And the moral of the story is ...

I've been writing this nationally syndicated column for 21 years now, and it seems that the Mackay's Morals I create for each one really stick with the readers. Every three years, I dedicate a whole column to some of my most memorable morals:

- No one is as important as all of us.

- Gratitude should be a continuous attitude.

- Killing time isn't murder; it's suicide.

- Hidden talents don't have to be huge, but the results can be.

- Open a book ... open your mind.

- Life is a lot easier if you always play by the rules.

- We all have to grow up, but we never have to get old.

- Corporate integrity begins with personal integrity.

- "We" is a little word that sends a big message.

- People don't care how much you know about them once they realize how much you care about them.

- The most successful managers aim at making themselves unnecessary to their staff.

- Critical thinking is critical to success.

- The only person who can put limits on your imagination is you.

- It's not enough to know what. You must also know how.

- Your mind is your most powerful ally in developing confidence.

- If you go the extra mile, you will almost always beat the competition.

- Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing to do.

- There is one thing more contagious than enthusiasm, and that is the lack of enthusiasm.

- A student of life considers the world a classroom.

- People are judged by the company they keep. Companies are judged by the people they keep.

- If seeing is believing, visualizing is achieving.

- Creativity, not necessity, is the true mother of invention.

- They say a word to the wise is sufficient, but I say a word from the wise is a gift!

- If you don't climb the mountain, you can't see the view.

- There is no such thing as a final offer.

- An old dog can learn new tricks, and a new dog can learn old tricks.

- Failure is not falling down but staying down.

- Customer service is not a department, it's everyone's job.

- Saying you're sorry and showing you're sorry are not the same thing.

- Exercise your brain so your memory doesn't get flabby.

- An ounce of commitment is worth pounds of promises.

- Most people strive to be better off, but few strive to be better.

- If you want to make your mark, sharpen your skills.

- Everyone wants to win, but most people are not willing to prepare to win.

- The fool asks the wise for advice, but the wise ask the experienced.

- Pride is the stone over which many people stumble.

- Control your life or it will control you.

- The hardest part of the sale is selling yourself to your customer.

- Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't.

- To get what you've never had, you must do what you've never done.

- You'll never lose credibility if you share the credit.

- Happiness can be thought, taught and caught -- but not bought.

- Failure isn't final unless you say it is.

- People aren't strangers if you've already met them. The trick is to meet them before you need their help.

- We may not be able to predict the future, but we can prepare for it.

- A plan isn't a plan until you have a backup plan.

- Taking your time can sometimes be the best use of your time.

- If a business knows what's good for it, it knows what's good for a customer.

- You can't get ahead if you don't get started.

- Worrying casts a dark shadow that blocks any glimmer of hope.

- The best way to sound like you know what you're talking about is to know what you're talking about.

- Stay on your toes or fall flat on your face.

- You'll never reach your goal if you don't have one.

- Start every day/year with a healthy dose of vitamin C -- Creativity.

- Taking care of employees is taking care of business.

- Lots of people start, but few people finish.

Mackay's Moral: (one more time) The smarter I get, the more I realize I'm not finished learning.

Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times best-seller "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com, by emailing [email protected] or by writing him at MackayMitchell Envelope Co., 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.