According to "The Yogi Book," when the late Yogi Berra was playing in the minor leagues for the Newark Bears before joining the New York Yankees for his Hall-of-Fame career, his manager told him not to swing at balls out of the strike zone.

The manager urged Yogi to think about what he was doing.

That's when Yogi uttered one of his famous sayings: "You can't think and hit the ball at the same time."

Concentration may be something as simple as keeping your eye on the ball. If you are concentrating totally on what you're doing, you'll have total control of yourself. If your thoughts and hopes are elsewhere, it is impossible to set your mind to the work required.

With so many distractions in modern life, it's easy to lose focus. Concentration takes a backseat to the multitasking that rules our schedules. Time to rethink priorities.

This doesn't mean you can't have multiple interests or responsibilities. You just have to learn to give your full attention to the matter at hand to avoid getting sidetracked. I'll admit, that's easier said than done. But you can train your brain to block out the clutter with these tips.

-- Time management. I like to say, killing time isn't murder; it's suicide. Improve your time management and your time will improve you. It's not how much time you have; it's how you use that time. Time is one of your most precious resources. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back. Using your time efficiently and effectively takes organization, planning and information.

-- Organization. The more organized you are, the easier it is to concentrate. The people who know me well will laugh at this one because I'm a habitual packrat. My filing system is piles, and one pile for each project. And that's a lot of piles. But I can typically find things. I just need a lot of room to spread out. Corral your email. Email is one of the biggest distractions we have today. And to concentrate, you have to control distractions.

-- Exercise. My ability to concentrate effectively starts by getting up early and exercising to get my day off on the right foot. Keep the oxygen flowing to your brain. Get up and walk around occasionally to get your blood flowing and force oxygen to your brain.

-- Environment. As they say in real estate, it's location, location, location. For example, it's harder to study or concentrate in a place where you are used to relaxing. Working in a noisy or busy office makes it harder to focus. Would noise-canceling headphones make concentration easier? Perhaps a temporary "do not disturb" sign on your cubicle?

-- Take notes. I concentrate better and remember more when I take copious notes. And besides, pale ink is better than the most retentive memory. Jot down the items that need your attention and tend to them later when you have time to focus on them.

-- Practice. Like any activity, concentration takes practice. If you want to be good at something, you must practice. Concentration is like a muscle: The more we use it, the stronger it becomes.

-- Rest. One of the biggest factors affecting concentration is rest. If you don't get the proper amount of sleep, your mind tends to wander. Too much sleep is also not healthy.

-- And last but certainly not least, conquer procrastination. One of the worst things you can do is procrastinate, yet many people are guilty of putting off the inevitable. It's natural to perform the least important task first and save the most important for last -- if at all. That's why one of these days becomes none of these days.

You can make 2016 "one of those years." Keep your eye on the ball, and yes, think about what you are doing. Yogi Berra would be proud.

Mackay's Moral: Concentrate if you want to be great.

There are three simple rules in life:

-- If you do not go after what you want, you'll never have it.

-- If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.

-- If you do not step forward, you'll always be in the same place.

I can't take credit for these maxims: the author Nora Roberts came up with them. But they started me thinking about my own life and everything that I've learned over many decades in business.

The lessons I have learned could fill a set of encyclopedias. I would imagine anyone who has paid attention to the world around us could say the same. But there are several guiding principles that help me make decisions, plan strategy and sleep at night.

For example, I know that you have to dig your well before you're thirsty. I believe it so completely that it became the title of my book on networking. Here is the most important line in the book: "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."

In the end, it's not the amount of money that you make or the buildings that you own that matter. It's the people on whom you can depend -- and who can depend on you -- who make your life better.

A close second for the top lesson of my life would be the following: "People don't care how much you know about them, once they realize how much you care about them." It's so important I made this the theme of my first book, "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." It's also central to my Mackay 66 Customer Profile, which is the cornerstone of all my speeches.

You have to learn as much about your customers and suppliers as you possibly can, because you can't talk about business all your life. You have to build those relationships and take it from a business level to a personal level. Knowing something about your customer is just as important as knowing everything about your product.

Many of my friends started out as customers. As our relationships grew, we discovered that we shared much in common. Our friendships are based on trust established in our business dealings. Trust is, after all, the most important word in business. And that extends to my personal life as well. You must be trustworthy to be a worthy friend.

