Ten-year-old Billy stumbled while boarding the school bus one morning and bruised his cheek on the stair. But he got up, brushed himself off, looked out at his dad, who was at the bus stop, and gave him a thumbs-up.

Later that morning the school nurse called his father and said Billy had an accident at school. He ran into another student during a gym class and had a bump on his forehead but was OK. The nurse said Billy seemed more concerned about the other student.

At the end of the day, as Billy was heading for the school bus, he slipped on some ice and broke his wrist trying to catch his fall. When his father arrived at the hospital, he found his son chatting away with the nurses.

He said, "Dad, look," as he clutched a dollar bill. "I found this when I fell. Today is my lucky day."

Life and our circumstances are all about how we think of them. And for most of us working stiffs, our circumstances include making a living, sometimes at a job or career that occupies a big bite of our time. Shouldn't that big bite taste good?

Career success is an ongoing journey, not a destination. You've got to show up every day and concentrate consistently on the activities that lead to achievement. You can keep moving forward from goal to goal, but your job satisfaction and performance will suffer if you don't bring your best attitude to work.

Insurance magnate and author W. Clement Stone wrote: "There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative." By the way, Stone lived this philosophy to a ripe old age of 100.

If you recognize some negative traits invading your attitude, take some action before it's too late. Don't waste time when you've got a problem to solve or an idea to put into action. A rapid response gets attention and builds excitement.

Focus on the bright side. Emphasize what you genuinely enjoy about your job and the people you work with, and express your gratification as much as you can.

Keep your eye on 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.

Check your use of language, and change it when necessary. This includes inner talk and outer talk. Change your negative words and thoughts into positive ones. Understand that some days will be more challenging, but don't fall back into bad habits. Turn negatives into positives. Don't obsess over obstacles and setbacks. Treat failures as an opportunity to spot mistakes and move forward.

Ultimately, the only control you have in life is over yourself, your thoughts, actions, responses and behaviors.

Don't fixate over what you can't control; concentrate on what you can.

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

And if, after you have given serious consideration to all this advice, you are still unable to conjure up a good attitude toward your job or career choice, find another line of work and quickly! You aren't doing yourself, or the people around you, any favors by staying in a situation that will only get worse.

It's up to you to fix what you can, and that starts with your attitude. Don't sell yourself short. You deserve better.

When it comes to having a winning attitude, think about this story of a taxpayer and an IRS tax auditor, who was reviewing the taxpayer's records. While the auditor worked through the papers, the taxpayer shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The auditor adjusted his glasses and said, "Mr. Smith, we at the IRS feel it's a great privilege to live and work in the United States. And as a U.S. citizen, you have an obligation to pay taxes. And we expect you to pay them eagerly with a smile."

"Oh, thank goodness," Mr. Smith said, wearing a giant grin on his face. "I thought you were going to want me to pay with cash."

Mackay's Moral: Take control of your attitude before it takes control of you.

I want to share the story of a remarkable teacher who taught her students an unforgettable lesson. On the first day of school back in 2005, a social studies teacher named Martha Cothren gave her classes at Joe T. Robinson High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, something to think about.

With the permission of the superintendent, principal and building supervisor, Ms. Cothren removed all the desks from her classroom. Her first-hour students asked where their desks were. She told them, "You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk."

They ventured guesses including their grades or their behavior. Wrong answers, she said.

As each successive class came in, they all found a room devoid of seating. By early afternoon, word had spread and television news crews had arrived at the building to report on this crazy teacher.

The final period students came to class and found a place to sit on the floor. Ms. Cothren simply explained, "Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you."

She then opened the door to her classroom. Twenty-seven United States veterans, all in uniform, walked into her classroom, each carrying a desk. They placed the desks neatly in rows, and then lined up along the wall. By the time the last veteran had set the last desk in place, the kids started to understand -- maybe for the first time in their young lives -- how the right to sit at those desks had been won.

Ms. Cothren explained: "You didn't earn the right to sit at those desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It's your responsibility to learn, to be good students. They paid the price so you could have the freedom to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so you have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it."

Would it surprise you to learn that Martha Cothren was named the 2006 Arkansas Teacher of the Year by the Veterans of Foreign Wars?

This lesson extends far beyond the classroom. We have the freedom to choose where we work, where we live, how we spend our free time -- all because someone fought for our freedom. We owe our veterans an enormous debt of gratitude.

