A woman received a phone call at work, letting her know that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left the office and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication, but when she got back to her car, she discovered that she'd locked her keys inside.

Desperate, she started to pray: "Dear God, please help me get back in my car so I can help my daughter."

Just then, a man pulled up on a motorcycle. He had a long beard and his arms were covered with tattoos. He asked what the matter was, and the tearful mother told him.

"Don't worry," the biker said. "I can get inside the car." He went into the drugstore and came out with a coat hanger. In minutes, he had the door open.

"Oh, thank you!" the woman cried. "I prayed for someone to help me, and God sent me the kindest man in the world!" Embarrassed, the man took a step backward. "I'm not actually a good person, ma'am. In fact, I just got out of prison last week for stealing cars."

The woman looked up toward heaven. "Thank you, God, for sending me a professional!"

Whenever I need to get something done and I realize I don't have the skills for the job, I hire a professional. Maybe you need help designing a marketing piece or a website. Or you are writing a book and need a professional editor. How about public speaking or planning a special event? You will save yourself many headaches and mistakes if you hire a true professional.

After all, you want the best results possible. And most of the time, the payoff far exceeds the expense.

Professionals are knowledgeable, experienced, focused and, most importantly, they are cool under pressure and used to dealing with the unexpected. They are not infallible and still make mistakes, but they are better equipped to deal with them.

We all have specific skills, but we can't know everything. There is no glory in trying to fix a problem if your efforts only make matters worse. You think you will save time and money? It's far less expensive to swallow your pride than to choke on arrogance.

If I want to learn a new skill, I hire a professional coach to teach it to me. I want to practice the right concepts, so I won't get it wrong. "Practice makes perfect" should really be: "Perfect practice makes perfect."

Legendary Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry explains, "A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be."

Over my lifetime, I've had numerous professional coaches help me develop whatever natural talent I may have. I understand that I will never be as good as the coaches I've hired, but I can surely improve on my limited abilities. So I go to the people who know what they are doing.

I've hired professional coaches for public speaking, writing, ideas/creativity, foreign languages, running marathons, golf, tennis, water- and downhill skiing, swimming, dancing, bowling, boxing, scuba diving, ice skating, basketball and many others.

I'm not spending a single penny; I'm making an investment in myself. And, believe me, it comes back tenfold.

Many times over the years, when I've purchased a new electronic gadget, I've hired the person who sold me the device and paid them to come to my office to teach me how to use it. Technology can be difficult for me, so I hire a pro to teach me. Does that seem frivolous? Not to me. The sooner I can be up and running, the more efficiently I can work.

The old saying "Time is money," is so true. Why waste your time and money when so much help is available to enable you to save both time and money in the long run?

I've been on the other side of the equation too. I've been honored to be a mentor, usually not paid, to help aspiring salespeople and entrepreneurs hone their skills. It's so rewarding to pass along professional knowledge and experiences. If I can steer someone away from making a monumental mistake, I'm satisfied. I want to demonstrate the highest level of professionalism so that they understand the importance of seeking the best advice.

Mackay's Moral: Admitting your own weaknesses is a sign of strength.

December 6 is a historic day for dreamers. On this day in 1877, Thomas Edison recited "Mary Had a Little Lamb" into his phonograph invention and made the world's first recording of a human voice.

Edison, as we know, made many of his dreams come true. And we all have benefitted from his persistence.

Dreams start out as little ideas that start to take shape even before we know it. There's a mountain of research about "lucid dreaming," a fascinating concept dealing with sleepers who are aware that they are dreaming and can even control their dreams. I can't say I've mastered this technique, but think of the possibilities!

So, for those of us who rely on our conscious surroundings, I recommend that you nurture your dreams by staying open to the opportunities that await. Consider how the following story could have ended far differently if its subject had let others dampen his dreams.

In his book "The Man Who Listens to Horses," famed horse trainer Monty Roberts tells about the time one of his teachers in high school assigned a paper about life goals. The teacher was interested only in practical goals -- not fantasies about going to Hollywood to become a movie star, and the like. But young Monty had a serious dream. The son of a horse trainer, he longed to own a thoroughbred racehorse facility. Monty turned in a detailed plan to achieve his dream.

The teacher returned his paper with a failing grade. "It's a wild, unattainable dream," he told the teen. "I know your family and background; it would not be possible." He insisted that Monty rewrite the paper.

The next day, after talking with his mother, Monty returned his original paper to the teacher. He included a note saying he believed in his plan and the teacher shouldn't limit his aspirations. The teacher didn't respond at the time, but Monty got an A in the course.

Monty ultimately achieved his dream through hard work and determination. Many years later, he received a call from the teacher, who wanted to arrange a tour of Monty's stables for his church group.

