The truth is, success often occurs for reasons we don't expect, under circumstances over which we have little control and sometimes unrelated to our own efforts. There is only one other lesson that success should teach us: Be as amazed by your own success as your friends are. If you truly are, you stand the best chance to repeat it.

Many, perhaps most, people who lose their jobs are mistaken about the reason for which they lost their jobs. Some will say that they're failures, others that their boss had it in for them, and others yet that they were sure their career ended because of a stupid faux pas they made at the company picnic.

Pale ink is better than the most retentive memory. If it's written down, you can look it up. Just be damn sure you write it down.

The longer they keep you waiting, the more they want to deal.

Mackay's Moral: If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.

You only get one chance to make a good first impression, and yours may be in the hands of the receptionist.

Good habits are as addictive as bad habits, and a lot more rewarding.