Nine times out of ten you take the first step in creating your own universe by picking up the phone.

In the end, raising money is basically a matter of going out there and asking. There are no shortcuts.

Never hesitate to show your own staff that you need help. They need to be reminded how important they are to the process. In life and in business, we rely on each other to be responsible for individual tasks that benefit everyone. People sometimes forget how much interdependence there really is in a successful business. Learn the art of asking for help to empower and motivate others, and you will have learned a very powerful management strategy.

Women are called difficult and tough when (1) we negotiate the best deal, (2) we are perfectionists in doing our job, (3) we are willing to work harder and longer than men are willing to, and (4) when we question anything - anything - that someone else is doing, particularly if that someone is a man.

You're never too young or too old to make your own kind of mark in your own kind of time. You're never the wrong age to release the power within you to create the life you deserve.

Nine times out of ten you take the first step in creating your own universe by picking up the phone.

Reality is the only place you can deal from. If you're still worrying about the way things should be, you haven't even approached the starting line.