Try to remember the last time you uttered the words "I made a mistake." Was it painful? Expensive? Career-changing? Or therapeutic?

When my kids were young, they used to sing along with a little ditty on "Sesame Street" that went something like this: "Everyone makes mistakes, so why not you?" That's the wisdom of children speaking: Everyone makes mistakes. Including me and you.

In business, mistakes can derail a career. But is that fair? I completely agree with what my friend William R. Brody, former president of Johns Hopkins University, said in a 2005 speech: "Mistakes are the downside of risk-taking. And it seems as if we've become very unwilling to tolerate mistakes. We're willing to risk failure in our games, in extreme sports, in our competition on TV reality shows. But not in our business. Not in our research and development -- not in our careers or in our medicines or homes, our schools or our personal lives. ... Being risk-averse is hurting our global competitiveness and stagnating our incomes."

So when you risk something new or different, you must be prepared for both good and disappointing results. And try as you might, you may not be able to avoid business mistakes. Keep your boss, employees or associates informed and make adjustments as issues arise.

And when a problem develops -- as it often does -- here are some thoughts on how to turn your mistakes around:

-- 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 employees don't want to hear excuses. It's a powerful way to show a sense of accountability for your actions and those of your team.

-- Don't cast blame. Focus on solving problems, not on finding someone or something to blame. Good managers and employees analyze what they did wrong and learn from it. When the manager takes this tack, employees will be encouraged to learn to look objectively at their own performance.

-- 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 need to improve.

-- Use the opportunity to change a situation. Mistakes are often prime opportunities for people to turn bad situations into positive ones. Any customer service guru will tell you that a complaint can be the perfect time to provide the best customer service you have to offer.

-- Move on. Beating yourself up publicly or privately doesn't do much good. You need to keep your focus and not get distracted when things go wrong.

The following story, taken from the book "Art and Fear" by David Bayles and Ted Orland, illustrates the power of taking chances and risking failure when you're trying to achieve something of quality. On the first day of class, a ceramics teacher announced that he was sorting his students into two groups. Half the students would be graded on the quantity of works produced, the other half on the quality of just one work.

On the final day of class, the instructor looked at the pots from both groups and realized that the best pots -- those with the most creative designs and those that seemed most beautiful -- all came from the group graded on quantity.

As the authors put it: "It seems that while the 'quantity' group was busily churning out piles of work -- and learning from their mistakes -- the 'quality' group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay."

Mackay's Moral: The biggest mistake you can make is pretending that you didn't make one.

A father and his young son were out walking one afternoon, when the boy asked how the electricity went through the wires stretched between the telephone poles.

"I don't know," said the father. "I never knew much about electricity."

A few blocks later the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder.

"To tell you the truth," said the father, "I never exactly understood that myself."

The boy continued to ask questions through the walk, none of which the father could explain. Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said, "Dad, I hope you don't mind me asking you so many questions."

"Of course not," replied the father. "How else are you going to learn?"

Sooner or later, of course, the boy will stop asking his father questions, and that will be unfortunate. Curiosity and the desire to learn should always be encouraged and nurtured.

It's quite possible that the son's curiosity piqued the father's interest in learning something new. Google might be a good place to start. It is never enough to be satisfied with "I don't know."

Just as parents should encourage their children to remain curious and respect learning, the same is true for managers and supervisors. They must set an example for their employees. If they have stopped learning and growing, they will be hard pressed to inspire their subordinates to do so, no matter how much they may pretend to encourage it.

New products, new solutions and new methods are often the brainchildren of curiosity. Is necessity really the mother of invention? Or is it curiosity?

We should really strive to learn something new every day. There's certainly no lack of opportunity. Be curious about everything around you. Read a book on a topic you've never studied. Listen to a TEDtalk. Take a nature walk with a child. Do something that you've never done before, just for the experience. It's not that hard to pique curiosity!

The future belongs to the curious -- the ones who are not afraid to try it, explore it, poke at it, question it and turn it inside-out.

One of the world's greatest scientists, Albert Einstein, described the value of curiosity this way: "The important thing is not to stop questioning. ... One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day."

