Everything about my journey to get Spanx off the ground entailed me having to be a salesperson - from going to the hosiery mills to get a prototype made to calling Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. I had to position myself to get five minutes in the door with buyers.

We don't have the luxury of time. We spend more because of how we live, but it's important to be with our family and friends.

I took a Fear of Flying class, and I always missed the class, because I was always flying.

There is a hidden blessing in the most traumatic things we go through in our lives. My brain always goes to, 'Where is the hidden blessing? What is my gift?'

The smartest thing I ever did was to hire my weakness.

I think my story says that, when women are given the chance and the opportunity, that we can achieve a lot. We deliver.

Courage is doing something despite the fear, and I've worked hard on being a courageous person.