I've been writing this nationally syndicated column for 21 years now, and it seems that the Mackay's Morals I create for each one really stick with the readers. Every three years, I dedicate a whole column to some of my most memorable morals:
-- No one is as important as all of us.
-- Gratitude should be a continuous attitude.
-- Killing time isn't murder; it's suicide.
-- Hidden talents don't have to be huge, but the results can be.
-- Open a book ... open your mind.
-- Life is a lot easier if you always play by the rules.
-- We all have to grow up, but we never have to get old.
-- Corporate integrity begins with personal integrity.
-- "We" is a little word that sends a big message.
-- People don't care how much you know about them once they realize how much you care about them.
-- The most successful managers aim at making themselves unnecessary to their staff.
-- Critical thinking is critical to success.
-- The only person who can put limits on your imagination is you.
-- It's not enough to know what. You must also know how.
-- Your mind is your most powerful ally in developing confidence.
-- If you go the extra mile, you will almost always beat the competition.
-- Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing to do.
-- There is one thing more contagious than enthusiasm, and that is the lack of enthusiasm.
-- A student of life considers the world a classroom.
-- People are judged by the company they keep. Companies are judged by the people they keep.
-- If seeing is believing, visualizing is achieving.
-- Creativity, not necessity, is the true mother of invention.
-- They say a word to the wise is sufficient, but I say a word from the wise is a gift!
-- If you don't climb the mountain, you can't see the view.
-- There is no such thing as a final offer.
-- An old dog can learn new tricks, and a new dog can learn old tricks.
-- Failure is not falling down but staying down.
-- Customer service is not a department, it's everyone's job.
-- Saying you're sorry and showing you're sorry are not the same thing.
-- Exercise your brain so your memory doesn't get flabby.
-- An ounce of commitment is worth pounds of promises.
-- Most people strive to be better off, but few strive to be better.
-- If you want to make your mark, sharpen your skills.
-- Everyone wants to win, but most people are not willing to prepare to win.
-- The fool asks the wise for advice, but the wise ask the experienced.
-- Pride is the stone over which many people stumble.
-- Control your life or it will control you.
-- The hardest part of the sale is selling yourself to your customer.
-- Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't.
-- To get what you've never had, you must do what you've never done.
-- You'll never lose credibility if you share the credit.
-- Happiness can be thought, taught and caught -- but not bought.
-- Failure isn't final unless you say it is.
-- People aren't strangers if you've already met them. The trick is to meet them before you need their help.
-- We may not be able to predict the future, but we can prepare for it.
-- A plan isn't a plan until you have a backup plan.
-- Taking your time can sometimes be the best use of your time.
-- If a business knows what's good for it, it knows what's good for a customer.
-- You can't get ahead if you don't get started.
-- Worrying casts a dark shadow that blocks any glimmer of hope.
-- The best way to sound like you know what you're talking about is to know what you're talking about.
-- Stay on your toes or fall flat on your face.
-- You'll never reach your goal if you don't have one.
-- Start every day/year with a healthy dose of vitamin C -- Creativity.
-- Taking care of employees is taking care of business.
-- Lots of people start, but few people finish.
Mackay's Moral: (one more time) The smarter I get, the more I realize I'm not finished learning.