A man had gone to a circus as a small boy and decided to return years later. He was sitting in a cheap seat when an elephant came along, reached up into the stands, wrapped his trunk gently about the man and carried him over to the best seat.

The man turned to his neighbor and said, "That elephant remembered the last time I was here years ago. I fed him peanuts." Just then the elephant came back, lifted his trunk, pointed it straight at the man and blew a stream of water in his face. "I forgot I gave them to him still in the bag," the man added.

This is a classic story about memory, or what I call "that thing I forget with." But memory is no laughing matter. It's serious stuff and can help you a great deal in business and in life.

If you read this column on a regular basis, you are familiar with one of my important lessons: "Pale ink is better than the most retentive memory." In other words, write things down.

I have many coaches, including a memory coach. His name is Benjamin Levy. He's been profiled in Fortune magazine and many other media outlets. He's one of the best memory experts around. He's even performed at the White House for President Obama and friends.

I've seen Benjamin meet more than 100 people at a dinner party and be able to say goodbye to each person by name. How does he do it? He says we just need to "wake up our brain," tell it to pay attention and not just let new information slide past. Here are a few of his techniques.

The first is the power of association. For me, if I meet someone named Neil, I immediately think of all the Neils I can recall -- Neil Armstrong, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, Neil Patrick Harris and so on.

In Benjamin's case, he uses the acronym "A NOVEL" to enhance the mental images he makes that help him remember names and other things. "A" stands for active pictures or an action movie. For example, if he met a woman named Fern, he would imagine throwing ferns at her or her throwing a fern. Things are more memorable with action.

"N" is for new. You want a new image, one you haven't seen before. You need something exceptional. "O" is for obscene. "The big dirty secret of memory training is a tremendous percentage of it is having obscene and sexual thoughts in your head," Benjamin said. "The more you make images interesting and memorable, the better you'll remember them."

"V" is for violent. The more stuff you have going on the better -- a broken window, bleeding and so on. "E" is for emotional. "When you make your visual pictures, if people are having emotions ... your images are more memorable," Benjamin said.

Finally "L" is for ludicrous. Try to make your mental picture really ludicrous or funny in some way. Benjamin explains: "So, for instance, if I meet a woman named Karen, for me Karen is always carrots. Will I somehow connect a carrot to the woman named Karen? No, I will visualize a giant carrot connected to Karen, or I will picture hundreds or thousands of carrots connected to her. More ludicrous."

Benjamin adds one other ingredient -- color. Make your images as colorful as you can.

He also uses a lot of metaphors. "Memory work is about transformation, transforming one thing into another, to create the most powerful and memorable mental image possible," Benjamin said.

In memory training, you are constantly associating, linking or connecting one thought with another. This quadruples your retention. As Benjamin says, "You have to give the brain the material the way it wants it."

If you remember one thing from this column, it should be the title of Benjamin's book "Remember Every Name Every Time." I've only scratched the surface of his valuable advice. He shares a variety of practical techniques that have worked for me, such as rhythm and repetition.

We may not all be blessed with Benjamin's gifts, but he's given us a remarkable present: memory techniques that we can all use.

Mackay's Moral: Don't just make memories -- make your memory work for you!

You might have heard the saying: If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.

This statement describes professional golfer Jordan Spieth to a tee. Spieth was the defending champion of the Masters golf tournament. He led this year's tournament for the first three rounds and had a five-stroke lead going into the final nine holes. Then things began to fall apart. He proceeded to bogey two straight holes and then had a disastrous quadruple bogey on the 12th hole from which he never recovered, losing the tournament to Danny Willett.

Spieth was anything but consistent. Willett was less volatile with his scores. He made 15 birdies and eight bogeys during the tournament. But more important, five of his birdies came during the final round, with no bogeys. In short, Willett was more consistent, which is why he won the tournament.

Everyone wants consistency, whether it regards running a business, investing, supervising employees, dieting, exercising or parenting. Consistency develops routines and builds momentum. It forms habits that become almost second nature.

For example, think about one of your goals. It requires consistent effort to push toward that goal. If you are not consistently focused on achieving it, you will likely fall back into old habits or lose interest. Being consistent is the difference between failure and success. The late Jim Rohn, entrepreneur and author, said: "Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals."

Leadership guru John Maxwell said: "Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time."

Consistency is especially important in business. Restaurants, for example, must be consistent, because customers come in expecting the same good food all the time. If they slip up even one day, they lose customers. Consistency establishes reputations.