Consider these words from Charles Province, an Army veteran: "It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the organizer, who gave us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag and whose coffins are draped by the flag, who allow the protester to burn the flag."

So we take time to honor those men and women who have sacrificed years of their lives, or their very lives, in order that we can continue to enjoy freedoms unmatched anywhere else in the world.

To my way of thinking, every day should be thank-a-veteran day. We cannot begin to understand their contributions to our way of life. So we shouldn't pass up an opportunity to show our gratitude and respect. And if you have the capacity, hire a vet!

Veterans Day is a significant American holiday. It is so important that you'll never have to search for it on the calendar -- it happens every year on Nov. 11. I hope you take the time to thank a vet that day. With nearly 22 million living veterans, you shouldn't have to look very far.

Their sacrifices matter, as President Ronald Reagan noted: "Some people work an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference to the world. But the Marines don't have that problem." I'm sure Reagan included all branches of the armed forces in his sentiments.

Martha Cothren's students received an extraordinary gift that day in 2005. What a wonderful illustration of the difference those veterans made in the lives of her students.

Mackay's Moral: To all those who have offered their service: We salute you.

A lot of people believe you only have one shot at success. But that's just not true. What is true is that many people don't even take that one shot -- out of fear of failure, inexperience, lack of motivation or just not knowing where to begin.

Daymond John, one of the stars of ABC TV's "Shark Tank," wants to change all that. He has written "The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage," a terrific book devoted to getting you ready to take at least one shot.

As Daymond says, his book is "all about substance over flash. It's about creativity over certainty. It's about taking a shot over playing it safe."

I've never met Daymond, but I'm a big believer in studying successful people. That's exactly what Daymond does in his book. Each chapter centers on individuals who excelled professionally and personally and the traits that got them there, such as direct marketing whiz Jay Abraham, who talks about agility, and world-renowned DJ Steve Aoki, who talks about resourcefulness.

Daymond is a case study by himself. He started selling home-sewn hats on the streets of the New York City borough of Queens. His initial budget was $40, which necessitated devising some very innovative ways to promote his products. His entrepreneurial exercise developed into the FUBU brand, which is now a $6 billion company.

He credits his success with starting out broke, which made him think more creatively. As he says: "It forces you to use your resources more efficiently. It forces you to connect with your customers more authentically and market your ideas more imaginatively. It forces you to be true to yourself, stay laser focused on your goals, and come up with those innovative solutions required to get noticed and make a meaningful mark."

Daymond has an interesting take on innovation. He believes it starts from the bottom up, rather than the top down. He makes a good point, when you think about it. Break dancing, rap music and slam poetry happened in organic ways and grew.

He says: "People either respond to it or they don't, and it doesn't matter how much money you throw at it, how much you try to dress it up, it is what it is."

As the author of "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive," I was intrigued by Daymond's "SHARK points." Using the SHARK acronym, he writes:

-- Set a goal. His key points are that goals are much like what I preach -- goals must be realistic and in writing. "Aim too high and you're bound to be frustrated, disappointed," Daymond writes. "Aim too low and you might leave some opportunities on the table."

-- Homework, as in do yours. You have to know your product as well as your competitors'. Daymond says: a "shark doesn't attack unless it know its prey; here on land a 'shark' needs the same mix of insight, instincts and information to keep out in front."

-- Adore what you do. The subtitle of my second book is "Do what you love. Love what you do. And deliver more than you promise." You have to have a passion for what you do.

-- Remember, you are the brand. Daymond writes: "You are what you eat. You are what you wear. You are what you drive, where you love, what you drink, how you vote, what you stand for ... It all starts with how you carry yourself, what you put out into the world, the way you interact with your audience, your customers, the marketplace. It's on you. Just you."

-- Keep swimming. Daymond says that even when sharks are asleep they are "swimming, scheming, getting ready to attack -- which is pretty much the approach you have to take when you're starting out in business. You have to be relentless, nimble, moving ever forward. ... If they don't keep swimming, they die."

Perhaps the reason this book resonates with me is that I started my envelope company with much of the same enthusiasm: a big dream with very limited funds, antiquated equipment and not nearly enough experience, but an overwhelming desire to succeed and a willingness to work tirelessly.

Broke is just a starting place. It's up to you to take the next steps.

Mackay's Moral: Being broke isn't the same as being broken.