I've often said the greatest mistake a person can make is to be afraid to make one.

To be successful, you must come to terms with the notion that you will make mistakes. In fact, you often need to increase your failures to become more successful. Mistakes don't make you a failure. I always say, if you want to triple your success ratio, you might have to triple your failure rate.

Mistakes are OK as long as you learn from them and don't repeat them. As Confucius said, "A man who has made a mistake and doesn't correct it is making another mistake." I say it a little differently: One mistake will never kill you. The same mistake over and over will.

This concept is perfectly illustrated in the story of the fellow who was explaining to his neighbor how he got a burn on his right ear. "I was getting ready to iron my shirts and the phone rang. I picked up the iron by mistake."

The neighbor replied, "Well, then, how did you burn your left ear?"

"The same guy called back five minutes later."

Tom Watson Jr. was the CEO of IBM from 1956 to 1971. A senior executive made a large mistake costing the company a bunch of money. When Watson called him into his office, the executive said something like, "I suppose you're going to fire me." Watson replied, "Not at all, young man, we have just spent a fortune educating you."

The great inventor Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." When Edison's factory burned down with much of his life's work inside, he said: "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew."

Both business legends saw mistakes as investments in learning. They recognized the value of real-life lessons. When you mess up, seize the opportunity to get educated! Unfortunately, many people don't learn from their mistakes because they are consumed with trying to place the blame on someone else.

In today's business climate, it seems people are making decisions faster than ever. That creates more opportunity for mistakes. Don't misunderstand; I am not advocating making mistakes on purpose. But haste, as they say, makes waste. Wasting time is a mistake in itself. Stop and think before you act -- avoid the mistakes that are so obvious that you can predict their occurrence.

Just keep in mind that if you're not making mistakes, you're not taking any risks, and that could mean you're not making progress.

Here's advice on turning around your mistakes:

Be honest. Never try to cover up mistakes. The earlier you 'fess up, the faster you'll be able to correct the problem while maintaining your credibility.

Take responsibility. Your bosses and your customers don't want to hear excuses, and because it's rare for managers to take that kind of responsibility, it's a powerful way to show a sense of accountability for your actions (and those of your team). Then figure out what you can do to fix it.

Follow up and follow through. Sometimes simple mistakes point to more complex problems that need to be corrected. A thorough evaluation can reveal something about your habits or the work processes that needs to improve. Schedule a meeting, if necessary, to explore what went wrong and how to avert similar errors. Insight from others can often shed light on where things went wrong.

Use the opportunity to turn around a situation. Mistakes often are prime times for people to turn bad situations into positive ones. Any customer service guru will tell you that a lost ticket can be the perfect time to provide the best customer service you have to offer.

Everyone makes plenty of mistakes. You learn from them. You change. And you move forward. Stumbling is not falling. As the great comedian Charlie Chaplin said: "No matter how desperate the predicament is, I am always very much in earnest about clutching my cane, straightening my derby hat and fixing my tie, even though I may have just landed on my head."

Consider the hammer: It keeps its head. It doesn't fly off the handle. It keeps pounding away. It finds the point and then drives it home. It looks at the other side, too, and this often clinches the matter. It makes mistakes, but when it does, it starts all over.

Mackay's Moral: There are really no mistakes in life; there are only lessons.

One of the best decisions I've ever made in both my business and personal lives was to start running. I remember this like it was yesterday.

I was attending an executive program at Stanford University's graduate school of business back in the 1960s. Several foreign businesspeople who were also attending went out for a run every day. They asked me if I would like to join them, and I thought it sounded like fun. From that simple invitation grew a habit that has lasted a lifetime.

Running not only has kept me in good shape, but it has sharpened my focus. The benefits of physical activity on both the body and mind are well-documented. My personal experience tells me that when I don't run -- or walk briskly, as I have been more likely to do in recent years -- I lose some momentum. Running clears the cobwebs and renews energy.

Two hip replacement surgeries sidelined me for the past few years. But I just can't give it up. With my doctor's blessing, I entered and completed the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon in Phoenix on Jan. 20. I didn't set any records, but that's not what matters. I finished, just as I did in 10 previous full marathons, including the 100th running of the Boston Marathon.

I saw a remarkable range of participants in the half-marathon. One guy carried the American flag for all 13 miles. I saw a blind woman tethered to a guide runner, who served as her eyes, describing the scenery and painting the picture. People pushed baby strollers for the distance. Runners dedicated their races to the memory of loved ones and causes. The motivations are endless.

