We've all heard that laughter is the best medicine. It makes people happy and links us together. Humor and laughter strengthen our immune system and boost our energy by destroying boredom and keeping stress at bay.

Humor is equally beneficial at work, as it increases creativity, enhances communications, builds morale and minimizes workplace conflicts and tension. People who use humor are generally seen as more approachable.

Humor may also help your company stand out, even when managing and accepting failure. A few years back, JetBlue had a great opportunity to send out such a message to its employees in a way that embraced risk, admitted failure and kept a sense of humor.

According to a story in BusinessWeek titled "How Failure Breeds Success," JetBlue made a decision that seemed like it would have minimal impact on customer satisfaction. But the company was about to find out otherwise.

Eric Brinker, then JetBlue Airways Corp.'s director of brand management and customer experience, decided to change the in-flight snack mix that it served passengers. Brinker had heard that some of JetBlue's customers had been asking for healthier snacks on flights.

So Brinker and his team replaced the Doritos-based snack mix that it served in flight. But something unexpected happened. The junk-food junkies voiced their protest.

The negative reaction grew, and Brinker realized he was going to have to reverse his previous decision.

So, on the company's intranet, Brinker launched his own light-hearted campaign to save the junk-food snack. "Some pinhead in marketing decided to get rid of the Munchie Mix!" he wrote. He asked employees to write poems and stories about why the snack mix should stay. He kept it fun. He reacted intelligently in the face of failure. It's a lesson JetBlue employees aren't likely to forget.

Humor can also help end arguments. According to "Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes," Orson Welles, the well-known film director and actor, had a longstanding feud with studio executive Jack Fier on the film "The Lady From Shanghai." Welles had decided that a certain set in the movie needed repainting on a Saturday, in time for a shoot on the following Monday. When Welles approached Fier about the matter, the director was told that getting the set painted in such short order was impossible.

Welles was determined, however, and over the weekend gathered a group of his friends who volunteered their painting services. The group broke into the studio's paint department and repainted the set themselves, leaving a huge sign that read: "The only thing we have to fear is Fier himself."

Monday brought a new set of issues, when the real set painters arrived and found that the work had been done by non-union labor. They called a strike, and Fier was required to pay a large sum to each member to compensate for the work they lost. In retribution, Fier deducted the money from Welles' fee and had his own sign painted that read: "All's well that ends Welles."

The two men, who had been bitter rivals, then called a truce and in time became good friends.

April is National Humor Month. With that in mind, I think it would be a good idea to introduce a new category on formal performance reviews that says, "Can laugh at themselves." I've always found a sense of humor to be an important skill. I am impressed by employees who can diffuse a difficult situation with a well-timed, respectful jest. I cheer for people who can admit their failings with good humor. I would be a gazillionaire if I could bottle the formula for helping people take themselves less seriously.

I subscribe to the words of one of America's greatest wits, Mark Twain: "Humor is mankind's greatest blessing." May we all be abundantly blessed.

Mackay's Moral: A good sense of humor helps to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected and outlast the unbearable.

A mother was ready for a few minutes of relaxation after a long and demanding day. However, her young daughter had other plans for her mother's time.

"Read me a story, Mommy," the little girl pleaded. "Give Mommy a few minutes to relax. Then I'll be happy to read you a story," the mother replied.

But the little girl was insistent that Mommy read to her now. Hoping to buy a few precious minutes, the mother tore off the back page of the magazine she was reading. It contained a full-page picture of the world. She ripped it into several pieces and told her daughter to put the picture back together, and then she would read her a story.

A short time later, the little girl announced the completion of her puzzle project. To her astonishment, the mother found the world picture completely assembled. When she asked her daughter how she managed to do it so quickly, the little girl explained that on the reverse side of the page was the picture of a little girl. "You see, Mommy, when I got the little girl together, the whole world came together."

Each of us has the responsibility to put our world together. It starts by getting ourselves put together. We can become better parents, friends, spouses and employers. The first step is adjusting our attitude.

Webster's Dictionary defines attitude as a "mental position." Successful companies and employees take the position that change is positive and challenge is good. They accept their environment and look for opportunities.

And opportunities are everywhere. It just depends on your attitude. Change can be difficult, or it can be exciting. You get to decide, so make sure your attitude puts you in the winner's circle.

