When you are fired, you're rejected -- it's as simple as that. It's the end of the road for that job. But it might put you on the superhighway to the Super Bowl!

Look no further than Gary Kubiak, who is the newest poster child for rebounding from adversity. He was fired as head coach of the NFL's Houston Texans in the middle of the 2013 season, when the team won only two of 16 games. If you had predicted that less than two years later, he would coach the Denver Broncos to a Super Bowl championship, people would think you were delusional. But good things happen to people with experience who continue to work on improvement.

Professional sports, entertainment and the business world are filled with stories of people who got second, third, fourth and more chances. That's because there is no substitute for experience.

Kubiak also exhibited a strong leadership trait in loyalty. He brought seven assistant coaches from his previous head-coaching job in Houston with him to Denver, and he also signed a few players who were cut from his previous team after he left.

It's interesting that the two competing coaches in last year's Super Bowl -- Bill Belichick of New England and Pete Carroll of Seattle -- were both fired from previous jobs as well.

I interviewed Bill Belichick for my 2004 book "We Got Fired! … and It's the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Us." Belichick was axed by the Cleveland Browns after the 1995 season and became head coach of the New England Patriots in 2000, after Pete Carroll had the job for three seasons and was fired.

Belichick said: "I think every game, every week, every year is a great experience. I'd say I've learned every year I've been in the league no matter what capacity it's been in. Hopefully I'll keep learning. I've got a lot to learn." And this from one of only two NFL coaches with four Super Bowl championships.

One thing Belichick mentioned, which I also heard Gary Kubiak talk about, was about delegating. Belichick said that he learned to delegate more with the Patriots, focusing more time and energy into some bigger-picture things and less on the details.

After a small stroke during a game in 2013, Kubiak also said he has learned to delegate more and not be a control freak, as he was in his previous job. He empowered veteran players to make decisions and impose team policy. It helps that he inherited a veteran team, including his quarterback, Peyton Manning.

Yes, the same Peyton Manning who won a Super Bowl in 2007 with the Indianapolis Colts and was also later "fired" when the Colts were able to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

For the rest of us, getting fired may not be as public an affair. So it's important to figure out why you were fired. Most people are mistaken in their beliefs about why they lost their jobs. Some will say that they're failures, others that their boss had it in for them, and others that they were sure their career ended because of a faux pas they made at the company picnic.

Often, firing is a straightforward cost-cutting measure. When you're fired, it's easy to weave fantasies and imagine villains. But if you are going to spend even an hour feeling miserable, make sure that you are miserable for the right reason.

Tony Dungy, whom I was instrumental in recruiting to the University of Minnesota and who was recently elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is another Super-Bowl-winning coach who was fired. For the record, he coached the Indianapolis Colts to the 2007 championship after being fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dungy said: "When I got my first head coaching job at 40 years old, I thought I was ready. I was shocked at how much better I was at 47."

"Because you get fired doesn't mean you were a bad coach," Tony added. "It doesn't mean you weren't smart. It means it just wasn't the right situation."

Mackay's Moral: The way to douse a firing is to use what you have learned for an even better hiring.

Lord Chesterfield, in his famous letters to his son, wrote: "Here is the way to get people to like you. Make every person like himself a little better, and I promise that he or she will like you very much."

Most of us are aware of the tremendous power of encouragement, yet we fail to make use of it. Helping others feel important and better about themselves should be a driving force in our relationships.

Mahatma Gandhi inspired millions of people to go beyond their limitations to accomplish great things. It was said of Gandhi that he refused to see the bad in people. He inspired, even changed, human beings by regarding them not as what they were but rather as they wished to be.

"People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be -- not what you nag them to be," said politician Scudder Parker.

Growing up I studied people like Dale Carnegie, who said: "Tell a child, a husband or an employee that he is stupid or dumb at a certain thing, that he has no gift for it and that he is doing it all wrong, and you have destroyed almost every incentive to try to improve. But use the opposite technique, be liberal with encouragement ... let the other person know that you have faith in his ability to do it ... and he will practice until the dawn comes in at the window in order to excel."

Smart organizations understand that on a local scale, operating in an atmosphere of support and encouragement will improve not only morale, but in many instances, their bottom line. They encourage employees to take risks that will move the company forward.