Anyone who finishes a marathon -- or a half-marathon -- has won. The proof is that in earlier days, people would ask you what your time was. Now the question is, "Did you finish?"

For most runners, the key to running a marathon is to understand that it is not so much a physical as a mental challenge. Your body does not want you to run a marathon. Your mind must make you do it. Therefore, you have to develop a rationale so powerful, a determination so strong that it will enable your mind to overcome the vigorous protests of your body.

Marathon legend Grete Waitz, winner of nine New York Marathons and two London Marathons, plus five world cross-country championships, lived by the motto, "If you give up, you lose."

The race Waitz is best remembered for was the New York Marathon in 1992. Her time: 5:32:35. That's right, more than five hours. She ran hand-in-hand with the event founder, Fred Lebow, who was fighting brain cancer. Grete's quote after the race went something like: "The true heroes are not us up in the front but those who are there at the back of the pack because they are there for four to five hours."

In 1987, I ran my first of five New York marathons. Approximately 23,000 runners started the race, but only 20,000 finished. The last finisher was Bob Wieland, a Vietnam veteran, who ran it in four days and two hours. He had no legs and ran on his hands. When I saw him early in the race, I knew there was no way I could not finish. True hero? You bet.

"You should run your first marathon for the right reasons because you'll never be the same person again," said Bill Wenmark, my friend and marathon coach. "You must want to do it, not do it because your boss did it or your spouse did it."

Bill has trained 3,800 first-time students and only three have not finished the marathon. A dedicated Marine, Bill has run 103 marathons and is a world-class mountain biker at age 65.

The vast majority of people who sign up to run a marathon are not competing for prize money. They are in it to prove to themselves that they can do it. That thinking carries over into so many other parts of our lives.

To me, marathons are a metaphor for life. There are challenges, obstacles, rallies, accomplishments and celebrations. The finish line is a sweet sight for any competitor.

As Booker T. Washington said: "Success is measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."

Mackay's Moral: If you don't climb the mountain, you can't see the view.

Napoleon Hill, one of my favorite authors, devoted 20 years of his life to studying what made people successful. His mentor, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, helped Hill by introducing him to some of the most successful people in business, including Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, Charles Schwab, George Eastman, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Clarence Darrow and many others.

What Hill discovered is that all these individuals realized the importance of surrounding themselves with people smarter than they were.

I couldn't agree more. All of us together are a lot smarter than any one of us. Which leads to some of the best career advice I can give you: Networking is a skill you must develop.

If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I've met over a lifetime, I'd say it is the ability to create and nurture a network of contacts. A network replaces the weakness of the individual with the strength of your network. You don't have to know everything as long as you know the people who do.

A network can enrich your life. It can help you help others. A network improves your job security. If you build a network, you will have a bridge to wherever you want to go. So if you are ever up the proverbial creek, with a network you will always have a paddle.

Just remember, the more you exercise your networking muscles, the stronger they get and the easier networking becomes.

What other career advice can you benefit from?

You can't forget the most important five-letter word in business -- TRUST. How about integrity, reputation and treating everyone with respect? I might add that you have to continue your education, because you should be in school all your life. I've written extensively about all these topics, and will continue to hammer them home because they are the difference between a job and a successful career.

And because I follow my own advice and continually study the brilliant thoughts of others, I'll share words of wisdom from some of the world's most successful people:

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc.: "When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'no' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

Michael Dell, founder of Dell Inc.: "Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people, or find a different room."

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels: "Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged."

Carlos Slim Helu, telecommunications magnate who is considered the world's richest person: "I don't want to live thinking about how I'll be remembered."

Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway: "I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars. I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over."

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook: "If we want to have the biggest impact, the best way to do this is to make sure we always focus on solving the most important problems."

Cathie Black, former president of Hearst Magazines: "Most people see taking risks as opening themselves up to unnecessary, maybe even dangerous chances. But the truth is, avoiding risks won't keep you safe, nor will it guarantee a smooth ride at work or in life."

Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group: "My mother always taught me never to look back in regret but to move on to the next thing. The amount of time people waste dwelling on failures rather than putting that energy into another project, always amazes me. ... A setback is never a bad experience, just a learning curve."

Mackay's Moral: They say a word to the wise is sufficient, but I say a word from the wise is a gift!