We take many everyday items for granted, but when these items were introduced to the market, they were anything but ordinary. Have you ever wondered how you got along without a specific product, a must-have invention -- or the latest version of your smartphone?

Somewhere between necessity being the mother of invention and pure creative genius, all kinds of useful products have come into our lives. Were their creators inspired by a burning desire to get rich? Did they have years of schooling or technical training? Were they part of huge corporations with unlimited research and development budgets?

No.

They just let their creativity take over. And we benefit from their inventive ways to overcome life's little challenges. Consider these items, born of necessity, in the not-so-distant past.

Josephine Dickson, an inexperienced cook, often burned and cut herself back in 1920. Her husband, Earle Dickson, was a Johnson & Johnson employee, and got plenty of practice in hand bandaging. Out of concern for his wife's safety, he began to prepare bandages ahead of time. By combining a piece of surgical tape and a piece of gauze, he fashioned the first crude adhesive strip bandage.

At 15 years old, Chester Greenwood's head was cold one December day in 1873. To protect his ears while ice skating, he found a piece of wire, and with his grandmother's help, padded the ends. In the beginning, his friends laughed at him. However, when they realized that he was able to stay outside skating long after they had gone inside, freezing, they stopped laughing. Instead, they began to ask Chester to make ear covers for them, too. In my home state of Minnesota, earmuffs are standard winter equipment.

During the hot summer of 1912, Clarence Crane, a chocolate candy manufacturer, found himself facing a dilemma. When he tried to ship his chocolates to candy shops in other cities, they melted into gooey blobs. His customers didn't want to deal with the mess and deferred their orders until cooler weather. Mr. Crane needed to find a substitute for the melted chocolates if he wanted to keep his customers. He experimented with hard candy, which wouldn't melt during shipment. Using a machine designed for making medicinal pills, Crane produced small, circular candies with a hole in the middle. And that is how Life Savers were born.

The term "Frisbee" did not always refer to the flying plastic disks that have spawned a variety of games. More than 100 years ago, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, William Russell Frisbie owned the Frisbie Pie Company and delivered his pies locally. All of his pies were baked in the same type of 10-inch round tin with a raised edge, wide brim and "Frisbie's Pies" embossed on the bottom. Playing catch with the tins soon became a popular local sport. However, the tins were slightly dangerous when a toss was missed. It became the Yale University custom to yell "Frisbie" when throwing a pie tin. In the '40s, when plastic emerged, the pie-tin game was recognized as a manufacturable and marketable product. Now Frisbee is a registered trademark of Wham-O Toys.

All those inventions started innocently enough, without great expectations. That kind of creativity will continue, with or without corporate backing and deadlines to bring a product to market.

But there are constant demands in companies to come up with newer, better, shinier, more in-demand products. As companies try to stay afloat in a choppy economy, employees are being pushed for new ideas. Managers would be wise to consider the studies conducted by Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard Business School and head of its Entrepreneurial Management Unit. She has explored creativity for nearly 30 years, and her comprehensive research has uncovered some myth-defying facts:

-- Money and rewards don't necessarily inspire creativity.

-- Tight deadlines and pressure to produce don't foster innovation.

-- Competition doesn't induce creativity.

-- Neither sadness nor fear fuel creative breakthroughs.

In order for creativity to blossom, workers need to feel deeply engaged in their projects, skilled enough to accomplish them, and free of negative influences -- unnecessary distractions, politics, resource roadblocks and unwarranted critical feedback.

I might add that management needs to be open to ideas from all sources -- not just the so-called "creative" departments. We all have a streak of creativity in us. Remember that the next time you need a Band-Aid or enjoy a Life Saver!

Mackay's Moral: A little spark can lead to a blazing success.

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.