In any business, customers expect the same standards. The last thing people want is to be surprised -- they want predictability. Let's face it -- we live in an unpredictable world. When people get what they want, they are happy and will return.

Managers and leaders must be consistent in their behavior and attitude. This sets a good example for employees and eases concerns. If bosses are inconsistent, it can waste valuable time for both employees and customers. That's why trust is built upon the foundation of consistency.

Even the most committed employees become bored doing routine work. It's hard for a leader to inspire people to do these tasks well; it's even harder to create a sense that this drudgery is important to the organization's larger goals. This is true even in exciting vocations like firefighting. Battalion Chief John Salka of the New York City Fire Department suggests some interesting solutions in his book "First In, Last Out."

One of the dull parts of a firefighter's life is inspecting buildings for fire code violations. Most firefighters join the department for the high-risk activity of fighting fires; however, inspections and paperwork seem miles from where their enthusiasm lies.

Salka accompanies his crews on their inspections to encourage them to take this low-risk activity very seriously. Throughout the inspection, Salka pulls his crew members aside and asks them how they would approach the building if it were on fire right then.

Soon, the firefighters are taking the inspection as seriously as if it were a real fire. After all, the problems they miss in an inspection may come back to "burn" them if a fire starts. The people you lead do better in real-life situations when you show them the significance of even dull tasks.

Mackay's Moral: Don't be resistant to being consistent.

Years ago, my father sat me down and gave me what was some of the best advice I have ever received. It had nothing to do with making money, but everything to do with getting ahead in the world. It was self-help advice that really focused on helping others.

He told me I would never have any trouble finding opportunities. And he told me that between 20 and 25 percent of my time should be devoted to this pursuit.

"Volunteer," he said. Not exactly music to the ears of a broke, fresh-out-of-college, aspiring millionaire. But as I have come to appreciate, he was dead-on right -- AGAIN.

Volunteering has made my life so much better, and I suspect that anyone who has become passionate about a cause will tell you the same thing.

People who do volunteer work and help others on a regular basis have a healthier outlook on life. They are inclined to be go-getters, and consistently report being happier and more contented.

It doesn't matter whether you are young or old, a student or a professional, working your way up or at the top of your game. Needs abound wherever you are.

Let me give you a few examples. Bridget is a full-time college student. She works part-time too. She was feeling like she had a full plate until a professor asked for a few volunteers to help tutor elementary school students who were struggling. She figured she could spare two hours a week, and guess what? The former "undecided" major is finishing an education degree and preparing to be a student teacher. Volunteering helped her discover her passion, while she was helping little kids discover their abilities.

My pal George was looking toward retirement, knowing he couldn't play golf seven days a week. He had built a great company, overcoming plenty of obstacles along the way. He was a trusted mentor to dozens of young entrepreneurs. He had been very active in his community and cared about the people there. He got involved in the development of the local history center, and even agreed to be the volunteer director. He's busier now than ever before. I have to schedule our golf games at least a month in advance! The community is benefitting tremendously from his leadership, but he says he's really the one reaping the rewards.

If you still think you are too busy to share some time, ask yourself these questions:

-- Are you looking for an opportunity to help? Sharing your talents doesn't diminish them; it often enhances them.

-- Are you interested in learning a new skill? Every organization has a job or two that no one really wants to do -- so take on that chore! You will learn something new, but more importantly, you will discover that you can do all kinds of things you never thought you could. What job is usually the hardest to fill? Fundraising. You'll hone your sales skills while you help a worthy cause.

-- Do you like to meet new people? Volunteering offers the chance to make some new contacts and develop some great friendships.

-- Do you need to sharpen your skills? You can learn how to run a meeting, prepare reports, serve on committees, supervise others, and a thousand other skills that you may not be able to learn in your occupation.

-- Are you in a rut, in need of a fresh perspective? You will see a whole new view of the world when you step into an organization that is struggling to help those who need it most.

-- Are you ready to have some fun? No one said helping others had to be drudgery. Helping clean up a park, planning a community celebration or calling bingo at the senior center can be a great change of pace from a desk job.

-- Do you want to make a difference? Volunteer at a place that is desperate for help. You could be the one person who really can make all the difference.

And please remember, volunteering is a privilege. If you think doing good deeds will make you look like a hero, think again. Approach volunteer work as a chance to be useful, and be grateful that someone thinks you are up to that task.

Mackay's Moral: Don't just make a living, make a life worth living.