Winners are positive and believe in themselves. They are committed and don't easily give up. They take charge of their own attitude, instead of letting it take charge of them. Success and happiness depend as much on your attitude as on your resources and advantages. To develop the right mindset, keep these precepts front and center:

-- Control: Ultimately, the only control you have in life is over your thoughts, actions, responses and behaviors. Don't obsess over what you can't control. Concentrate on what you can.

-- Positivity. Stop yourself when you feel negative thoughts beginning to dominate your mind. Instead, ask yourself what could be the best or worst that could happen. Then plan your response accordingly. Surround yourself with positive people, and see how quickly your own attitude changes.

-- Results: It's easy to fall into routines and patterns that emphasize the process instead of the outcome. Learn the rules, but apply them with an eye on what you want to achieve.

-- Gratitude: You'll stay positive if you remind yourself of what you already possess. Every day, spend some time thinking about your health, family, friends and advantages, instead of focusing single-mindedly on what you lack.

-- Example. Realize that you are setting an example for those around you. Attitudes are contagious, and you will be a welcome carrier of this condition!

The good news is that anyone, absolutely anyone, can improve his or her attitude. As so often happens, we can draw the greatest inspiration for attitude adjustments from those who seem to have had the greatest obstacles to overcome.

El Capitan is a granite wall in California's Yosemite National Park that shoots 3,000 feet straight into the air. Mark Wellman is the only paraplegic in the world to have climbed El Capitan. It takes good rock climbers four days. It took Wellman seven.

After Wellman reached the top, journalists asked him how he did it.

Wellman's reply was, "I never thought of it as two-thirds of a mile. I thought of it as 7,000 six-inch climbs."

Mackay's Moral: No platitudes about attitude, just think positive!

Spring training for Major League Baseball players is all about practicing the right concepts and covering all likely scenarios. Once the skills are honed, what you hear from most managers, coaches and players is that they need to see consistency.

Sure, players might have a great spring and make the big leagues, but if they don't consistently perform, they will be sent back to the minor leagues on the next bus.

Former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre said: "Whatever your job is, consistency is the hallmark. It's much more important than doing something spectacular just once. Do your job consistently and you will be considered good."

Torre was talking about much more than baseball. Life, like America's pastime, is all about consistency. Consistency might sound downright boring, but it's a critical element of success.

"Variety may be the spice of life, but consistency pays the bills," observes Doug Cooper, author of "Outside In."

Being consistent applies to all areas: school, work and family. If you are raising children, you know all about being consistent.

If you are running a restaurant, you are very familiar with the importance of consistency. Every food item must be served the same way every time. Customers expect it.

I occasionally go to McDonald's, not because they have the best hamburger, but because I know exactly what I'm going to get. I don't like surprises.

It's the same with any brand. When your audience sees and hears a consistent message from your brand, it reinforces your unique selling proposition in their minds. By knowing what they can expect from your brand, and hearing it multiple times, they will begin to assign a higher value and trust in your business -- and it shows that you take your business seriously.

Are you aware of the three Cs of customer service?

1. Consistency

2. Consistency

3. Consistency

It means providing predictable, reliable results to the customer or client every time.

Employees should expect the same consistency as customers. Employees should always know what is expected of them and how they will be treated.

"Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals," said the late Jim Rohn, a friend and crony of mine.

Big goals require three things: a plan, commitment to carry out that plan and consistency. Getting started is hard enough, but consistently carrying out your plan is more difficult. Even the best business plans will fail without a dedication to consistency.

How many people started out the year with plans to work out more, get in better shape and lose some weight? Without consistency, those resolutions go down the drain in weeks.

Say you set a goal to run a marathon, as I did years ago (I completed 10 of them). You must organize a consistent practice schedule and be consistent in your workouts, rain or shine. Missing a workout is like telling a lie, and the next lies come easier and easier.

Remember Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare. When the two raced, the swoift hare, assured of its great advantage over the slow and lowly tortoise, took a commanding lead but ultimately lost after arrogantly taking a nap on the course.

Are you a tortoise or a hare? Keep your eye on the prize, and consistency will get you there.

Mackay's Moral: If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.