As I watched the athletes perform at the recent Winter Olympic Games, I could only imagine their tremendous desire, determination and dedication, not to mention commitment, enthusiasm and mental toughness. They set goals and prepared. They had discipline.

It’s the same in business.

It doesn’t matter whether you are pursuing success in business, sports, the arts or life in general. The difference between wishing and accomplishing is discipline.

Discipline is all about setting goals, figuring out a schedule to achieve those goals and then following your plan.

Discipline turns ability into achievement. Dreams may get you started, but discipline keeps you going. Talent without discipline is nothing more than wasted opportunity.

Zig Ziglar said, “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action,and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”

I believe discipline is the difference between good and great.

Most people aim to do right; they just fail to pull the trigger. For whatever reason, they just don’t have the wherewithal to finish the job. They lack discipline.

Good intentions aren’t enough. People have good intentions when they set a goal to do something, but then they miss a deadline or a workout. Suddenly it gets a lot easier to miss again -- and again and again.

“Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built,” said the late motivational speaker Jim Rohn. “Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure. Discipline is the bridge between thought and accomplishment ... the glue that binds inspiration to achievement ... the magic that turns financial necessity into the creation of an inspired work of art.”

Whenever I eyeball a resume for a management job at my envelope company, I look for evidence of self-discipline. As candidates have prepared themselves for past jobs, did they identify and master three to five key self-disciplines essential to future success?

I’m looking for specific examples beyond just showing up for work. Did they take leadership on difficult projects that required developing new skills? Were they flexible when original plans had to be adjusted to conform to changing needs? Could they put ego aside when others had better ideas? Were they able to maintain control when challenged by customers or co-workers?

Keeping focused when things are going well is often as difficult as doing so when glitches surface. Self-discipline is what finishes the job. Managers especially need to model self-discipline so that their teams observe how it’s done and can follow their example.

And employees aren’t the only ones who see discipline in action. Customers take notice of how organizations conduct themselves. If they see a sloppy operation, they assume shoddy results. If they see a well-oiled machine, their confidence in the final product increases.

Discipline means you are prepared to do the things you don’t always want to do in order to get the results you need to get. As difficult as that sounds, consider the alternative. Allow yourself to take the easy way out, and that’s exactly what you will find: the way out the door.

Discipline isn’t optional. It’s an investment in your future.

Here's a story to drive the point home. A family was gathered for dinner one night when the youngest son announced that he had just enlisted in the Army. There were audible gasps around the table, then some laughter, as his older brothers shared their disbelief that he could handle this new situation.

“Oh, come on, quit joking,” snickered one.

“You didn’t really do that, did you?” asked another. “You would never get through basic training.”

Finally, his father spoke up. “It’s going to take a lot of discipline. Are you ready for that?”

The new recruit looked to his mother for help, but she was just gazing at him. When she finally spoke, she simply asked, “Do you really plan to make your own bed every morning?”

Mackay’s Moral: Keep your head and heart going in the right direction and you’ll never have to worry about your feet.

Why is it that the people who make the worst use of their time are the same ones who complain that there is never enough time?

The late management guru Peter Drucker, often called the “father of modern management,” said, “Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.”

I agree with author and salesman Percy Whiting, who said: “Time is a fixed income, and as with any income, the real problem facing us is how to work successfully with our daily allotment. Plan each day down to the moment, because once time is wasted, you can never get it back.”

I’m a big believer in preparation to save time. Whether I was selling for our envelope manufacturing company or meeting a colleague for a volunteer project, I made sure the people I was calling on were available. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time for both parties.

You don’t ever want to be like the salesman who was having the biggest sales day of his life in a little clothing store. The more he talked, the more a certain customer ordered. The salesman left thinking he was a superstar until he phoned in his order.

When the sales manager heard the name of the customer, he burst into laughter. The boss asked, “Did you check the credit book?”

The salesman’s bubble burst. No wonder they had been eager to order from him. His “great” customer never paid his bills. It was a wasted day and a costly lesson.

Time is precious, which is why February is Time Management Month. Spend it wisely and stop wasting time on unimportant things.

As my friend Jim Rohn said, “Days are expensive. When you spend a day, you have one less day to spend. Make sure you spend each one wisely.”

