In my father’s day, the traditional adornment of the reporter;s cubicle was a girlie calendar.  Since he covered the doings at the state capitol, a rather more elevated venue than the usual reporter’s beat, he eschewed the slovenly look and went for a more sophisticated image.  The walls of his office-or what passed for his office, a broom closet int he capitol building-were covered with “sayings.”

My mother did the same thing, only she taped them on the fridge.  Remember the Cracker Jack slogan, “A prize in every package.”  At Mackay’s, it was a moral with every morsel.

I picked up the habit.  Obviously.

There are worse ones.

• If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I’ve met in my lifetime, I’d have to say it’s the ability to create and nurture a network of contacts.
• You don’t have to know everything as long as you know the people who do.
• As the world changes, one thing will remain constant: the relationships you develop over a lifetime.
• You can’t stop the world from changing, but one thing is always within your control: the strength of your relationships with others.
• Put your memory where your mouth is.  If you want to impress people with how much you care, show them how much you remember.
• One of the biggest mistakes you can make inn your career is being afraid to ask for help.

Mackay’s Maxim: A good aphorism might not solve the problem, but it sure makes you feel better.