When we eliminate unrealistic expectations, allow for failure without punishment and appreciate and encourage people's efforts, we lay a foundation for people to excel. Creating a supportive environment should be a central pillar of any business plan. Otherwise, why bother to hire the best people?

Legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant shared his secret for encouraging players to come together as a team, how to lift some up and how to calm some down. "There are just three things I'd ever say," he stated. "If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, then we did it. If anything goes real good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you." Or do their best work for your company.

Inspirational author Glenn Van Ekeren tells the story of what happened many years ago in a Paris opera house. A famous singer was to perform to a sold-out audience. The feeling of anticipation and excitement was in the air as the theater manager took the stage and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your enthusiastic support. I am afraid that due to illness, the man you have all come to hear will not be performing tonight. However, we have a suitable substitute we hope will provide you with comparable entertainment."

The crowd groaned in disappointment. The environment turned from excitement to frustration. The stand-in performer gave the performance everything he had. When he finished, there was nothing but uncomfortable silence. No one applauded. Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy stood up and shouted, "Daddy, I think you are wonderful." The crowd broke into thunderous applause.

Who wouldn't love to hear, "I think you are wonderful" every now and then?

Mackay's Moral: A person may not be as good as you tell her she is, but she'll try harder thereafter.

Students in a philosophy class were anxiously awaiting the start of their final exam. The professor had warned them that it would be one of the most challenging tests they would ever take.

The teacher wrote one question on the board and said, "This is your exam. You have one hour to complete it."

One student scribbled something quickly and turned in his exam, casually walking out of the room. The other students continued to write furiously as they looked on in disbelief.

The professor chuckled when he looked at the exam and wrote on it "Great job! 100 percent."

The question: "What is courage?"

The student's answer: "This is."

Every day, examples of courage are all around us. Courageous folks may not be winning awards, getting their names in the news or resting on their laurels. They are running businesses and nonprofit organizations, working in the trenches to go the extra mile for customers and volunteering for causes in their communities. They face challenges and discouragements that threaten their financial and emotional futures. Yet they persevere.

Maxwell Maltz, the author of "Psycho-Cybernetics," offered this explanation: "We must have courage to bet on our ideas, to take the calculated risk and to act. Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness."

Courage is one of the themes of the recently released movie "Joy," the story of Joy Mangano, who invented the Miracle Mop and Huggable Hangers. She holds more than 100 patents for her inventions. She used her life savings and borrowed from family and friends to create the Miracle Mop. It took two years of personally selling the mop in supermarkets and working out of her bedroom before she achieved big-league success. Her kids filled the orders.

"Whenever you start something new, in business or life, doubt comes easy but courage takes work," Joy wrote on a Home Shopping Network blog.

"You must be brave and you must be strong to have the courage to keep going when you do experience the struggles of being an entrepreneur," she added. "I think a large part of my success came from my drive to bring something bigger into the world and to show my children that they could also accomplish their dreams, no matter the obstacles."

More than 25 years ago, I wrote my first book, "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." The book stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for over a year. Why? Because it inspired people to have the courage to take risks and trust their instincts. The advice I offered then is just as relevant today.

Was I ever afraid that I would fail? Yes and no. Yes, because I didn't want to be embarrassed or disappoint others. No, because I had the courage to be confident in my ability to survive failure and celebrate success.

Dr. Charles Garfield, author of "Peak Performance," tells the story of a wealthy man who bought a ranch in Arizona and invited some of his closest associates to see it. After a tour of the estate, he took everyone to the house, at the back of which was a swimming pool filled with alligators.

The rich owner said: "I value courage more than anything else. Courage is what made me a billionaire. In fact, I think that courage is such a powerful virtue that if anybody is courageous enough to jump into that pool, swim through those alligators and make it to the other side, I'll give them anything they want -- my house, my land, my money."

Everyone laughed and started walking into a house when a loud splash was heard. The crowd saw a man swimming for his life across the pool, as the alligators pursued him. After a heart-stopping interval, the man made it to the other side and exited the pool without injury.

The rich host said, "You are indeed a man of courage. What do you want? You can have anything."

The swimmer, out of breath, said, "I just want to know one thing -- who pushed me into that pool?"

Mackay's Moral: It's advantageous to be courageous.