After the tour, the teacher told the group about the term paper and the note Monty had written. "There was a time when I told Monty that this was unattainable," he said. "Now we've all had a good look around, and seen how he proved me wrong." His student, he said, had taught him "the most valuable lesson I ever learned."

Don't give up on your dreams! And don't allow others to discourage you. Don't be afraid to ask for help or advice, but make sure you choose carefully whose counsel you seek. As I often say, believe in yourself, even when no one else does. If you don't try, how will you ever succeed?

In 1782, Robert Shurtleff joined the Continental Army. He marched and fought with the men of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment in the Revolutionary War.

He was a model soldier. During one battle, Shurtleff sustained a bullet wound to his leg that he tended himself before marching back into action. Word of Shurtleff's courage and camaraderie spread among the troops. The soldiers had the utmost respect for him, though they nicknamed him "Molly" because of his smooth, hairless face. Soon he was tagged to become the assistant to a high-ranking officer.

But in 1783, a deadly fever swept through many of the Army's camps. Shurtleff took ill, and that's when his true identity was discovered: Shurtleff was really Deborah Sampson.

Sampson had spent much of her life as an indentured servant and longed for adventure. The Army seemed to offer the ideal solution as well as the opportunity to serve her country. She just had to hide the fact that she was a woman!

Once her identity was known, the Army was obliged to release her from duty -- women weren't allowed to serve. But the Army stepped up and awarded Sampson an honorable discharge and a military pension for her year in service.

After she married and raised a family, Sampson was ready for another adventure. She dusted off her old Army uniform and began touring the country, speaking about her experiences as a frontline soldier in the Revolutionary War -- and maybe encouraging someone else to take a risk and follow a dream.

Mackay's Moral: Better to chase a dream than to be pursued by regrets.

November is National Entrepreneurship Month, which in my world is the next best thing to a national holiday. Entrepreneurs are the backbone of American business. They take risks with their ideas, money and reputations, believing that their efforts will pay off, even when no one else has confidence in them.

This month honors those who support entrepreneurship, business, innovation and new jobs, as well as promoting entrepreneurship to America's youth. We need young entrepreneurs to replace older generations and continue to innovate.

I wanted to be an entrepreneur even before I could spell the word. I dreamed of owning my own factory, long before I knew what that factory would produce. I envisioned my success and looked forward to the day that I could share it with my employees. Through the ups and downs, I was determined. I made my share of mistakes, tried to learn from them and moved on.

My story is hardly unique. While there were few resources out there for dreamers like me at that time, the landscape has changed. Marvelous advice from very successful people is readily available.

One new book in particular caught my attention, and I am excited to share some of its wisdom. I am referring to Dean Graziosi's "Millionaire Success Habits" (www.MshSuccessbook.com), which hit the shelves last week. I would have given an arm and a leg to read it when I was starting out in business and life. Dean's premise is that you can make "barely noticeable, small shifts in your daily routines by nudging out those things that don't serve you and replacing them with habits that create a path to wealth and abundance."

It doesn't matter, Graziosi says, whether you are an entrepreneur, a business owner, an executive, an investor, an employee or a young person just starting out in your first job. His book focuses on financial success, but he also emphasizes fulfillment in other areas of life, including family, parenting, friendships, relationships, spirituality, health, physical fitness, love and passion.

First, you have to decide what you want out of life. Too often, we can define what we don't want, but can't really figure out where we want to go.

He says, "It doesn't matter how fast you can go, it doesn't matter how much passion you have, and it doesn't matter how much energy you put into something. If you don't have a vision and clarity about the destination you want to reach, you'll simply never get there."

His conclusion: "When you focus on the outcome rather than the obstacle, your life will never be the same." This is goal-setting on steroids! As a goals-oriented guy, I'm endorsing this advice wholeheartedly.

The next key component to turning your vision into reality is to identify your "why" -- why do you really want what you are looking for? Dean shares a "seven levels deep" exercise that gets at the heart of your "why" and which anyone can follow. He says it is the foundation to all success and possibly the most important millionaire success habit you can develop. And he advises that you should do the exercise four times a year, just to stay on track.

Another concept that Dean identifies as an important success habit is this: "When it comes to your clients, be in the relationship business, not the transaction business. People will refund a transaction, but not a relationship."

Regular readers of my column will recognize this idea, which I refer to as "humanize your selling strategy." You have to get to know your customers as people first, or you will never be able to relate to their needs any better than the next salesperson.

There is so much in this book, and all Dean's other best-sellers, that I have only scratched the surface. But there is one more chapter that deserves to be highlighted.

Dean calls it the power of happiness: "As your success, income and responsibility grow, you can't neglect your happiness. ... happiness leads to success rather than the opposite. ... no amount of money will make you happy unless you find internal satisfaction."

Truer words were never spoken.

Mackay's Moral: You can change your habits and change your life. Don't wait.