laptop on the tray table in front of me. Business class roominess is so much more conducive to getting work done, I think, as my spreadsheet application opens. Legs casually crossed in front of me, cranberry juice at my side, I review my work on the company's financial statements. It's been a great quarter for my pet venture, which I launched just a year ago. It hasn't been entirely easy but once I received my MBA from the University of Florida, my career mushroomed. After working for many years with such prestigious companies as Shell and Motiva, I launched my own business venture based on the knowledge and skills I gleaned over the years. Looking down at the vanishing earth beneath our airliner, I reflected on what it took to get me where I am now.

In 2001 my first big break arrived when I landed my first position with...
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