The greatest failure is not to try. Had I listened to all the people during the course of my life who said, "You can't. You'll fail. It won't work. You don't have...," I wouldn't be here today.

Never give up. The bankers and financial people did not take me seriously initially. Everyone thought I would fail. My attitude was that 'No' is an unacceptable answer when it comes to financing.

The trick is that you can't find the hidden treasure until you start digging. Often enough, if you take the leap and do something, something will happen. Probably not what you thought, but something.

And, more importantly, reach for the stars. And realize that it is never too late – not now, not ever – for you to pursue your passion, your pursuit of perfection. And most importantly, your perseverance for making it happen.

Small business in America is what fuels the American economy. We need more small business to assist us in creating a great nation and in creating more jobs. It's this frontier that is endless in terms of opportunity and potential.

We are here for a reason. We all have a gift or gifts to share. You want to look inside your heart and your soul, and you want to tap into the one thing you love to do. Develop it. Share it. Nurture it. You were meant to have that gift.

There is always competition. Whatever you do, there will be competition, and you have to decide how you’re going to play. For me, I had to be the very best. I had to be the very best. Because, if I was not the very best, I would end up being number two.

I love to brainstorm. I like to mentor. When you're starting out, especially as an entrepreneur, you really don't know what you're doing. You go out there and you try so many things. The key in the process, to me, is that you keep trying and you never give up.

I believe the only limitations are the ones that we accept. I know that there is, in theory, a glass ceiling. But I don't believe that it's a solid wall. I'm going through it. Nothing's stopping me. Yes, there are these preconceived notions; yes, we have challenges. Let's accept them, let's not be afraid of them, let's break through them.

I get very excited when I wake up in the morning and I am just full of oxygen. I say that purposefully. I try not to take for granted how lucky we are to have life and breath and opportunity. Once we've got that, we can conquer anything. Truly, I get high on oxygen, and once I graduate from that, what really fulfills me is doing what I love. That, to me, is absolutely priceless.

What really fueled me, and maybe infuriated me, is that nobody believed in me. Nobody. I don't even think I believe in myself. Part of what I was trying to do was to make the decision to go into business and find the guts to see it through. I was told that when I went in to see the bankers that I was supposed to be very muted, that I was supposed to blend in, that I was supposed to have the typical drab suit on.

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