If you feel like you are always trying to beat the clock, it’s time to evaluate where your time actually goes. We like to think we are experts at multitasking, but that generally means diverting attention from one project to another. When you are juggling several projects, organization is critical. Trust me, unless you have your ducks in a row, you will soon be drowning in inefficiency.

Here's what I recommend: Start with a priority list and establish what needs to be accomplished before you can turn your attention elsewhere. Plan your day/week/month according to how much time you need to allot to each item. I also schedule a slot for other distractions, phone calls, emails and such. Sometimes it’s just 15 minutes, but that allows me to stay focused on the big items.

Do your research so you are prepared to see the project through. How much help will you need? What resources are available or necessary? What can you delegate? What deadlines do you need to meet?

Just remember: Time is the one resource that you cannot buy or replace. It’s yours to use however you choose. Choose well.

This silly story illustrates why we need to make every minute count.

One morning, a lazy man asked the king, “Why does everyone say that I can’t do anything on time?”

The king answered, “Let’s make a deal. Before sunset, you come to my treasury and collect as much gold and pearls as you can. They will all be yours.”

The man rushed home to his wife. He explained everything, and his wife said, “Go and get the gold and gems now. Time is gold for you.”

The lazy man sat down and said, “I can’t go now. Give me lunch first.”

After having lunch, he decided to take a short nap, but instead slept for two hours. Then, late in the afternoon, he picked a few bags and went toward the king’s treasury. On the way, he felt hot, so he sat down under a tree to rest and ended up sleeping for another five hours. When he finally reached the palace, it was already sunset, and the palace gates had been shut. He lost the golden chance to get rich just because he didn’t know the value of time.

Mackay’s Moral: You are the only one who can waste your time.

On the outskirts of a big city stood an old temple, where young boys would come to live and learn from an old monk. One day, the monk gathered his students and told them: “I am growing old and slow. I can no longer provide for the needs of the temple as I once did. I want you to go into the city and follow the rich people. When no one is looking -- and only when no one is looking -- you must steal their purses. That way, we will have enough money to keep our school alive.”

The boys said in disbelief: “But master, you have taught us that it is wrong to steal.”

The monk replied: “It would be wrong to steal if it were not absolutely necessary. Just remember, you must not be seen!”

The boys looked nervously among themselves and quietly began to leave. However, one student remained, so the monk asked him, “Why did you not go with the others?”

“I heard master,” said the boy quietly. “But you said that we had to steal without being seen. I know that there is no place on Earth that I would not be seen, for I would always see myself.”

“Excellent!” exclaimed the monk. “That is just the lesson I hoped my students would learn. Run and tell your friends to return to the temple before they get us into trouble.”

Honesty is and will always be the best policy. Telling the truth at all times matters in so many ways, from building your reputation to improving your relationships. Your word must be your bond.

Maybe that is why Thomas Jefferson said, “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”

Or take a page from our first president, George Washington, who famously said he could not tell a lie. Honest Abe Lincoln was also a paragon of truthfulness. As we celebrate Presidents Day, these are role models to uphold.

If truth ever stands in your way, you are headed in the wrong direction.

Every time dishonesty wins, it gets harder to convince our children that honesty is the best policy. Complete honesty in little things is not a little thing at all.

Think about your own dealings with businesses, organizations and even personal friends. Do you patronize a store that makes promises they don’t keep or that sells products that don’t perform as expected? Would you donate to a charity that invests more in promotion than in helping others? Do you continue friendships with people who lie to you?

Of course not. As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Honesty is so important that there’s actually a day to celebrate it: April 30, 2022, is Honesty Day. M. Hirsh Goldberg, author of “The Book of Lies: Schemes, Scams, Fakes and Frauds That Have Changed the Course of History and Affect Our Daily Lives,” created the day in the early 1990s. He placed it strategically on the final day of April to contrast with April Fools' Day (lies!) at the beginning of the month.

Here’s a fish story that can actually be believed.

After fishing all day and not getting so much as a nibble, a fisherman went back to shore, loaded his boat on the trailer and began the drive home. Before reaching home, he stopped at a grocery store advertising fresh fish.

“Throw me a dozen of the biggest fish you have,” he said to the woman at the counter.

“Throw them? Why?” she asked.

“Because I’m going to catch them. I may be a lousy fisherman, but I’m not a liar.”

Mackay’s Moral: Only those on the level can climb the highest peaks.