To the great thinkers, curiosity is essential. But they don't have a corner on the market. We all need to question what we do not understand, and keep asking until we find answers. Will we solve all the mysteries of the universe? Probably not, but we didn't get to the moon by wishing on a star.

Eleanor Roosevelt, author, diplomat, humanitarian and wife of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, said of curiosity: "I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity."

That view is quite evident in works of the Nobel-winning British author Rudyard Kipling. (You might remember his "The Jungle Book" and "Just So Stories"). He wrote the following poem about the curious nature of man:

I keep six honest serving men

(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

and How and Where and Who.

I send them over land and sea,

I send them east and west;

But after they have worked for me,

I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,

For I am busy then,

As well as breakfast, lunch and tea,

For they are hungry men.

But different folk have different views,

I know a person small -

She keeps ten million serving-men,

Who get no rest at all!

She sends 'em abroad on her own affairs,

From the second she opens her eyes -

One million Hows, two million Wheres,

And seven million Whys!

Mackay's Moral: Let curiosity turn "I don't know" into "I want to find out."

There are motivational writers and motivational speakers, and then there's John Maxwell. John has been called America's No. 1 leadership authority by the American Management Association, and has won the Mother Teresa Prize for Global Peace and Leadership from the Luminary Leadership Network. He has trained more than 6 million leaders in 196 countries.

John Maxwell literally wrote the book -- or more accurately, 13 books -- on leadership. He's written dozens of other books on relationships, preparation and other subjects. But his latest book, "Intentional Living," is an absolute must-read, no matter what occupation you are in.

I've known John for many years, and he never fails to amaze me with his energy and passion for living. And now, he has generously documented his formula for the benefit of all.

Drawing on the assumption that everyone wants his or her life to matter, John explains how age, wealth and fame are not necessary ingredients for making a positive impact on the world.

Rather, he says, the key to living a life that matters is being "intentional." John writes, "If you possess the desire to make a difference, place a high value on people, and are willing to team up with others, significance is within your reach."

John's inspiration came from a gift his assistant gave him 40 years ago. It was a book titled "The Greatest Story Ever Told." But when he opened it, he was surprised to find all the pages were blank. Between the pages she had included a note that read: "John, your life is before you. Fill these pages with kind acts, good thoughts and matters of your heart. Write a great story with your life."

So that's exactly what he did. John was determined to make every day matter.

He writes: "We should never let what we cannot do keep us from doing what we can do. A passive life does not become a meaningful life."

In other words, he challenges us to start small, but dream big.

John is a master list-maker. His advice is easy to follow, because he lays out the important elements of an intentional life. He includes plenty of self-evaluation questions, and identifies the trade-offs that lead to greater opportunities.

I was especially taken with John's analogy about positive anticipation. "To me, living a life that matters is like building a house," he writes. "The process started as I opened the first door, which was 'I want to make a difference.' Once I went through that first doorway ... I discovered some wonderful ways that I could make a difference in the lives of others."

He goes on to add a second room: doing something that makes a difference. That room led him to discover his strengths, like leading, communicating and connecting.

The third door was doing something that makes a difference with people who make a difference. "This new room was filled with people who were potential partners in significance," he explains. "I'm grateful for this because of my personal limitations. Alone I can do only so much."

For many years, his house of significance had just three rooms. Then he found another door of opportunity: at a time that makes a difference. He says, "People who open this door live with intentionality ... They are living the significance cycle: anticipation, action, abundance, anticipation, action, abundance."

In short, John has removed all the excuses that can sabotage an intentional life.

One of my favorite sayings, courtesy of Charlie "Tremendous" Jones, is that our lives basically change in two ways: the people we meet and the books we read. I've collected friends and networked vigorously, and my library is bursting at the seams with self-improvement and inspirational books.

And no matter how many books I read, I realize that nothing will change until I make up my mind to change. I can't rely on anyone else to do it for me. I have to make the best of my opportunities, and create opportunities when none seem to exist.

Mackay's Moral: It's not enough to have good intentions; you have to live them.