When you are a youngster, you never think about tomorrow. You take tomorrow for granted, assuming you have an endless string of days ahead of you. In short, you put things off. You are not really aware of the shot clock of life.

As the years fly by, you begin to become more aware that there isn’t always going to be a tomorrow. You understand and appreciate today more than ever.

Having this mindset gives us a sense of urgency. We can’t continue to put off important things until tomorrow. We have to devote time to our goals and dreams today.

Perhaps the best example I can give of someone who won’t let the clock run down is my close personal friend Sid Hartman, who turns 100 on March 15. Sid, a legendary sportswriter, has been a mainstay in Minnesota sports for a span of eight decades. He is, in every sense of the word, a real buzzer-beater. By most human standards, Sid is in triple overtime.

Sid never played any of the games he writes about and never made it to college, much less journalism school. His success is rooted in pure doggedness.

He still writes a column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune three times a week, a job he’s had for 75 years. Plus he has commented on sports on WCCO Radio for 65 years, and broadcasts the “Sports Huddle” show every Sunday morning. He continues to build his immense network, which includes every athlete or team owner who’s ever been part of Minnesota sports, plus many national sports superstars and coaches. You don’t pass through the Twin Cities sports scene without getting to know Sid Hartman.

He owns the most important advantage of sports reporting: one of the biggest, most reliable networks of sports sources of any journalist in the country. Once you’re in Sid’s file, you don’t ever get cut. You’re in it for life.

Sid’s network is second to none. In my entire career, I have never once heard a successful person, like Sid, say he or she regretted putting time and energy into building a network of contacts. You must always have your antennae up. Never pass up an opportunity to meet new people. I call this “dig your well before you’re thirsty.”

I was privileged to co-chair huge events for Sid’s 85th and 90th birthday bashes, which brought in people like former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, University of Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight, former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, to name only a few.

And Sid fondly refers to all of them as “my close personal friend.” Sid Hartman is in a league by himself.

There are more than 7.6 billion people on the planet, and few work harder than Sid, even at his age. He reminds me of Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inn, who was asked to give the commencement speech at his high school. He said, “My advice is to work half days every day. And it doesn’t matter which half -- the first 12 hours or the second 12 hours.”

Sid is also one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met. He is the only person I know who can follow you in a revolving door and still come out ahead of you. He hates to lose. Sid understands that competition is healthy. It keeps you sharp. It makes you better. Competition drives people to work harder and dig down deeper to deliver more than they ever thought they could.

Sid may never make it to the Baseball or Football Hall of Fame, but if they ever get around to a Close Personal Friends Hall of Fame, he’ll be the first one they call. Talent is a gift, but like many gifts, we often take it for granted. If Sid Hartman had applied equal energy, dedication and perseverance to any other career -- sales, for example -- I’m positive he would have achieved the same great success he attained as a sportswriter.

I’m not quite to Sid’s age yet, but I’m trying to maximize my shot clock before the game is over. Give me the person who uses 110% of what they’ve got, like Sid, and they’ll find a way to get the job done when no one else can.

Mackay’s Moral: Happy birthday, Sid, and many more!

Golfer Adam Scott had a two-shot lead during the final round of the Genesis Invitational Golf Tournament at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles last month when he found trouble and a bunker on the 15th hole. Knowing a safe shot might cost him the lead, he changed his mind.

“I thought, ‘Well, you can maybe win the tournament if you hit a great flop shot here.’ So I thought I might as well go for it,” Scott said after winning the tournament on Feb. 16. The flop shot dropped to within five feet of the pin, allowing him to escape with a bogey and not lose his lead.

We all must learn to take calculated risks. When I am speaking to corporate audiences, I always say, "Sometimes it’s risky not to take a risk. Let me put it differently. If you walk backward, you’ll never stub your toe."

The biggest lesson I can pass on is to not be afraid to take calculated risks. If you win, you will be happy. If you lose, you will be wise.

Some people are born risk-takers. They are more comfortable making decisions that may not work out, but they usually have -- or come up with -- a plan to get past it. For others, making more pragmatic decisions is more in line with their comfort zone. But those folks also run the risk of regretting actions they did not take.

Successful people have learned how to refuse to let fear get the best of them. You can learn to control your fear and rise to reasonable challenges. There are some strategies that can help you reach that point.

Start by analyzing your memories. Look back over your life. What situations have made you feel afraid? Were there common denominators? Perhaps most important, when was the last time you were afraid of some action and did it anyway? Sometimes, taking the plunge is the only way to see if you made the right call.

Consider your responsibilities. Examine your priorities at work and in your life. If some activities make you fearful, ask yourself why you are afraid of them. Past experiences that ended badly, taking chances when you couldn’t calculate the possible outcomes, concerns about how staff or management will react -- all these factors need to be evaluated to assess how much risk is acceptable.

