Most of the reason we don’t do things is because we’re afraid to fail. I just made a decision one day that I was not not going to do things in my life because of fear.

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.

My saddlebags are why Spanx exist! Now that I have a baby I also have a muffin top.

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

I didn't like the way it looked in white trousers, and I couldn't find anything to work underneath them.

I think failure is nothing more than life's way of nudging you that you are off course. My attitude to failure is not attached to outcome, but in not trying. It is liberating. Most people attach failure to something not working out or how people perceive you. This way, it is about answering to yourself.

Failure is not attached to outcome, but in not trying. This way, it is about answering to yourself.