorite topics. Knowledge is key to success. It can unlock any door you choose. Simply by wanting to learn, and following through with act of learning, you can become anything you dream. And education is so easily achieved! Literally anyone can receive intense, specialized knowledge if they so desire. Education is not synonymous with formal training. Education is simple desire to learn. And there are so many ways to learn!