When a situation makes you nervous, try to think of the worst outcome that could realistically happen. Examining the possibilities ahead of time will prepare you to avoid pitfalls. Chances are, the reality won’t be as devastating as you fear. But it is important to think about how you would react if the outcome could potentially hurt your business or career irreparably.

Then shift your focus. When you’re confronted by a task that makes you fearful, stop and think about all the benefits it will produce in the end. Focus on those instead of on what’s making you feel scared. That strategy may lead to better methods and outcomes. Involve those with whom you are working or whom you are supervising to get their opinions and agreement. When the whole team has skin in the game, previously unidentified risks may be exposed and addressed. The likelihood of success improves.

Finally, look at some of the risks you’ve taken in the past. If most of them turned out well, figure out what made them work. Think about what actions you took that ensured success, and how you can duplicate those actions and decisions in other situations. Don’t ignore the failures though, because you should also work to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Mark Twain lost more than one hard-earned fortune by investing in get-rich-quick schemes. According to one story, Twain once met a man seeking financing for his new invention. The man explained his machine, but the famous author had grown skeptical of such sales pitches and declined the opportunity to invest.

“I’m not asking you for a fortune,” the inventor persisted. “You can have as large a share as you want for $500.”

Twain shook his head. The invention just didn’t make sense to him. As the man sadly walked away, Twain called out, “What did you say your name was?”

“Bell,” he sighed. “Alexander Graham Bell.”

Mackay’s Moral: Don’t risk getting your “bell” rung like Mark Twain.

“I need you to go out to the orchard and pick a basketful of apples,” a mother instructed her young daughter. “Just walk row by row and pick the prettiest ones. There are plenty on the trees, so just check each tree once and move along. You won’t have time to dawdle; I’ll need them in time for lunch in a half-hour.”

The girl thought this should be simple enough when she arrived at the orchard. However, as she walked the rows of trees, she found it difficult to choose. Each apple she inspected seemed to be of exceptional quality.

She would look over one tree, but decide that the next tree might hold better apples. After all, she only wanted to pick the best and reddest. But when she reached the edge of the orchard, her basket was empty. And she was late for lunch!

“All those trees and I couldn’t make up my mind,” she thought. “What if I didn’t get the best ones?”

Was it the fear of making a poor decision or just uncertainty? That day, she realized that hesitating to make a decision and holding out for something better had prevented her from realizing the value of what was right in front of her.

We have all second-guessed ourselves or hesitated at some point -- and usually for good reason. Perhaps new information came to light, or a budget couldn’t be stretched, or staff couldn’t handle any more work. Those are reasonable causes for hesitation.

And while I often advise people to trust their instincts, it’s also important to know the difference between hesitating and deciding on inaction because you don’t know where to begin.

Small or large problems that can be overcome should not hold up a project when all the other elements are in place. Putting off a decision disrupts the momentum when key players are ready to go.

When indecision and hesitation go beyond the necessary fact-gathering and initial planning, find a way to take a first step.

If making a decision is the problem, explore the possible reasons: Fear of failure, fear of success, lack of resources or experience, tight deadlines, even sheer laziness -- all are potential buzzkills.

Those are, however, all surmountable problems. Fears, even when reasonable, are only as scary as you make them. Failure isn’t fatal, as I like to say, and success is sweet. Visualize what a completed project would look like and go from there. Put your imagination to work, and allow yourself to dream a little. Think about what could go right instead of what could go wrong.

When resources are in short supply, turn it into an opportunity to make do with what you have. Look for ways to repurpose existing budgets or staffing to adjust to changing needs. It's not always simple, to be sure, but organizations face similar challenges every day.

If you’re short on experience, get busy and study up. Find a mentor, take a class, read everything you can get your hands on. Pick the brains of your staff and colleagues.

If laziness is the big issue, then my suggestion is to move aside and get out of the way for those who can get the job done. Seriously. Motivation is critical to decision-making, and if your hesitation is causing a project to suffer, then the problem is not the project.

I’ll share a little rhyme that has helped me get moving when I need a jump-start. I wish I could find the author so I could express my gratitude for the inspiration. See if it doesn’t help you too.

How and When

We are often greatly bothered

By two fussy little men,

Who sometimes block our pathway –

Their names are How and When.

If we have a task or duty

Which we can put off awhile,

And we do not go and do it --

You should see those two rogues smile.

But there is a way to beat them,

And I will tell you how:

If you have a task or duty,

Do it well, and do it now.

If you see yourself in this little ditty, it’s time to rethink your future. Because the future belongs to those who act!

Mackay’s Moral: “Do it well” -- or why bother? “Do it now” -- and then get on to the next challenge!