Success is a journey, not a destination. You may take a few detours, hit some roadblocks and arrive at a different place from what you planned.

Success comes in many forms and means different things to different people. In the working world, it is often defined as landing the perfect job, achieving a targeted income level, occupying a corner office or owning a business. However you measure it, success is sweet. And it doesn’t happen overnight.

Here are my ABCs of success to help you be successful.

A is for adversity. I have never met a successful person who hasn’t had to overcome either a little or a lot of adversity.

B is for boredom, the kiss of death for anyone who wants to get ahead in life. It's even worse for anyone who truly wants to love what they do.

C is for competition. The existence of competition is a good sign. No one ever set a world’s record competing against themself.

D is for demonstrate. Find concrete ways to demonstrate how valuable your presence is to the company, your customers and your community.

E is for eagerness. The successful people I know display an eagerness to improve and get the job done.

F is for faults. Few of us lead unblemished personal or professional lives. It’s the ability to overcome and learn from our faults that counts.

G is for guarantees. There are none in this life, but there are creative ways to better your chances. You can, however, guarantee your customers and co-workers that they can depend on you to always give your best.

H is for happiness. To me, happiness is the key to success, not vice versa. Only you can draw the map of the route to your happiness.

I is for I’ll take care of it. There will always be a place for the person who says “I’ll take care of it,” -- and then does it.

J is for job. There is something unique and memorable about each one of us. It’s our job to find out what it is and let other people in on the secret.

K is for keen. You must develop a keen sense of what your customer wants, what your company needs from you and the best way to deliver both.

L is for love what you do, do what you love and you’ll never have to work another day in your life.

M is for morals. A solid moral compass is critical to succeeding. Anything less than stellar ethics diminishes success.

N is for navigating shark-infested waters and learning how to swim with the sharks.

O is for optimism. Optimists are people who make the best of it when they get the worst of it.

P is for persistence. Much of what makes people successful is persistence.

Q is for quintessential. Successful people always strive to be the quintessential example of quality and decency.

R is for resourceful because resourceful people can see the upside of down times. They are not willing to give up just because things get complicated.

S is for success. If you want to double your success ratio, you might have to double your failure rate.

T is for things others don’t like to do. Successful people do them so they can then do the things they enjoy.

U is for university. Most people drive an average of 12,000 miles a year. Turn your car into a university and listen to self-help podcasts and motivational lessons.

V is for victory. Celebrate victories, large and small, along the road to success, and be sure to thank those who helped you along the way.

W is for work. It’s not enough to work hard or work smart. You have to work hard AND smart. There are many formulas for success, but none of them works unless you do.

X is for eXchange of ideas. Unless you are able to communicate in a forceful, polite, effective way, the day is going to come when what you’ve learned won’t be enough.

Y is for Yoda. Yes, the Jedi master. Everyone benefits from mentors like Yoda in their quests to succeed. Once you have achieved success, be a Yoda for those who can benefit from your guidance.

Z is for zone. When you are in the zone, things just click. Success is all but guaranteed.

Mackay’s Moral: Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.

A woman walked into the grocery store with a 3-year-old girl in the seat of her shopping cart. As they passed the cookie section, the little girl asked for some, and her mother said no.

The little girl began to whine and fuss. The mother said quietly, “Now, Monica, we just have half of the aisles left to go through; don’t be upset. It won’t be long.”

Soon they came to the candy aisle, and the little girl began to beg for some. When her mother said she couldn’t have any, the little girl began to cry. The mother said, “There, there, Monica -- only two more aisles to go, and then we’ll be checking out.”

When they got to the checkout, the little girl threw a tantrum. The mother patiently said, “Monica, we’ll be through this checkout lane in five minutes, and then you can go home and have a nice nap.”

A man followed them out to the parking lot and said to the woman. “I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Monica.”

The mother laughed. “My little girl’s name is Tammy. I’m Monica.”

The world today is testing everyone’s patience. And we have never needed it more.

Patience is an invaluable virtue, but it takes some work. We live in a world where we are used to getting things quickly, be it information or products. We want everything now -- instant gratification. This impatient attitude can cause a lot of harm -- unproductive time, stress, poor decisions and more.

Patience and impatience are also habits. Studies show that it takes 21 days to create or to break a habit. Good habits are as addictive as bad habits, and a lot more rewarding. I would like to suggest that when you change your impatience habit, you will change your life. Patience requires self-control. It doesn’t help to complain, whine or stomp your feet like children. It’s not easy to be patient all the time. It requires practice. Start by waiting in line -- and we are waiting in a lot of lines these days –- or waiting in traffic. It is better to be patient on the road than a patient in the hospital. Take control of your emotions in small situations.