Another key lesson: "Believe in yourself even when no one else does." I have never met a successful person who hasn't had to overcome either a little or a lot of adversity in his or her life. So, who says that you can't accomplish your goals? Who says that you're not tougher, better, smarter, harder working and more able than your competition? It doesn't matter if they say you can't do it. The only thing that matters is if you say it.

Next, I've learned that we can't go it alone. The boat won't go if we all don't row. What is teamwork? It's the product of a collection of diverse people who respect each other and are committed to each other's successes. The beautiful part of teamwork is that it offers us the opportunity to use our own special talents and abilities. We all have gifts to share.

The last thing I'll mention, and the way I finish all of my speeches, is to put some fun and creativity into your business and life. Don't be boring. Don't be predictable. You can take your work seriously, you can take your relationships seriously, but you should never take yourself too seriously.

The ability to laugh at yourself is one of the most endearing traits you can possess. Supremely confident people worry very little about being the coolest, smartest, most admired person in the room. They understand that by putting others first, they move to the front of the class. They have truly learned some of life's most important lessons.

In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take, the relationships we were afraid to have and the decisions we waited too long to make. Learn from your mistakes. Be grateful for second chances and forgiving friends.

Mackay's Moral: Make your life story a best seller.

One of the questions I am often asked involves "how to get ahead." I thought it might be helpful to share some lessons from top U.S. executives.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway: "You follow your passions. You find something you love. The truth is, so few people really jump on their jobs, you really will stand out more than you think. You will get noticed if you really go for it."

Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder and CEO, DreamWorks: "I don't think it matters how small or how big the task is, if you can do it just a little bit better than what is expected, you will be noticed and rewarded."

Keith Wandell, recently retired CEO, Harley-Davidson: "Just stay true to your values and your principles."

Helena Foulkes, president, CVS Pharmacy: "So I love to run. I like to run long distances. And I think a lot of times making business decisions is like being a marathoner. In other words, you know what the finish line is that you really want to get to but, along the way, it's not always pure joy. There are really hard moments. But if you keep your eye on the prize, it's part of what drives you to get there."

John Gainor, CEO and president, International Dairy Queen: "I think it's very important that you don't want work to be work. It has to be something that you can enjoy. And if you find that, you can build a great career and enjoy what you're doing. But I think (another) thing is equally as important, and that is you need to treat every employee no different than how you want to be treated. Every person in an organization or in a store, their job is critical."

Meg Whitman, president and CEO, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise: "Be clear what matters most. And what matters most is your family. There are trade-offs that you will make, but remember, at the end of the day that is probably the most important group of people in your lives, and that has been true for me from day one. Do something that you love. We spend a lot of time at work ... if you find yourself in a company where you're being asked to do something that you don't think is right or you're feeling uncomfortable about the leadership and the direction of the company, run, do not walk, for the doors."

Ginni Rometty, chairman, president and CEO, IBM: "Never protect the past. If you never protect the past, I think ... you will be willing to never love (it) so much (that) you won't let it go, either. Never define yourself as a product and, in fact ... never define yourself by your competition, either. If you live and define yourself by your product or competition, you will lose sight of who your customer is."

Adam Goldstein, president and COO, Royal Caribbean Cruises: "Try to stay in one place ... That's not really very realistic in today's day and age, but there are so many advantages if you can have a long and fulfilling career at one place. The relationships that you have with the people are very, very special. Your knowledge of the business, the industry, the different departments, what's going on in the company, the lingo -- I find it very fulfilling."

Kirk Kinsell, president and CEO, Loews Hotels & Resorts: "Don't take yourself seriously, because no one else will. That points back to my leadership style. I oftentimes tell people my favorite subject is me ... and then I explain it to them and say, 'The reason why it's my favorite subject is because I invest in myself and understand who I am because I strongly believe I can't lead. I can't work on others unless I know myself.'"

Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors: "Do something you are passionate about; do something you love. If you are doing something you are passionate about, you are just naturally going to succeed, and a lot of other things will happen that you don't need to worry about."

Eric Schmidt, executive chairman, Alphabet (formerly Google): "Find a way to say yes to things ... a new country, to meet new friends, to learn something new. Yes is how you get your first job, and your next job, and your spouse and even your kids."

Mackay's Moral: Learn from the best to get ahead of the rest.