My good friend and mentor Rob Gilbert was talking about Michael Jordan on his Success Hotline the other day (973.743.4690). In his little pep talk, he asked a series of questions: Could you jump like Michael Jordan? No? Could you handle a ball like Michael Jordan? No? Are you as tall as Michael Jordan? No? You get the idea. But then he asked the $64,000 question: Could you act like Michael Jordan?

What he meant was, could you bring the effort and attitude of a Michael Jordan to whatever it is you want to do? The answer to this is yes — of course we can! Sure, we may not be able to play like Michael, but we can perform with the same level of intensity, commitment, and positive energy that he always brought to the basketball court. That’s great news, isn’t it?

Effort and attitude: We have total control over these ingredients in managing our day. Bringing a positive attitude and our “A” game” to the page every time we sit down is something we can strive for, no matter how we’re feeling and what’s going on in our lives.

How important is this to achieving what we want to achieve? A Harvard Business School study identified four factors critical to success: information, intelligence, skills, and attitude. When these factors were ranked in order of importance here’s what the study found: information, intelligence, and skill combined added up to 7% of total effectiveness and attitude amounted to 93%. That’s right, 93%!

As Barry Farber, an author and success coach put it,” We have a choice every day how we will live and how we react to others. So remember, as you make that choice in the moment: It’s impossible to have a great day with a bad attitude. And it’s impossible to have a bad day with a great attitude.” And write on!