Have realistic expectations. This can pertain to projects and people. A common weakness is wanting others to be better than you are willing to be yourself. If you have unrealistic expectations, your stress and anxiety can increase.

Rejection is a part of life. You can’t avoid it, and you must learn not to take it personally. Move on and prepare for the next challenge.

Analyze every failure, but never wallow in one. I always want to know why people say no, and I’m not afraid to ask. How helpful iIt is helpful to have a second opinion about where you went off the rails,. T and to think about what you could have done differently.

Remember past achievements. Look back to your past successes. How did you feel? This will help ease the rejection of today, and help you recognize that you can get past the current disappointment. How long did you have to work for those earlier accomplishments?

Finally, take a break when you feel yourself losing patience. If you’re feeling down, do something you like -- exercise, read a motivational book, listen to a favorite song. Just don’t stay away too long.

A young man came to a jeweler’s shop and said he wanted to study to become a gemologist. The young man insisted that he had the patience to learn everything the jeweler was willing to teach him. Reluctantly, the jeweler told him to return the next day for his first lesson.

When the man arrived the next day, the jeweler placed a jade stone in his hand. For four hours, the young man held the stone while the jeweler did his work.

The next day the jeweler had the young man hold the same stone. And every day after that, for over a week.

Finally, one morning the young man asked, “Sir, when am I going to learn something?”

“Soon,” said the jeweler, passing him the stone.

The young man was about to give up, but as he took the stone in his hand he felt surprised. “Why are you giving me a different stone today?”

The jeweler smiled and said, “You have begun to learn.”

Mackay’s Moral: The future belongs to the person who knows how to wait.

“I’m starving, and it’s Dave’s fault,” a manager complained to his assistant.

“What did Dave do now?” the assistant asked.

“I asked him to pick up a sandwich for me before he returned from lunch,” the boss replied. “He’s over there at his computer; so where’s my sandwich?”

Just then, Dave ran into the boss’s office and said, “You’ll never guess what happened to me at lunch today. I was at that little bistro on Main Street, when who should walk in but the president of ABC company that we pitched last week. There wasn’t an empty table in the whole place, so I waved him over and invited him to join me.”

Dave went on: “I jumped on the opportunity to remind him why he should consider working with us -- and he agreed! He wrote me a check for the retainer. I raced back here and just worked up the preliminary projections for the new account.”

“Did you remember to pick up that sandwich for me?” the boss asked.

Dave blinked and looked confused. “Huh?”

As a salesman, when I hear stories like this, I cringe. There are no jobs unless someone brings the business in. Sales are the lifeblood of any company, and it’s amazing how many people don’t get this point. Sales are even more important today during the pandemic.

Don’t get me wrong; everyone is important, but sales are critical to a company’s success. I hammer away at this concept repeatedly. At our company, we like to say that all our employees are in sales because they are selling our company every day.

Career success often depends on your ability to sell a product, a service or an idea. No matter what field you’re in, you’ll sell better by remembering these key pieces of expert sales wisdom:

-- Do your research. Whether you’re selling a book or trying to get a job, start by learning as much as you can about your industry and the people in it. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to present your product when the time comes.

-- Profile your buyers. Your product should fill a defined need. Don’t start selling before you understand your customer’s mindset. First, analyze the kind of people who might benefit from what you have to offer. Do they already use something similar? Do they need to be educated about what you can do for them? Find out where they are so you can target your sales efforts effectively.

-- Tailor your approach to match individual buyers, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all attitude. Spend some time getting to know their personal priorities and professional preferences, and what they’re looking for when they consider products like yours. You’ll do a better job of selling to them if you focus on satisfying their requirements instead of yours.

-- Listen more than you talk. Don’t think of sales as the art of pressuring a reluctant customer into buying something he or she doesn’t want. You’ll get better results by asking questions about your prospect’s problems and really listening to his or her needs. Then you’ll be better able to position yourself effectively.

-- Follow up. Persistence pays. Don’t make a pest of yourself, but check in regularly with your customers and prospects to find out what they need. You don’t want them to forget about you.

-- Develop your sense of humor. You don’t have to memorize a string of stale jokes, but you should learn how to see the humor in most situations. If you can make a customer smile, your job is halfway complete.

-- Stop selling, and let them buy. Most people like to buy things, but dislike being pushed into a purchase. Don't be overly aggressive with your idea. Be ready to answer questions and present your idea as an opportunity.

-- Manage your time wisely. Keep track of how much time you spend on your sales process. Identify the activities with the greatest potential, and maximize those while delegating or cutting down on any that don’t add value. Look for ways to use your time more efficiently every single day.

-- Deal with rejection. No one makes every sale. Rejection is a part of life. Deal with it and move on.

Mackay’s Moral: Don’t just make a sale, make a customer.