A few months ago I wrote a column about what they don't teach you in school. From the positive responses and suggestions I received, it became quite apparent that formal education is a good beginning, but real world experience is also necessary to get ahead.

The prior list included concepts such as taking responsibility for promoting yourself, maintaining a positive attitude, the importance of a smile and handling rejection.

Here's my additional list:

-- Life isn't fair. How many times do you hear this phrase, especially from young people? It's true, and you still have to deal with it. Whining about it rarely levels the playing field, but learning to rise above it is the ultimate reward.

-- Think outside the box. There is no substitute for creativity. Take stock of your usual practices and look for new and better ways to do things. When something has been done the same way for a long period of time, sometimes it's a good sign that it's being done the wrong way.

-- Exercise is good for you. I've always been active in sports, but one of the best decisions I ever made was when I became a runner more than 50 years ago. Being in shape keeps my energy high and my attitude positive. Studies show that companies that promote exercise have decreased absenteeism, greater productivity, better performance and improved morale.

-- Be nice to everyone. It's nice to be important, but more important to be nice. You don't know who your top customers will be five years from now or where you will be in 10 years. You may have a fancy title, but you will always need help from the people around you.

-- You do not get what you want, you get what you negotiate. One of the skills that has made the biggest difference in my career is negotiating. It applies to selling, purchasing, hiring, firing, expanding, downsizing and every other phase of business.

-- Good manners never go out of style. Whether it's responding to an invitation, answering the phone or email, or showing simple respect, we expose our own weaknesses when we display thoughtless or boorish behavior. One of the nastiest names someone can call you is "rude." Especially because it doesn't take any more effort to be polite -- and it takes a whole lot of work to restore your good reputation.

-- Visualization. I believe that visualization is one of the most powerful means of achieving personal goals. Many people, especially athletes and celebrities, have discovered the amazing power of visualization and have used it to enhance their careers and achieve their goals and dreams. They visualize that they are not quitters. They will not allow circumstances to keep them down. If seeing is believing, visualizing is achieving.

-- Practice humility. Humility is becoming a lost art in an era of self-promotion and making sure you get all the credit you deserve. Humility is not difficult to practice. It doesn't involve downplaying your achievements. It doesn't mean that you won't be recognized for your contributions. It does mean that you realize that others have been involved in your success and you are prepared to be involved in theirs. Anyone who thinks he or she is indispensable should stick a finger in a bowl of water and notice the hole it leaves when the finger is pulled out.

-- Encouragement is oxygen for the soul. People love us not for who we are but for how we make them feel. People appreciate sincere recognition and praise. People tend to live up to the recognition they receive. Encouraging words have tremendous power.

-- Enthusiasm is the spark that ignites lives. If you aren't excited about hitting the pavement every day, it will show in your performance. Pros are always enthusiastic about doing their job to the best of their ability. Napoleon Hill, one of my favorite authors, writes, "You have absolute control over but one thing, and that is your thoughts." You can control your own destiny.

-- Teamwork is not just important in sports. There are few human endeavors that are truly solo acts. I have been on all sorts of teams, and those that yielded the most successful results recognized the contributions of those at every level. A capable team captain plays on the strengths of all the team members -- and understands the value of a well-delivered pep talk.

Mackay's Moral: An old dog can learn new tricks, and a new dog can learn old tricks.

During the Civil War, President Lincoln was urged by a friend to give up Forts Sumter and Pickens and all government property in the Southern states. In reply, Lincoln said, "Do you remember the fable of the lion and the woodsman's daughter?"

Aesop writes that a lion was very much in love with a woodsman's daughter. The fair maid referred him to her father. And the lion went to the father and asked for her hand.

The father replied: "Your teeth are too long."

The lion went to a dentist and had them extracted. Returning, he asked again for his bride.

"No," said the woodsman. "Your claws are too long."

Going to the doctor, he had the claws removed. Then he returned to claim his bride, and the woodsman, seeing that he was unarmed, beat out his brains.

"May it not be so with me," concluded Lincoln, "if I give up all that is asked?"

I learned a long time ago that you can't give anything away in negotiations without receiving something in return. I also know that the most important term in any contract isn't the contract. It's dealing with people who are honest.

Before you start any negotiation, look beyond the title and make sure that the person you're dealing with is in a position of authority to sign off on the agreement.

No matter what industry you're in, or how far you go in your career, the ability to effectively negotiate can make the difference between success and mediocrity. It doesn't matter whether it's a multimillion-dollar contract, a job offer or a house sale. The rules of good negotiating are the same:

Know what you want. Don't go to the table without a clear, realistic idea of what you want to achieve. It will help you negotiate with confidence.

Ask for what you want. Don't be afraid to make the first offer. You'll set the tone for the discussion, and studies suggest that the negotiator who goes first usually comes closer to getting what he or she wants. While I often counsel people to let the other person go first, someone has to start the process. I have found that either way, I need to be clear about my expectations or I will be disappointed.

Understand what your adversary wants. A successful negotiation should satisfy both sides. Instead of trying to crush your competition, find out what he or she hopes to get, and try to work together toward a solution that works for you both.

Don't concede unilaterally. Usually, one side or the other has to give up something. If you offer something, be sure to get a comparable concession from the other person. Giving away something for nothing will be taken as a weakness to be exploited. The playing field needs to be level. You don't have to accept being bullied.

Don't rush. Time can be your friend if you're willing to wait for the right deal. If the other side senses a deadline, he or she may be motivated to hold out until the last minute, or try to force you into accepting unreasonable terms. Be patient and let the time pressure work against the other side.

Be ready to walk away. This can take a certain amount of courage, but it's necessary to avoid being backed into an agreement you don't want. If possible, keep an ally in reserve -- someone with the power to approve or reject the deal. This can give you an out if you need to turn down a deal, or motivate the other side to make the best offer possible.

Listen. Sometimes what the other side says is not the same as what they want. They say the price is too high, but their most important demand is quality, which almost always costs a little (or a lot) more. Pay attention for cues that will help you direct your response to a better outcome for all.

Financier J.P. Morgan once wanted to buy a large Minnesota ore mine from John D. Rockefeller. So Rockefeller sent his son, John D. Jr., to talk to Morgan.

Morgan asked, "Well, what's your price?"

He was unprepared for the response. Junior said: "Mr. Morgan, I think there must be some mistake. I did not come here to sell; I understood you wanted to buy."

Mackay's Moral: There is no such thing as a final offer.

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.